Iran bill passage not defeat, senior White House official says
A senior White House official says the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s approval of bipartisan legislation to allow Congress to review a nuclear agreement with Iran is not a defeat for the Obama administration.
US President Barack Obama had threatened to veto an initial version of the legislation, but changed his mind after some changes were made to the controversial bill.
White House senior adviser Valerie Jarrett told MSNBC network on Tuesday night it was not a loss for the administration.
She did not acknowledge that Secretary of State John Kerry had been lobbying against the bill that was originally drafted by Democrat Senator Robert Menendez and Bob Corker, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Menendez stepped down early this month as ranking Democrat on the Senate panel in the wake of his indictment on corruption charges.
“Secretary Kerry was doing what he has been doing consistently,” she said, “which is briefing the [Capitol] Hill, giving them classified briefings, touching as many of the members as possible because it’s important that they understand what we’re trying to accomplish here.”
The bill was unanimously approved on Tuesday after its text was changed following negotiations between Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker, who introduced it, and the committee's new ranking member, Democrat Senator Ben Cardin.
According to the bill, Obama should submit the final nuclear deal for congressional review and he would not lift Congress-mandated sanctions against Iran during the review period.
The only significant change of the new bill, dubbed the Iran Nuclear Amendment Review Act of 2015, is the review period that is shortened from 60 days to 52 days.
There is an initial review period of 30 days and 12 more days would be added if Congress passes a bill to disapprove the deal with 60 votes and sends it to Obama.
If the president vetoes the bill, there would be an additional 10 days added to allow Congress an opportunity to override the veto.
The revised version also eases some other objections the Obama administration had raised.
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