Lawmakers want bigger role for Congress in Iran deal

WASHINGTON — Members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee pressed the Obama administration Thursday to give Congress a greater role in approving any nuclear deal with Iran.

Meanwhile, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee announced Thursday evening that it would not hold a vote on a measure allowing Congress to weigh in on a deal until April 14 — two weeks after the deadline for negotiators to reach the framework of an agreement.

Earlier on Thursday, GOP lawmakers emphasized the need for congressional oversight. "I think the American people, through their elected representatives, should be weighing in on this deal," Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, told a top U.S. State Department official. "I know we disagree on that point."

Foreign Affairs Chairman Ed Royce, R-Calif., said more than 360 members of Congress have sent a bipartisan letter to President Obama detailing their concerns about negotiations with Iran.

"With a deep history of deception, covert procurement, and clandestine facilities, Iran is not 'any other' country, to be conceded an industrial scale nuclear program," Royce said. "Any meaningful agreement must keep restrictions in place for decades, as over 360 members of Congress — including every member of this committee — are demanding in a letter to the president."

Prep for the polls: See who is running for president and compare where they stand on key issues in our Voter Guide

Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken told committee members that the administration has worked to keep Congress informed of negotiations and will meet with lawmakers publicly and privately to provide details of any agreement that is reached with Iran.

Secretary of State John Kerry and other U.S. officials were in Switzerland on Thursday working to negotiate a deal by the end of this month. The administration is seeking an agreement that would prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons while allowing the nation to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.

The administration has said the agreement is not a treaty and does not require Senate approval. However, Congress still has a key role to play in deciding whether to lift economic sanctions against Iran if Iran complies with a deal, Blinken said.

"Since signing the (interim agreement with Iran), we have been on the Hill dozens of times over the past year to update you and your staff about the progress of the talks – in all, more than 200 briefings, hearings, meetings and phone calls," Blinken said. "And if a deal is finalized, Congress will certainly have a robust role to play in potentially taking action on future statutory sanctions relief once Iran has demonstrated a track record of living up to its commitments."

But committee members complained that a vote to lift sanctions would be a decade or more away, depending on the length of the deal.

"We're feeling bypassed," said Rep. Albio Sires, D-N.J.

Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Minn., said he is angry that the administration will be seeking approval of any agreement from the United Nations Security Council but not from Congress.

"It is not only disturbing, it's wrong," Emmer said.

Blinken said one of the goals of any nuclear deal with Iran would be to ensure that it would take at least a year for Iran to produce enough nuclear material to fuel one weapon if it reneges on its commitments.

"That would provide us more than enough time to detect and act on any Iranian transgression," Blinken said.

Royce criticized the administration's strategy for being "more about managing (nuclear) proliferation than preventing it."

"Reportedly, the administration would be agreeable to leaving much of Iran's enrichment capacity in place for a decade," Royce said. "If Congress will be asked to 'roll-back' its sanctions on Iran — which will certainly fund its terrorist activities — there must be a substantial 'roll-back' of Iran's nuclear program."