Congressman Earl L. “Buddy” Carter (Ga-01) voted to halt President Obama’s proposed nuclear deal with Iran until all documents – including reported secret side deals – are turned over to Congress for review. The move comes as Carter and others argue the Obama Administration has not lived up to its requirements under a congressional review bill signed into law in May.
“President Obama is trying to ram rod this dangerous deal through without abiding by the terms of a law he himself signed just months ago,” said Carter. “The 60-day clock cannot start until Congress, and thereby the American people, has all the details of this poorly negotiated deal which could have serious ramifications on our national security. With the safety of the American people at risk, this is too important an issue to rush through in blatant disregard of the law.”
Senior Obama Administration officials including National Security Adviser Susan Rice have acknowledged secret side deals between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) which would be charged with enforcing any nuclear agreement. While the Administration has been informed of their contents, they have not provided the documents to Congress for review.
The measure approved by the House today specifies the Obama Administration has failed to abide by the terms of the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015. That law requires the terms of any nuclear agreement with Iran to be transmitted to Congress to be reviewed for up to sixty days. As such, the Obama Administration would be unable to begin enforcing the terms of the agreement.
“Dangerous ‘secret deals’ that the law explicitly requires Congressional oversight of have been withheld from Congress and the American people,” Carter said. “The vote on the Iran nuclear deal is one of the most consequential votes in the history of this body. While I’ve seen enough to know that I strongly oppose this deal, I demand that the Obama administration provide Congress with all information related to these dangerous negotiations that will impact the safety and security of our homeland and the entire world.”
Carter is also a cosponsor of H. Res. 410 which would recognize the Iran agreement as a treaty which would require two-thirds approval from the Senate rather than disapproval from both chambers of Congress.
