Democrat: ‘Both Sides of Aisle’ Will Resist if Administration Sidesteps Congress on Iran DealCNSNews.com) – Republicans and Democrats alike will resist any attempts by the Obama administration to “sidestep Congress” in the pursuit of an agreement on Iran’s nuclear program, the senior Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs committee warned a State Department official on Thursday.
“There really cannot be any marginalization of Congress,” Rep. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) told Deputy Secretary of State Tony Blinken during a committee hearing on the Iran nuclear negotiations, just days away from a deadline for a framework agreement.
“Congress really needs to play a very active and vital role in this whole process, and any attempts to sidestep Congress will be resisted on both sides of the aisle,” he said...
...They include concerns about the size of Iran’s uranium-enrichment program, Iran’s failure to clear up International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) questions relating to the possible military dimensions of its nuclear activities, and the regime’s destabilizing role in the region and “horrendous” human rights record.
“We would hope that we could get a prompt response from the White House,” Engel said. “It’s truly a very bipartisan letter expressing Congress’ strong feelings about things that need to be in the agreement.”
Engel said he was willing to see what was in a negotiated deal before passing judgment and urged colleagues to do the same.
“But make no mistake: Congress will play an important role in the evaluation of a final deal,” he said. “Again, I want to say that I will not stand by and allow Congress to be marginalized. Any permanent repeal of sanctions is, by law, Congress’s discretion. And before we do that, we must be completely convinced that this deal blocks all of Iran’s pathways to a nuclear bomb.”...
http://cnsnews.com/news/article/patrick-goodenough/democrat-both-sides-aisle-will-resist-if-admininstration-sidesteps
