WASHINGTON — In a stunning twist, the White House on Tuesday reversed course and signaled support for a Senate bill that would create a process for lawmakers to review any deal with Iran over its nuclear program.
For months, the White House said President Barack Obama would veto a bill crafted by Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker, R-Tenn., and its former ranking Democrat, Bob Menendez of New Jersey, that would set up a vote on any deal with Tehran.
Corker spent the last few weeks preparing that measure for a Tuesday mark-up, negotiating largely with the man who replaced the indicted Menendez, Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md. The result is a bill the Obama administration says — barring major changes during the mark-up — it can support.
White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters Obama is "willing to sign" the revised version of the Corker measure.
"If we arrived at a place where the bill that is passed by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee with bipartisan support essentially is a vote to vote later on congressional sanctions, and not ... about whether or not to enter into the agreement [with Iran]," Earnest said, "that would certainly resolve some of the concerns we've expressed about the authority that is exercised by the president of the United States to conduct foreign policy."
Earnest described several aspects of the original Corker-Menendez bill to which the White House objected. Each has been addressed during weeks of negotiations in a manner Earnest said assuages the White House's concerns.
The White House reversal sapped much of the drama out of the much-anticipated mark-up that pitted Republicans and many Democrats against the White House. Lawmakers This camp argued Congress has a constitutional responsibility to review and vote on any international nuclear pact brokered by any president.
The announcement was also was stunning.
Foreign Relations member Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., told reporters Tuesday morning that White House officials long refused to negotiate about specifics of a bill establishing a congressional review process and setting up a vote on a potential nuclear pact.
During past meetings, Coons said White House officials had a simple and stern message: "We oppose Corker-Menendez."
One senior Republican who has negotiated with the Obama White House in the past got the same impression during a closed-door briefing for all senators with three Cabinet officials. As she exited, Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said it was "very clear" the White House was opposed to any congressional vote.
About 90 minutes later, Earnest said Corker, new Foreign Relations Committee rRanking Democrat Ben Cardin of Maryland and other senators had adequately addressed the administration's concerns.
"The legislation as introduced had a rather long review period of 60 days that would essentially delay implementation of the bill until this rather slow-moving Congress had an opportunity to consider it," Earnest said. "By ... carving out such a long window for them to review the agreement, it could delay over a long period of time the implementation of the agreement."
A Corker aide explained that change, expected to be adopted via an amendment during the mark-up.
"There is an initial review period of 30 days, 12 more days are automatically added if Congress passes a bill and sends it to the president and an additional 10 days if the president vetoes the legislation," the aide said. "If the deal is submitted late, after July 9, the review period reverts to 60 days."
That review would allow lawmakers and aides to hold hearings, hear from officials in classified briefings, and pore through the classified annexes of any nuclear pact.
Another resolved sticking point, according to Earnest: "The legislation as introduced did not adequately clarify that a future congressional vote would be focused on the sanctions that had been passed by Congress."
Senators who spoke about the compromise reached Tuesday morning stated it focuses solely on sanctions Congress slapped on Iran.
Earnest also cited "other extraneous elements that are not related to the substance of the agreement," a veiled reference to a provision inserted by Menendez tying the deal, the proposed congressional review and future votes to Iran's alleged support for terrorism.
Coons told reporters that provision will be stripped.
Email: jbennett@defensenews.com
Twitter: @BennettJohnT
