WASHINGTON (AP/WMOT) — The Senate has passed Tennessee Senator Bob Corker’s bill to give Congress a chance to review — and possibly reject — any final nuclear deal with Iran.
Corker received rare bi-partisan support for the measure which passed 98-1, but he first had to fend off amendments from conservative lawmakers, including Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton, that would have scuttled the deal. Cotton cast the lone dissenting vote, frustrated that his amendments toughening the bill’s language were not considered.
“It’s time that we had a vote, at a simple majority threshold, on all of these critical points. We’re talking about a nuclear armed Iran, the most dangerous threat to our national security.”
Passage of the bill was a political and foreign relations victory for Corker, who as the new Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, succeeded in muscling into the Obama administration's talks with Iran.
The legislation would block President Barack Obama from waiving congressional sanctions against Iran for at least 30 days while lawmakers review any final nuclear deal.