Despite Kerry plea for time, Senate to proceed with bill on Iran deal
US Secretary of State John Kerry is making a plea to lawmakers on Capitol Hill for more time before they move new legislation on Iran to a vote. But leadership in the Senate, on both sides of the aisle, still plan to proceed toward that vote this week, several senior congressional aides told The Jerusalem Post.
The Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015, written by Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman Bob Corker (R-Tennessee) and cosponsored with bipartisan support, was to be marked up in committee on Monday – the last step required before a bill proceeds to the floor of the chamber for debate.
Mark-up includes the amending of the original draft of the bill, and roughly 50 amendments have been proposed since it was first introduced several weeks ago. Democrats hope to build in leeway for US President Barack Obama in his negotiations with Tehran; Republicans seek to tighten the screws on Iran in the final hours of those negotiations.
In his briefings with lawmakers, Kerry hopes to influence that process at the eleventh hour after pressing for several delays on the legislation, as well as previous bills that dealt with the negotiations.
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