WASHINGTON, D.C. – House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) today issued the following statement regarding recent reports suggesting the Obama Administration will not seek Congressional approval for a nuclear deal with Iran.
“In less than a month, the Iran nuclear negotiations will end. As a state sponsor of terrorism and gross violator of human rights, Iran must not be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon,” Rep. Scalise said. “However, it’s troubling that these negotiations do not address Iran’s ballistic missile program and any agreement could sunset within the decade.
“With this in mind, I’m very concerned by the reports that the Obama Administration is looking to avoid Congressional approval for any deal with Iran and would unilaterally roll back sanctions. There is significant bipartisan support from Congress to ensure that Iran will not attain a nuclear weapons capability. I urge the president to work directly with Members of Congress to ensure that any deal will have strong bipartisan support and represent the national security interests of America.
“Congress has repeatedly passed additional sanctions against Iran to disrupt its nuclear program and only Congress can repeal the sanctions. Last December, I introduced H.Res. 431, a bipartisan resolution that calls on the Senate to pass H.R. 850, the Nuclear Iran Prevention Act. H.R. 850 overwhelmingly passed the U.S. House of Representatives 400-20-1. I believe if these sanctions had been implemented, the Administration would have had stronger leverage in the ongoing negotiations.
“The president must consult with Congress over the next few weeks, not force a deal that will be unacceptable to the vast majority of Republicans and Democrats in Congress. The president cannot grant concessions that simply delay Iran’s nuclear breakout time while circumventing Congress. Such a bad deal with Iran will continue to threaten our national security, the security of Israel, and further destabilize the region.”