On the recordJuly 13, 2015
We may be hours away from a deal with Iran. The question before us is not is it a good deal or is it a bad deal or what should the executive branch of government do. The question before us is what should Congress do if we have a President who has signed the deal. We don't know precisely what is in the deal. But we do know that it has advantages and disadvantages in the first year because it causes the vast majority of Iranian stockpile of enriched uranium and the majority of their centrifuges to be taken off the table. The disadvantage is it provides the Iranian Government with access to $120 billion plus of its own money. We do know that, in the next decade, the deal will be unacceptable because next decade Iran will be able to have massive enrichment facilities. So the question before Congress is, first, how do we prevent this deal from being morally binding on the American people next decade with that administration and that Congress. And then the tougher issue is whether we want to forfeit the advantages, knowing there are disadvantages, of what the deal does in its first year. It is this kind of analysis, not partisans screaming about is it a good deal, is it a bad deal, that should guide us in the future. ____________________
