Chris Coons: “first, I thank Senator Cardin for his gracious remarks and for his strong and capable leadership. I come to the floor…”

“first, I thank Senator Cardin for his gracious remarks and for his strong and capable leadership. I come to the floor today to speak about the Iranian nuclear negotiations and the need for Congress to play a constructive, meaningful role in reviewing any potential deal. This week, the full Senate will consider the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015 which would ensure that Congress has the ability to consider any nuclear deal with Iran before any congressionally enacted sanctions on Iran's nuclear program are rolled back. This bill will also ensure that Congress exercises its oversight over the implementation of any agreement through imposing rigorous reporting requirements and certifications on the administration. This bill passed the Foreign Relations Committee of the Senate unanimously after Senators Corker and Cardin--the chair and ranking member--worked tirelessly together to ensure that it would receive bipartisan support. They carefully negotiated a deal that defeated amendments that would have prevented the Obama administration from continuing to negotiate in good faith. In my view, it is a great testament to their leadership that we were able to come together on a bipartisan bill that passed the committee unanimously and that the President has now said he would sign. For the last 4 years, I have been hugely frustrated by the failure of Republicans and Democrats to come together in this Senate to pass legislation for the American people.…”