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House Conservatives Have A Plan To Destroy Obama’s Iran Deal- But One Republican Is In Their Way
Members of the conservative “House Freedom Caucus” have a plan to block a vote on the Iranian nuclear deal, but House Speaker John Boehner may be more interested in a “play fight” vote instead.
Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., who bucked leadership last spring in a rule vote regarding “Obamatrade,” is one of the caucus members leading the fight.
The caucus’ plan centers on the language of the Corker-Cardin law, which passed in the spring and established the terms whereby the Iranian nuclear deal would be considered by Congress.
Under those terms, both chambers have the opportunity for an up or down vote concerning the deal. However, one condition is knowing exactly what the deal is, a condition Meadows and others argue has not been met by the Obama administration due to the various “side deals” that have been negotiated by the International Atomic Energy Agency.
“I think the plan is just to say that there’s a law on Corker-Cardin, it hasn’t been followed, we can’t ignore it, so to continue on with a vote in light of the administration not adhering to the law would be erroneous and really usurp the authority of Congress,” Meadows told Roll Call.
Before there is an actual substantive vote on the deal, there is a procedural rule vote. That is when the House Freedom Caucus wants to make a stand.
Roll Call reports that a House Freedom Caucus member, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the group “did not come to an official position on voting down the rule for the Iran nuclear resolution, [but] he believes HFC members would band together to do so if leadership does not heed member advice during Wednesday morning’s weekly conference meeting.”
“[E]ven if conservatives band together to vote against the procedural legislation that simply brings the disapproval resolution to the floor, Democrats could bail out House leaders by voting for the rule, as they did on the rule for Trade Promotion Authority earlier this year. Or Democrats could simply do nothing and let the administration assert that they’ve complied with the Corker language,” according to Roll Call.
Andrew McCarthy, writing for National Review, argues that the GOP leadership may really be more interested in a “play-fight” regarding the deal than forcefully opposing it by stating the terms of Corker-Cardin have not been met. “Sadly, in another iteration of the anger that is the wind beneath Donald Trump’s wings, many readers insist that GOP leadership has no intention to block Obama on Iran. If that is so, it is passing strange. The national-security threat here is grave. Plus, how much credibility can Republicans have (maybe I should just end the sentence there) in complaining about Obama’s disregard of federal law if they won’t even follow the law they themselves enacted just four months ago?”
If the terms per Corker-Cardin are accepted as being met by the administration, then Congress has until Sept. 17 to act.
Some lawmakers have argued that Corker-Cardin is unconstitutional because it removes treaty approval authority from the Senate. The Constitution requires a two-thirds vote by the body to approve a treaty, a threshold that almost certainly will not be achieved given Republican opposition.
Rep. Louis Gohmert. R-Texas, introduced legislation on Wednesday in the House to declare the Iranian nuclear deal a treaty. “If Republican leaders in the House and Senate follow the Corker scenario, while knowing fully that is it does not apply, then the foolish cowardice of Neville Chamberlain in 1938 will pale by comparison,” Gohmert told Breitbart.
The House vote on the Iranian deal is expected either Thursday or Friday, the 14th anniversary of 9-11.
h/t: Breitbart
This post originally appeared on Western Journalism – Equipping You With The Truth
Source: http://www.westernjournalism.com/house-conservatives-have-a-plan-to-destroy-obamas-iran-deal-but-one-republican-is-in-their-way/
