April 23, 2015

Legislative Notice: S. 615 – Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act


Noteworthy

Floor Situation: This afternoon the Senate will agree to the motion to proceed to H.R. 1191, the First Responders Bill. Following that, Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Corker will be recognized to offer a substitute amendment, which is the text of S. 615, the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act. The bill was reported out of committee by a vote of 19-0.

Executive Summary: President Obama has announced a prelude to a framework to continue negotiating a final agreement over Iran’s illicit nuclear program. The parties have set a deadline of June 30 for completing this negotiation. This bill provides a procedural mechanism for congressional review of any final agreement.

The bill requires the president to transmit to Congress any final agreement and provides that it shall sit before Congress for a review period. During that time, the president may not provide any further sanctions relief to Iran, unless a joint resolution approving the agreement is enacted. After the review period, sanctions relief may only be given if a joint resolution disapproving of the agreement has not become law.

The bill goes on to require the president to make certain certifications every 90 days, and provides for the expedited consideration of legislation reinstating sanctions if the president cannot make those certifications or determines Iran has materially breached the agreement.


Overview of the Issue

In November 2013, President Obama announced an interim agreement related to Iran’s illicit nuclear program. The United States would suspend enforcing certain sanctions, in exchange for Iran slowing certain aspects of its illicit nuclear program. This was to give room for a final, comprehensive agreement to be negotiated within a year.

That interim agreement has been repeatedly extended. In congressional testimony at the beginning of this year, the deputy secretary of state described the timeline the parties currently consider themselves under. He said, the “goal is to conclude the major elements of the deal by the end of March and then to complete the technical details by June.” That goal was not met by the preliminary deal announced in early April. Secretary of State Kerry conceded in his announcement press conference that there were issues other than technical details that “still have to be resolved.”

Considerations on the Bill

As introduced, the bill provided a 60-day review period, but that has been shortened to a baseline of 30 days. The Foreign Relations Committee has multiple requests for information from the administration that have been outstanding for more than 30 days. The Obama administration took well more than 60 days to respond to questions about the New START arms control treaty.

As introduced, the bill required the president to certify Iran has not directly supported an act of terrorism against the United States or a U.S. person anywhere in the world. That requirement has been removed, and has become part of the reporting requirements of the bill.

Notable Bill Provisions

Section 2 – Congressional Review and Oversight of Iran Nuclear Program Agreement

The bill adds a new section 135 to the Atomic Energy Act. It provides for the review of any final agreement completed regarding Iran’s nuclear program. It is modeled after the congressional review process for nuclear cooperation agreements completed under the Atomic Energy Act.

First, the section requires the president to transmit the agreement to Congress within five days of its completion, along with a verification report by the Secretary of State. As part of this transmission, the president must also certify, among other things, Iran’s nuclear activities permitted under the agreement will not be used to further any military purpose, including any research and development of a military purpose. The verification report is to assess the ability of the Secretary of State to verify Iran is complying with the agreement. It is also to assess the adequacy of the regime contained in the agreement to ensure that Iran’s activities permitted under it will not be used to further any military purpose.

The bill provides that the agreement shall have a 30-day review period, during which time the president may not waive, suspend, or otherwise provide Iran relief from sanctions. The review period shall be increased to 60 days if all materials are not transmitted to Congress by July 9. This waiver prohibition does not apply to any waiver made more than 45 days before the agreement and its accompanying documents are given to Congress.

Sanctions relief may be given during the period of review if a joint resolution approving of the final agreement is enacted. Relief may be given after the period of review if Congress does not disapprove of the final agreement. It may not be given during the review period if a joint resolution disapproving of the final agreement becomes law. The prohibition on sanctions relief is then extended for an additional 12 days if Congress sends to the president a joint resolution of disapproval of the final agreement. It would then be extended another 10 days if the president vetoes such a resolution of disapproval.

Section 2 goes on to outline specific congressional oversight mechanisms regarding Iran’s compliance with any agreement. It requires the president to submit any credible and accurate information relating to a potentially significant breach or compliance incident by Iran within 10 days of receiving it. Within 10 days of submitting that information, the president must determine whether this constitutes a material breach of the agreement by Iran, and report on what Iranian actions are necessary to cure the breach.

It requires a semi-annual report on Iran’s compliance with any final agreement, along many lines. These include any delay of inspector access, centrifuge research and development that may substantially enhance Iranian enrichment capacity if deployed, and covert nuclear activities. This report is also to assess whether Iran supported acts of terrorism, along with Iran’s systematic human rights violations.

After the review period passes, the president shall determine every 90 days whether he is able to certify Iran is implementing the agreement and has not committed a material breach of it. Material breach is defined as any breach of the agreement that substantially benefits Iran’s nuclear program, decreases the amount of time required by Iran to achieve a nuclear weapon, or undermines the agreement’s purposes.

If the president cannot make the certification required or has otherwise determined Iran has materially breached the agreement, the section provides for the expedited consideration of a bill reinstating sanctions.

Administration Position

The administration had threatened to veto this bill. After the review timeline and certification requirements were changed, the administration indicated that the president would sign it.

Cost

There is no official cost estimate for this bill, although it does not appear there would be a cost associated with it.

Amendments

The amendment situation is unclear at this time, although an open amendment process is expected.