Iran Policy Oversight Act of 2015

S.2119
Introduced: 
October 1, 2015
114
First
October 1, 2015
Referred to Senate (sub)committee

After almost a month of negotiations with fellow Democrats and the Obama administration, Cardin introduced this bill on 10/1 to set an official policy for all future dealings with Iran regarding the 7/14 deal, interpret a number of the deal’s provisions regarding sanctions relief, and establish a series of congressional oversight procedures.

Regarding U.S. policy on Iran’s nuclear program, the bill stated that Iran had no inherent right to uranium enrichment, Iran should be deterred from ‘destabilizing regional activity,’ and that the military option should remain available to prevent Iran from achieving a nuclear weapons capability. Furthermore, the bill would enable the U.S. to enforce any violations of the 7/14 deal using a range of national and multilateral tools, including alliances with the European parties to the deal.

In terms of oversight, the administration would be required, every 2 years, to submit to Congress a 10-year strategy for countering Iranian activities internationally. Required elements would include, inter alia, a summary and assessment of Iran’s support for the Syrian government, Hezbollah, Hamas, and various other groups; a summary of country-by-country plans for maintaining regional security; an assessment of Iran’s conventional forces and its chemical and biological weapons capabilities; a description of planned and current U.S. cooperative activities with allies in the region, including their impact on Israel’s qualitative military edge. The administration would also be required to deliver to Congress every 180 days a report on any Iranian research or development in contravention of the 7/14 deal, an assessment of Iran’s breakout time (i.e., the amount of time it would take for Iran to produce a nuclear weapon should it choose to defect from the deal), an assessment of the IAEA’s verification capacity and capability, and a description of any changes in Iranian funding of its Revolutionary Guards Corps and Quds Force, as well as Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Syrian government. The president would also be required to submit to Congress a detailed report on the IAEA’s final assessment of Iran’s past and present nuclear activities.

Regarding sanctions, the president would be required to notify the public and provide written justification prior to lifting any sanctions against Iranian persons accused of supporting missile programs or international terrorism, as well as Iranians who had committed human rights abuses. Also, the bill would establish an expedited legislative procedure for new sanctions on Iran, which would only be used if the president determined that Iran had ‘directed or conducted’ an act of terror against the U.S. or ‘substantially increased’ its support for an organization that threatened the U.S. or its allies.

The president would be required to appoint a special coordinator for the implementation of the 7/14 deal within the State Dept., and that person would be required to coordinate all activities relating to the deal with the Treasury and Energy Depts.

To ensure that verification of Iran’s adherence to the 7/14 deal could continue, the bill would authorize through 2026 an annual contribution to the IAEA and encourage the president to ensure that the IAEA annually received the necessary $10.6 m. for carrying out its duties specific to the deal. The president would be required to report to Congress every 180 days on efforts to ensure the IAEA’s continued funding and verification.

In addition to the provisions directly relating to the nuclear deal with Iran, the bill would also authorize the president to take all necessary steps to enhance Israel’s qualitative military edge and to enter into a new MoU with Israel providing annual military support through 2028.

13 cosponsors (13D).

Last major action: 10/1/15 referred to Senate Comm. on Foreign Relations.

More info

For more information, Click Here to visit this measure’s page at congress.gov.

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