Protecting Volunteer Firefighters and Emergency Responders Act

Floor Speech

Mr. COONS. Madam President, 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. The Republicans are now in the
majority and have a chance to move past obstructionism and into
leadership and to show that in this Senate, we have an opportunity to
pass a bill, that this Senate plays a constructive role in protecting
the national interests of the United States.

Leader McConnell said that he wants a functioning Senate, that he
wants regular order, that he wants the Senate to play its rightful role
in foreign affairs. Well, here is the chance.

Let's review what has happened with this piece of legislation. The
Republican chair of the Foreign Relations Committee--working well with
his Democratic counterpart--crafted this bipartisan bill. Today, it has
44 Republican cosponsors. It passed the committee, which fully and
thoroughly debated the bill and many potential amendments. A committee
with views as broad as Republican Senators Johnson and Rubio and Paul
to Democratic Senators Boxer and Murphy--a very broad range of views on
our foreign policy--came together to pass this bill
unanimously. If that is not regular order, I don't know what is.

If Senator McConnell wants a functioning Senate, I believe we should
respect the committee process that Chairman Corker and Ranking Member
Cardin led to achieve this compromise. This bill gives Leader McConnell
exactly the opportunity he wants to ensure that this Senate exercises
its role in protecting America's national interest.

I particularly like what my Republican colleague from South Carolina,
Senator Lindsey Graham, said recently:

Anybody who monkeys with this bill is going to run into a
buzz saw. Anybody who offers an amendment that will break
this agreement apart . . . the beneficiary will be the
Iranians.

That is why I stand here today to urge my colleagues to avoid
attaching poison-pill amendments that are outside the scope of the
current ongoing negotiations and pass this bill as currently passed out
of the Foreign Relations Committee and as currently supported by a
majority of Senate Republicans.

Over the last few years, Iran has responded to congressionally
enacted sanctions by finally coming to the negotiating table to discuss
and deal with its illicit nuclear weapons program. The Obama
administration and the other P5 + 1 countries have been engaged in
difficult, demanding negotiations with the Iranian theocratic regime.
After a few extensions that have effectively frozen and in some ways
rolled back certain parts of Iran's illicit nuclear program, the
administration is in the final phases of their negotiations. Earlier
their month, the President released the parameters of a potential deal,
with the technical details and a few remaining critical gaps to be
finalized possibly by the end of June.

This bill is not a referendum on the President's decision to pursue a
path of diplomacy with Iran. This bill is not a referendum on the
parameters announced on April 2. The bill before us this week has a
simple, clear goal: It is about creating an orderly process that allows
Congress to review any deal. As negotiations come to an end, it would
ensure that Congress can play a constructive role after an agreement is
reached by considering whether the deal is strong enough to warrant
rolling back congressionally enacted sanctions. Yet, some--a few of my
colleagues have insisted on making this bill a partisan exercise rather
than keeping it the responsible, bipartisan measure that is before us
now.

This bill is not about debating the merits of an ultimate deal now.
We will have that chance when or if a deal is reached over the summer.
It is not about, I hope, killing the negotiations before they have a
chance to conclude. This bill is not about creating a list of
complaints about Iran's destructive behavior in areas outside of its
nuclear program. It could and should pass now, in its current form,
without amendment.

I believe I have been as outspoken as anybody about Iran's
destructive behavior, but I am troubled by some of the amendments being
offered to make Iran's human rights record, its support for terrorism,
and its relationship with Israel a part of these negotiations. Yes,
Iran's human rights record is atrocious. Its support for terrorism
threatens the stability of its neighbors and has taken countless
innocent lives. Its continued threatening of Israel and its
unwillingness to recognize the right of the Jewish State of Israel to
exist is cowardly, dangerous, and just plain wrong. Iran must release
the four Americans it currently holds hostage. I think everyone in this
body would agree these are legitimate concerns for our consideration.
Yet, the truth remains that they are outside the scope of the current
negotiations around Iran's nuclear program. Congress must resist the
temptation to make them a sticking point in those negotiations by
including them as amendments to this bill.

Let's be clear. There are already congressionally enacted sanctions
on Iran for its behavior in these areas. The deal's parameters, as
published April 2, said that ``U.S. sanctions on Iran for terrorism,
human rights abuses, and ballistic missiles will remain in place under
the deal.'' No one is talking about removing those sanctions. The
negotiations are about Iran's illicit nuclear weapons program and the
critical importance of preventing Iran from ever building a nuclear
weapon.

I have long believed a nuclear-armed Iran would pose a grave threat
to the region, to Israel, and to the world. The nuclear arms race it
would set off throughout the Middle East would have horrible
consequences for global security. That is why throughout the
negotiating process I have remained adamant that no deal is better than
a bad deal, and I have closely consulted with the administration on
that point as well as many others. I have met with senior
administration officials to discuss these recently announced parameters
and have been clear that I remain concerned about closing the remaining
gaps and the need to maintain pressure on the Iranian regime to close
any pathway to their development of a nuclear weapon capability.

I support this bill as it is. It is responsible and focused on the
issue at hand. It ensures that Congress gets to weigh in if a deal is
reached, and it strengthens this administration's ability to negotiate
the best deal it possibly can.

Every Republican in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted for
this bill, all 10 of them--from Senator Rand Paul and Senator Rubio to
Senator Johnson and Senator Barrasso. All nine Democrats on the Senate
Foreign Relations Committee supported this bill. All 19 Senators on
this Foreign Relations Committee represent as wide a range of foreign
policy views as could exist. So I urge my colleagues on both sides to
pause and reflect before supporting amendments that would make this a
partisan exercise rather than a prudent use of congressional authority.
If we want Congress to play a responsible role overseeing any potential
deal, this bill gives us that chance. The alternative to this bill is
not a better bill; it is a deal without any meaningful congressional
input.

I have been as critical of Iran and distrusting of its intentions as
anyone in this body, but if unrelated amendments become attached to
this bill, I will not support its final passage.

Because of the great leadership of these two Senators, we have here a
rare moment for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the Senate
as a whole to demonstrate our ability to move past what have been
divisive and partisan fights over the last 4 years and come together
and enact into law a measure that demonstrates our ability to give
constructive, timely input on one of the most important national
security challenges of our day and to restrain our sometimes extreme
and divisive instincts in this body and instead demonstrate our ability
to overcome those instincts and show our relevance. Let's not miss this
opportunity to work together in the best interests of our Nation.

I yield the floor.

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