Kaine confident Iran review bill will pass

There's likely to be some political posturing over an Iran nuclear agreement as the Senate considers giving Congress review authority this week, but Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., is confident the measure won't be derailed.

Kaine has been a leader pushing for congressional oversight, despite his longtime support of President Barack Obama.

He's working closely with Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker, R-Tenn., and ranking Democrat Ben Cardin of Maryland on how to respond to any amendments to the measure — some of them likely to be hostile – that will come up in the days ahead.

If Corker and Cardin stand up together to favor, or oppose, an amendment, odds are that their view will carry the day, Kaine said.

So far, they're sounding like they're still together, he added. They're also coordinating on reviewing amendments, and in some cases making recommendations they believe will strengthen the bill, Kaine said. Amendment sponsors are often accepting those recommendations, too, Kaine added,

Kaine is part of an inner circle of senators preparing to carry the bulk of the debate for the bill, which says the president must submit any agreement to Congress within five days for review and that the president can't suspend any of the sanctions Congress has imposed on Iran for 30 days to give Congress time to consider it.

The bill gives Congress the power to disapprove any agreement – if, that is, it can summon a large enough vote to override any presidential veto. It also requires regular reporting on how well Iran is complying with terms of the agreement.

"It means we have rules and a deliberate process to consider this, instead of a free-for-all," Kaine said.

While there are plenty of "poison pill" amendments floating around, and likely plenty of political posturing in the debate, Kaine's sense is that a majority of the Senate will approve the bill.

"I'm a little bit of a fanatic, as you know, that the president has powers under Article 2 (of the Constitution) that he should use fully and that Congress has authority under Article 1 that it should use," Kaine said.

Article 2 says the president is commander in chief and is the nation's chief executive. Article 1 says Congress makes laws. In the case of Iran, since Congress enacted many of the sanctions imposed on Iran, Congress needs to have a say if any are to be lifted, Kaine says.

Debate started Tuesday. Kaine expects the Senate to vote on the full measure by the end of this week.

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