The Biden administration has been attempting to revive the Iran nuclear deal over the last two years, but House Republicans are having none of it.
Now that the GOP has control of the House, it is able to put forth bills that aim to make a real difference as to what the White House can and can’t do. Now, the House GOP is doing its best to put a stop to the revival of those nuclear talks with Iran.
The Washington Free Beacon reported recently that the Republican Study Committee is going to roll out six different bills that it sponsored, all targeting Iran in some way. Those bills are set to be rolled out throughout this week, the Free Beacon wrote.
Some of the bills are set to target the leaders of Iran’s government, as well as its financial sector and military. In addition, the bills would seek to remove the authority that the Biden administration has to unilaterally lift any sanctions that are currently on Iran.
One of the measures that is being sponsored by Representative John James of Michigan would characterize any agreement that the Biden administration strikes with Iran as a formal treaty, which would then require Congress to approve it.
As James commented to the Free Beacon recently:
“Despite having bipartisan opposition in Congress and no support from our Israeli and Arab allies and partners, President [Joe] Biden has not fully shut the door on negotiating a flawed Iran nuclear deal.
“My legislation returns congressional accountability to the Iran nuclear negotiations and forces the administration to work with us to find a resolution to address Iran’s nuclear and malign activity.”
Another bill being sponsored by Representative Bryan Steil of Wisconsin would place a ban on the Biden administration lifting any sanctions regarding terrorism, unless it’s able to prove that the entity in question has stopped engaging in terrorist activities.
Yet another bill that’s being sponsored by Representative Cory Mills from Florida would shore up all sanctions that are currently on Mahan Air, an airline in Iran.
Representative Kevin Hern from Oklahoma, the chair of the RSC, confirmed to the Free Beacon that they will anoint Representative Joe Wilson from South Carolina as the chief negotiator with the Senate, which is led by Democrats. Wilson is also the author of one of the bills that’s coming out of the RSC.
Hern told the Free Beacon that this blitz of bills should serve as a warning sign to the Biden administration – and to President Biden himself – that members of the GOP have “not forgotten about the Biden administration’s continuing attempts to re-enter the Iran deal.”
The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action was signed during the Obama administration, when Biden was serving as vice president. The deal eased sanctions on Iran and provided the country with monetary incentives to move away from nuclear production.
The U.S. formally withdrew from that plan in May of 2018, under then-President Donald Trump. Biden has been working to reignite those talks in the first two years of his administration.
