Senator Chuck Schumer is a cosponsor of a legislation that would require Congressional review of a nuclear deal. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

JNS.org – As the March 31 deadlines approaches for a political framework agreement in the nuclear talks between the P5+1 powers (a group that includes America) and Iran, US Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Thursday announced that he is adding his name to the list of cosponsors of legislation that would require Congressional review of a nuclear deal.

The Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015, sponsored by US Sens. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) and Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), stipulates that President Barack Obama must submit the text of a nuclear pact to Congress within five days of a deal being reached. The legislation also prohibits the president from suspending, waiving, or reducing Congressional sanctions against Iran for 60 days. Schumer had already publicly supported the Corker-Menendez oversight bill before officially announcing his cosponsorship on Thursday.

“We must do everything to prevent a nuclear Iran and so any potential agreement must prevent Iran’s ability to develop a nuclear weapon,” Schumer said in a statement. “Congress played a lead role in crafting the tough-and-effective sanctions regime that brought Iran to the table, and Congress should have a role on how those sanctions are altered in any final agreement with Iran. That’s why I strongly support this legislation, which will give Congress the ability to weigh in on any potential Iran deal. This issue is far too important—for the United States, for Israel, for the entire Middle East—for Congress not to have any ability to review a nuclear deal with Iran.”

According to the bill, after the 60-day Congressional review period, the president would be required to assess Iran’s compliance with the nuclear deal every 90 days. The legislation’s other cosponsors include Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), John McCain (R-Ariz.), Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Heidi Heitkamp (R-N.D.), Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.), Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), James Risch (R-Idaho), Angus King (I-Maine), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Ark.), Dean Heller (R-Nev.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), and Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), and Rand Paul (R-Ky.). The addition of Schumer brings the list of cosponsors to 20.