WASHINGTON, D.C. (WSAU) — One of Wisconsin’s U.S. Senators had praise for visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech Wednesday. Republican Ron Johnson said the Prime Minister’s comments were “extraordinary,” citing the way Netanyahu simply “laid out the reality of the situation.”
Johnson says, “You know, everybody’s always said we can’t allow Iran to get a nuclear weapon, and yet the Prime Minister said this agreement doesn’t stop Iran from getting a nuclear weapon, this paves the way for Iran to get a nuclear weapon, so it is a bad deal. It has to be stopped.”
There are treaties, that require two-thirds approval of the Senate, and there are executive agreements that Presidents can do without Congress. Johnson is concerned about how the United States can end up with an executive agreement on an issue as serious as a nuclear Iran. He would like quick action to ensure Congress has a say in these agreements. “The number one thing we must do is, we must pass a bill that will give Congress the right to say yes or no to this deal, I mean, we simply cannot trust President Obama to be the only American to decide whether this is a good deal for America.”
Senator Johnson believes it’s not only wise for Congress to be involved in the Iran deal, he says right now, Iran’s governing body is not excluded from the process like Congress is. “The Iranian Parliament is going to have a chance to weigh in and say yes or no on a deal. Don’t you think the American Congress should?”
So far, there’s no word on when or if legislation will be introduced to force the Obama administration to include Congress. Even if introduced, it may be too late to stop the deal President Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry are working on.