Poison Pill Amendments Threaten Prospects of Iran Bill
“Sens. Tom Cotton and Marco Rubio used a hardball procedural tactic on Thursday to force contentious votes on a bill allowing congressional review of a nuclear deal with Iran, a move that jeopardizes the measure’s future,” according to Politico .
“After being blocked by Democrats for several days, Cotton (R-Ark.) and Rubio (R-Fla.) used a parliamentary procedure to try to compel votes on amendments that would make Iran relinquish its nuclear facilities before getting economic sanctions relief and require that Iran recognize Israel’s statehood as a condition of any nuclear deal.”
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) “and his deputies have taken a hands-off approach and delegated much of the floor management to Corker and Cardin, but a number of GOP lawmakers, including presidential contenders like Rubio, have battled for votes on provisions that could unravel the coalition backing the bill if they were adopted.”
“On Wednesday evening, the Senate killed a proposal from Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) that would require that President Barack Obama certify that Iran is not sponsoring terrorism against Americans.”