By now you’ve heard the news that the Obama Administration has reached a proposed agreement over Iran’s nuclear capabilities. I’ve spent the last few days reviewing the agreement, and it’s clear that what the administration announced falls far short of what they promised Congress and the American people.

The White House and the State Department have insisted for years that Iran does not have a right to enrich uranium. They have said that any lifting of sanctions would come with requiring Iran to acknowledge and dismantle their nuclear weapon program. However, this agreement fails to meet even those basic objectives, and Americans should be very disappointed that President Obama and Secretary Kerry abandoned their own goals to strike a deal with Iran.

Not surprisingly, we are now seeing an attempt to rewrite history. The president and his advisers are doing a full court press in an attempt to convince Congress and the public that this agreement is really what they wanted all along.

When CBS White House correspondent Major Garrett questioned the wisdom of agreeing to a deal with Iran while as many as four Americans remain held prisoner, President Obama berated him, saying “you should know better” than to ask such a thing. I think we can expect similar “Chicago shout-downs” to anyone who dares point out the serious shortcomings of their Iran deal.

It’s no secret that Iran is the world’s foremost state sponsor of terrorism. In fact, Iranian terror activities have resulted in the deaths of hundreds of American soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. And yet the proposed Obama deal provides sanctions relief to Iran which will put billions of dollars into the Iranian treasury to finance ongoing terror activities against the United States, Israel, and our allies. The deal also allows for time delays for the inspection of suspected Iranian nuclear facilities.

We cannot rely on President Obama’s hope that this Iranian regime will forgo its terrorist past or that it will not use inspection delays to cover up ongoing nuclear activity.

So, what happens now? Under the recently-enacted Iran Nuclear Agreement Act, Congress has the opportunity to vote down any agreement that is put forward. However, overriding the president’s promised veto would require strong bi-partisan support. Once the deal is officially submitted, Congress has 60 days to review it and render a judgment. We must use this time to inspect this agreement carefully and judge it based on what was promised to Congress and to the American people.

I believe my colleagues on both sides of the aisle must prepare to stand up and assert our authority to stop a potentially bad deal from going forward.

 

Martha Roby represents Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District. She is currently serving her third term.