Dear Friends,

As Shabbat approaches I wanted to reach out over social media and ask you to make two important calls- one to Senator Menendez and the other to Senator Booker. The former is simply a call of thanks. The latter is a call to action. 

Some background:

 A number of news outlets are reporting that a framework agreement with Iran may be signed as early as this weekend. All indications are that serious concessions are being made by the P5+1 to the Iranian regime. These include weakening demands for inspections, potentially lifting all sanctions immediately, and allowing Iran to continue to operate the Fordow nuclear facility. (This is an underground, heavily fortified facility at a previously undisclosed location.) It is imperative that Congress play its historically mandated role and participate in the political process in order to ensure that any deal signed is indeed the “good deal” spoken of throughout this process. (A good deal is, of course, one that prevents Iran from having a pathway to a nuclear weapon.)

The Corker-Menendez legislation, explained below, is an important step toward that. Senator Menendez has authored and co-sponsored the legislation. Please call and thank him. Senator Booker has not yet committed to co-sponsor the legislation. Please call and urge him to do so. 

It is important to note that this is bipartisan legislation, authored by Sens. Bob Corker (R-TN), Robert Menendez (D-NJ), and cosponsored by 17 other Democratic and Republican senators. It supports a diplomatic solution but requires the President to submit any nuclear agreement with Iran to Congress and establishes a procedure for congressional review to ensure the right kind of deal. 

Thank you and Shabbat shalom. 

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Call (202) 224-4744
to contact Senator Menendez’s Office

Call (202) 224-3224
to contact Senator Booker’s Office

View Senate Cosponsors

Email
Senator Menendez

E-mail
Senator Booker

Info/Questions
[email protected]

Thank Senator Menendez and Urge Senator Booker to Cosponsor the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015 

 

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will be considering the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015 (S. 615) on Tuesday, April 14. A vote on the Senate floor could follow within days. 

This bipartisan legislation, authored by Sens. Bob Corker (R-TN), Robert Menendez (D-NJ), and cosponsored by 17 other Democratic and Republican senators requires the President to submit any nuclear agreement with Iran to Congress and establishes a procedure for congressional review.  Click here to view a summary of the bill. 

Please call and urge Senator Booker today to cosponsor this important legislation. 

Sample Phone Script for Senator Menendez:

“I am calling Senator Menendez to thank him for continuing to be a leader on the issues that matter most to the pro-Israel community. Being a lead sponsor on the Corker-Menendez legislation and asserting Congress’ historic role in foreign policy is critical at this moment, especially as we are hearing reports of disturbing concessions being made to the Iranians in these negotiations. We appreciate the Senator consistently voicing his concern that agreeing to a deal that accepts Iran as a nuclear threshold state by not closing off all of Iran’s pathways to a nuclear weapon for a very long time could be catastrophic for Israel, for the region and for the United States.”

Sample Phone Script for Senator Booker:

I am calling Senator Booker because I am concerned about reports on the very dangerous concessions we seem to be making in the Iranian negotiations. Agreeing to a deal that accepts Iran as a nuclear threshold state by not closing off all of Iran’s pathways to a nuclear weapon for a very long time could be catastrophic for Israel, for the region and for the United States. I want to urge the Senator to join Senator Menendez in cosponsoring the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015 known as Senate Bill 615, so that Congress can assert its historic role in foreign policy by reviewing any agreement, and voting to approve or disapprove any deal negotiated with Iran.”

 

Talking Points

  • The Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015 establishes a procedure for congressional review if there is a nuclear agreement with Iran. Under its provisions, Congress could pass a joint resolution (subject to presidential veto) to prevent relieving Iran from any sanctions Congress has imposed. 
  • We respect the president and his negotiating team. However, we are concerned by reports that the United States and its P5+1 partners are abandoning crucial positions previously taken by Congress and the administration. These positions demanded significant dismantlement of Iran’s nuclear infrastructure such that Tehran has no uranium or plutonium pathway to a nuclear weapon, as well as intrusive, anywhere, anytime inspections.
  • Additionally, we are concerned that negotiators may accept an agreement containing some restrictions lasting only 10 or 15 years. If so, at the end of that time, Iran’s nuclear program would face only limited constraints. Iran would be free to install an unlimited number of centrifuges, allowing it to produce weapons grade uranium in a matter of days.
  • Finally, a bad deal could spur Iran’s neighbors to begin their own nuclear programs to match Tehran’s. This would launch a nuclear arms race in the world’s most unstable region and threaten the global non-proliferation regime. In this case, a bad deal would truly be worse than no deal at all.