WHY JUSTIN AMASH OPPOSES THE IRAN DEAL

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Patterico:

9/10/2015

Why Justin Amash Opposes the Iran Deal

Filed under: General — Patterico @ 7:51 am

 

Justin Amash, a libertarian Republican who explains all his votes on Facebook, has a lengthy set of reasons for his opposition to the Iran deal. He first objects to its violating the Treaty Clause, which is a familiar argument that I will not quote. He then goes on to say:

 

Even if we accept this dubious claim, there is a second constitutional defect that compels me to reject the nuclear deal. Under the Take Care Clause (Art. II, Sec. 3, Cl. 5), the president must “take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed.” As I discuss below, the president clearly fails to fulfill this obligation.

 

In May, both houses of Congress passed, and the president signed into law, H.R. 1191, the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015 (Review Act). The Review Act provides a process for congressional oversight of any nuclear deal, so that Congress can determine whether the nuclear-related sanctions Congress has imposed on Iran should be lifted. I have supported sanctions on Iran directed at preventing the country from obtaining or using a nuclear weapon (in contrast to sanctions targeting non-nuclear-related civilian activities), and it’s likely that negotiations would not have taken place had those sanctions not been enacted.

 

I saw Ted Cruz making the same argument last night on TV.

 

I guess if you think that elected officials get to define their own duties any way they see fit, Obama is off the hook. Otherwise, it seems that Rep. Amash has a valid set of objections.

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