US House to vote on Iran nuclear bill

The US House is poised to overwhelmingly approve a bill that would allow Congress to review and potentially reject a nuclear deal with Iran that’s still being negotiated by the US and its partners.

If approved and signed by President Barack Obama, the legislation would give Congress a say on what could be a significant international accord aimed at getting Iran to curb its nuclear program in exchange for relief from economic sanctions.

Obama initially threatened to veto the bill, but then said he’d sign it if it was not changed from the bipartisan version that the Senate backed 98-1.

The legislation would bar Obama from waiving congressional sanctions for at least 30 days while lawmakers examine any final deal. The bill would stipulate that if senators disapprove of the deal, Obama would lose his current power to waive certain economic penalties Congress has imposed on Iran.

The bill would require Congress to pass a resolution of disapproval to reject the deal, an action that Obama almost certainly would veto. Congress then would have to muster votes from two-thirds of each chamber to override the veto.

— AP