II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 669 

To provide for consideration of legislation to respond to a violation by Iran 

of an arrangement relating to its nuclear program, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 4, 2015 

Mrs. BOXER (for herself, Mr. SCHATZ, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. CARPER, Mr. 

HEINRICH, Mr. BROWN, and Mr. FRANKEN) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

To provide for consideration of legislation to respond to 

a violation by Iran of an arrangement relating to its 

nuclear program, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Iran Congressional 

5 Oversight Act of 2015’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) JOINT PLAN OF ACTION.—The term ‘‘Joint 

9 Plan of Action’’— 


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1 (A) means the Joint Plan of Action, signed 

2 at Geneva November 24, 2013, by Iran and the 

3 P5-plus-1 countries; and 

4 (B) includes all implementing materials 

5 and agreements related to the Joint Plan of Ac6 tion, including the technical understandings 

7 reached on January 12, 2014, the extension 

8 agreed to on July 19, 2014, and the extension 

9 agreed to on November 24, 2014. 

10 (2) P5-PLUS-1 COUNTRIES.—The term ‘‘P5- 

11 plus-1 countries’’ means the United States, France, 

12 the Russian Federation, the People’s Republic of 

13 China, the United Kingdom, and Germany. 

14 SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 

15 Congress makes the following findings: 

16 (1) The acquisition of a nuclear weapon by the 

17 Islamic Republic of Iran would pose a grave and se18 rious threat to international peace and security, in19 cluding the national security of the United States 

20 and its allies. 

21 (2) The United States has led the international 

22 community in imposing unprecedented and crippling 

23 sanctions with respect to the nuclear program of 

24 Iran, which have helped to persuade the leadership 

25 of Iran to return to the negotiating table. 


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1 (3) On November 24, 2013, Iran and the P5- 

2 plus-1 countries, made up of the 5 permanent mem3 bers of the United Nations Security Council and 

4 Germany, entered into the Joint Plan of Action in 

5 order to establish verifiable limits on the nuclear ac6 tivities of Iran that are of greatest concern with re7 spect to proliferation and to facilitate negotiations 

8 toward a final comprehensive arrangement that 

9 would prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weap10 on. 

11 (4) On November 24, 2014, the P5-plus-1 

12 countries and Iran extended the Joint Plan of Ac13 tion to allow negotiations to continue with the goal 

14 of achieving a political framework arrangement by 

15 the end of March 2015, and full technical details by 

16 July 1, 2015. 

17 (5) Under the Joint Plan of Action, the Govern18 ment of Iran has, among other steps, ceased enrich19 ment of uranium to near-20 percent fissile U-235, 

20 neutralized its stockpile of 20-percent enriched ura21 nium gas, halted major construction on its heavy 

22 water reactor at Arak, halted the installation of ad23 ditional centrifuges and not operated its more ad24 vanced centrifuge machines to accumulate enriched 

25 uranium, allowed more frequent and intrusive inVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:14 Mar 12, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S669.IS S669

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1 spections by the International Atomic Energy Agen2 cy, and allowed managed access to centrifuge pro3 duction-related facilities and uranium mines and 

4 mills. 

5 (6) The International Atomic Energy Agency 

6 has reported, including in a January 20, 2015, re7 port, that Iran has complied with its obligations 

8 under the Joint Plan of Action. 

9 (7) Iran has a history of deceit when it comes 

10 to its nuclear program and any final comprehensive 

11 arrangement must be airtight and verifiable to en12 sure that Iran will live up to its commitments. 

13 (8) The United States reserves the option to 

14 impose or reimpose certain sanctions in the event 

15 that Iran violates the Joint Plan of Action or any 

16 successor arrangement agreed to by the P5-plus-1 

17 countries and Iran. 

18 (9) In his State of the Union address on Janu19 ary 20, 2015, President Barack Obama said, ‘‘[We 

20 have a chance to negotiate a comprehensive agree21 ment that prevents a nuclear-armed Iran, secures 

22 America and our allies—including Israel, while 

23 avoiding yet another Middle East conflict. There are 

24 no guarantees that negotiations will succeed, and I 


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1 keep all options on the table to prevent a nuclear 

2 Iran.’’. 

3 SEC. 4. ASSESSMENTS OF COMPLIANCE OF IRAN WITH NU4 CLEAR ARRANGEMENTS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—During the period during which 

6 the Joint Plan of Action or a successor arrangement with 

7 Iran is in effect, the President shall submit to Congress 

8 not less frequently than once every 90 days a report as9 sessing the compliance of Iran with the Joint Plan of Ac10 tion or the successor arrangement, as the case may be. 

11 (b) DETERMINATIONS REQUIRED.—Each report re12 quired by subsection (a) with respect to the Joint Plan 

13 of Action or a successor arrangement shall include a deter14 mination by the President, made in consultation with the 

15 Director of National Intelligence, of the following: 

16 (1) Whether Iran has failed to fulfill the terms 

17 of the Joint Plan of Action or the successor arrange18 ment. 

19 (2) Whether Iran has attempted to circumvent 

20 inspections by the International Atomic Energy 

21 Agency or has otherwise attempted to circumvent 

22 enforcement of the Joint Plan of Action or the suc23 cessor arrangement. 

24 (3) Whether the International Atomic Energy 

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1 cused Iran of violating the Joint Plan of Action or 

2 the successor arrangement and, if so, whether the 

3 accusation is credible and whether Iran has been ap4 prised of the accusation. 

5 (c) CERTIFICATION REQUIRED.—The President shall 

6 submit, with each report required by subsection (a), an 

7 unclassified certification by the President, made in con8 sultation with the Director of National Intelligence, of 

9 whether Iran has complied with or violated the terms of 

10 the Joint Plan of Action or a successor arrangement. 

11 (d) FORM OF REPORTS.—Expect as provided in sub12 section (c), each report required by subsection (a) may be 

13 submitted in classified form or containing a classified 

14 annex, as appropriate. 

15 SEC. 5. EXPEDITED CONSIDERATION OF LEGISLATION TO 

16 REINSTATE WAIVED OR SUSPENDED SANC17 TIONS AFTER A VIOLATION OF A NUCLEAR 

18 ARRANGEMENT BY IRAN. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—If a report required by section 

20 4(a) is accompanied by a certification under section 4(c) 

21 by the President that Iran has violated the Joint Plan of 

22 Action or any successor arrangement, Congress may ini23 tiate expedited consideration of qualifying legislation pur24 suant to this section. 


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1 (b) QUALIFYING LEGISLATION DEFINED.—For the 

2 purposes of this section, the term ‘‘qualifying legislation’’ 

3 means only a bill of either House of Congress— 

4 (1) that is introduced not later than 3 calendar 

5 days after the date on which the report described in 

6 subsection (a) is received by Congress; 

7 (2) the title of which is as follows: ‘‘A bill rein8 stating sanctions imposed with respect to Iran and 

9 prohibiting the release of funds or assets to Iran.’’; 

10 and 

11 (3) the matter after the enacting clause of 

12 which is as follows: ‘‘All sanctions imposed with re13 spect to Iran that were waived or suspended pursu14 ant to the Joint Action Plan (as defined in section 

15 2 of the Iran Congressional Oversight Act of 2015) 

16 or a successor arrangement are reinstated and the 

17 release of funds or assets to Iran pursuant to the 

18 Joint Action Plan or a successor arrangement is 

19 prohibited.’’. 

20 (c) FAST TRACK CONSIDERATION IN HOUSE OF REP21 RESENTATIVES.— 

22 (1) RECONVENING.—Upon receipt of a report 

23 described in subsection (a), the Speaker of the 

24 House of Representatives, if the House would other25 wise be adjourned, shall notify the Members of the 


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1 House that, pursuant to this section, the House 

2 shall convene not later than the second calendar day 

3 after receipt of the report. 

4 (2) REPORTING AND DISCHARGE.—Any com5 mittee of the House of Representatives to which 

6 qualifying legislation is referred shall report it to the 

7 House not later than 5 calendar days after the date 

8 of receipt of the report described in subsection (a). 

9 If a committee fails to report the qualifying legisla10 tion within that period, the committee shall be dis11 charged from further consideration of the qualifying 

12 legislation and the qualifying legislation shall be re13 ferred to the appropriate calendar. 

14 (3) PROCEEDING TO CONSIDERATION.—After 

15 each committee authorized to consider qualifying 

16 legislation reports it to the House or has been dis17 charged from its consideration, it shall be in order, 

18 not later than the sixth day after Congress receives 

19 the report described in subsection (a), to move to 

20 proceed to consider the qualifying legislation in the 

21 House. All points of order against the motion are 

22 waived. Such a motion shall not be in order after the 

23 House has disposed of a motion to proceed on the 

24 qualifying legislation. The previous question shall be 

25 considered as ordered on the motion to its adoption 


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1 without intervening motion. The motion shall not be 

2 debatable. A motion to reconsider the vote by which 

3 the motion is disposed of shall not be in order. 

4 (4) CONSIDERATION.—The qualifying legisla5 tion shall be considered as read. All points of order 

6 against the qualifying legislation and against its con7 sideration are waived. The previous question shall be 

8 considered as ordered on the qualifying legislation to 

9 its passage without intervening motion except 2 

10 hours of debate equally divided and controlled by the 

11 proponent and an opponent. A motion to reconsider 

12 the vote on passage of the qualifying legislation shall 

13 not be in order. 

14 (d) FAST TRACK CONSIDERATION IN SENATE.— 

15 (1) RECONVENING.—Upon receipt of a report 

16 described in subsection (a), if the Senate has ad17 journed or recessed for more than 2 days, the major18 ity leader of the Senate, after consultation with the 

19 minority leader of the Senate, shall notify the Mem20 bers of the Senate that, pursuant to this section, the 

21 Senate shall convene not later than the second cal22 endar day after receipt of the report. 

23 (2) PLACEMENT ON CALENDAR.—Upon intro24 duction in the Senate, the qualifying legislation shall 

25 be placed immediately on the calendar. 


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1 (3) FLOOR CONSIDERATION.— 

2 (A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding Rule 

3 XXII of the Standing Rules of the Senate, it is 

4 in order at any time during the period begin5 ning on the fourth day after the date on which 

6 Congress receives a report described in sub7 section (a) and ending on the sixth day after 

8 the date on which Congress receives that report 

9 (even though a previous motion to the same ef10 fect has been disagreed to) to move to proceed 

11 to the consideration of the qualifying legisla12 tion, and all points of order against the quali13 fying legislation (and against consideration of 

14 the qualifying legislation) are waived. The mo15 tion to proceed is not debatable. The motion is 

16 not subject to a motion to postpone. A motion 

17 to reconsider the vote by which the motion is 

18 agreed to or disagreed to shall not be in order. 

19 If a motion to proceed to the consideration of 

20 the qualifying legislation is agreed to, the quali21 fying legislation shall remain the unfinished 

22 business until disposed of. 

23 (B) DEBATE.—Debate on the qualifying 

24 legislation, and on all debatable motions and 

25 appeals in connection therewith, shall be limited 


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1 to not more than 10 hours, which shall be di2 vided equally between the majority and minority 

3 leaders or their designees. A motion further to 

4 limit debate is in order and not debatable. An 

5 amendment to, or a motion to postpone, or a 

6 motion to proceed to the consideration of other 

7 business, or a motion to recommit the quali8 fying legislation is not in order. 

9 (C) VOTE ON PASSAGE.—The vote on pas10 sage shall occur immediately following the con11 clusion of the debate on the qualifying legisla12 tion, and a single quorum call at the conclusion 

13 of the debate if requested in accordance with 

14 the rules of the Senate. 

15 (D) RULINGS OF THE CHAIR ON PROCE16 DURE.—Appeals from the decisions of the Chair 

17 relating to the application of the rules of the 

18 Senate, as the case may be, to the procedure re19 lating to qualifying legislation shall be decided 

20 without debate. 

21 (e) RULES RELATING TO SENATE AND HOUSE OF

22 REPRESENTATIVES.— 

23 (1) COORDINATION WITH ACTION BY OTHER

24 HOUSE.—If, before the passage by one House of 

25 qualifying legislation of that House, that House reVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:14 Mar 12, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S669.IS S669

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1 ceives qualifying legislation from the other House, 

2 then the following procedures shall apply: 

3 (A) The qualifying legislation of the other 

4 House shall not be referred to a committee. 

5 (B) With respect to qualifying legislation 

6 of the House receiving the legislation— 

7 (i) the procedure in that House shall 

8 be the same as if no qualifying legislation 

9 had been received from the other House; 

10 but 

11 (ii) the vote on passage shall be on 

12 the qualifying legislation of the other 

13 House. 

14 (2) TREATMENT OF QUALIFYING LEGISLATION

15 OF OTHER HOUSE.—If one House fails to introduce 

16 or consider qualifying legislation under this section, 

17 the qualifying legislation of the other House shall be 

18 entitled to expedited floor procedures under this sec19 tion. 

20 (3) TREATMENT OF COMPANION MEASURES.— 

21 If, following passage of the qualifying legislation in 

22 the Senate, the Senate then receives the companion 

23 measure from the House of Representatives, the 

24 companion measure shall not be debatable. 


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1 (4) SUBSEQUENT MEASURES.—If qualifying 

2 legislation has been considered under this section in 

3 both Houses of Congress pursuant to a report de4 scribed in subsection (a), no further qualifying legis5 lation shall be in order until Congress receives a new 

6 report described in subsection (a). 

7 (f) VETOES.—If the President vetoes qualifying legis8 lation, debate on a veto message in the Senate under this 

9 section shall be 1 hour equally divided between the major10 ity and minority leaders or their designees. 

11 (g) RULES OF HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AND

12 SENATE.—This section and section 6 are enacted by Con13 gress— 

14 (1) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of 

15 the Senate and the House of Representatives, re16 spectively, and as such are deemed a part of the 

17 rules of each House, respectively, but applicable only 

18 with respect to the procedure to be followed in that 

19 House in the case of legislation described in those 

20 sections, and supersede other rules only to the ex21 tent that they are inconsistent with such rules; and 

22 (2) with full recognition of the constitutional 

23 right of either House to change the rules (so far as 

24 relating to the procedure of that House) at any time, 


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1 in the same manner, and to the same extent as in 

2 the case of any other rule of that House. 

3 SEC. 6. CONSIDERATION IN THE SENATE OF ADDITIONAL 

4 LEGISLATION TO FURTHER RESPOND TO A 

5 VIOLATION BY IRAN OF A NUCLEAR AR6 RANGEMENT. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding Rule XXII of 

8 the Standing Rules of the Senate, it is in order at any 

9 time during the 30-day period beginning on the date on 

10 which a report described in section 5(a) is received by Con11 gress (even though a previous motion to the same effect 

12 has been disagreed to) to move to proceed to the consider13 ation of legislation described in subsection (b), and all 

14 points of order against the legislation (and against consid15 eration of the legislation) are waived. The motion to pro16 ceed is not debatable. The motion is not subject to a mo17 tion to postpone. A motion to reconsider the vote by which 

18 the motion is agreed to or disagreed to shall not be in 

19 order. If a motion to proceed to the consideration of the 

20 legislation is agreed to, the legislation shall remain the un21 finished business until disposed of. 

22 (b) LEGISLATION DESCRIBED.—Legislation de23 scribed in this subsection is such legislation as the major24 ity leader of the Senate, after consultation with the minor25 ity leader, determines necessary to further respond to a 


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1 violation by Iran the Joint Plan of Action or any successor 

2 arrangement. 

3 SEC. 7. ROLE OF CONGRESS IN LIFTING CONGRESSION4 ALLY MANDATED SANCTIONS. 

5 If the United States is a party to a comprehensive 

6 long-term arrangement with Iran relating to its nuclear 

7 program under which the United States commits to lifting 

8 sanctions imposed pursuant to any provision of law in9 cluded in a duly enacted Act of Congress, that provision 

10 of law shall remain in effect until, consistent with section 

11 7 of article I of the Constitution of the United States and 

12 notwithstanding the arrangement, repealed by an Act of 

13 Congress or terminated pursuant to another provision of 

14 law. 

Æ 


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