U.S. Sen. Bob Corker speaks during a meeting with Times Free Press editors.
Corker hits Obama veto threat on Iran bill
Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker has responded to President Barack Obama’s veto threat against his bipartisan bill requiring congressional review of any comprehensive nuclear agreement with Iran.
“It is disappointing that the president feels he is the only one who speaks for the citizens of our country,” said Corker, R-Tenn. “Congress put these sanctions in place and helped bring Iran to the table with the administration working against the effort the whole way. As a result, Congress should decide whether a final nuclear deal with Iran is appropriate enough to have the congressionally mandated sanctions removed.”
Corker and Sens. Robert Menendez, D-N.J.; Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.; and Tim Kaine, D-Va., introduced the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015 on Friday. The bill mandates the president submit the text of any agreement to Congress and prohibits the administration from suspending congressional sanctions for 60 days. During that period, Congress would have the opportunity to hold hearings and approve, disapprove or take no action on the agreement.
Alexander votes for DHS funds
U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander said he voted Thursday for a bill to stop Obama’s “illegal executive amnesty” that would grant temporary legal status and work permits to up to 5 million undocumented immigrants. But he also voted to fund the Department of Homeland Security through Sept. 30, the end of the fiscal year.
Some Republicans had tried to block DHS funding to pressure Obama to stop his immigration actions.
Alexander, R-Tenn., said he voted against “amnesty” because “our Founders did not want a king, and the American people don’t want a president who acts like one.”
He added, “I also voted to fund the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which is critical to the defense of our country — both to securing the border and in the fight against terrorism.”
Brooks also opposes Obama on immigration
U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Ala., said on MSNBC on Saturday that the House “should have voted on the Senate bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security. If it passed, if that was the will of the majority of the members of the House of Representatives, then so be it, they can defend those votes back home.
“If it didn’t pass, if perhaps the position I have — protecting American workers from job losses and wage suppression by this huge surge of illegal alien labor that is illegally and unconstitutionally being advocated by the President of the United States — if that position passed, then we would be in a stronger position of forcing the Democrats in the United States Senate to reconsider whether they really want to shut down the Department of Homeland Security in order to help illegal aliens take more jobs and wages from American citizens.”
“Let’s have an up or down vote and let the majority decide what is in the best interest of the American people. Keep in mind we’re caught in a catch-22. All of us want to fund the Department of Homeland Security. The issue is — are we going to support illegal and unconstitutional conduct, which at the same time has the effect of taking jobs from American citizens, undermining wages of American workers, and putting illegal aliens on a pedestal superior to that of American citizens? That’s what the real disagreement is about.”
Mullis gives weekly update
Georgia State Sen. Jeff Mullis’ weekly update from the Gold Dome in Atlanta noted a week cut short by bad weather, but said some work got done.
* The Senate unanimously passed Senate Bill 95. Currently, real estate brokers are only allowed to accept funds from designated escrow accounts, which must be a federally insured bank checking account. SB 95 amends Georgia law to allow any FDIC insured account, including money market and savings accounts, to be used during a real estate transaction. SB 95 now goes to the House for consideration.
* Senate Bill 34, related to people who enter a parked vehicle to remove someone in imminent danger, passed 50-2. The bill amends Georgia’s “Good Samaritan” law, which protects people rendering emergency care from liability for property damage or injury. The amendment is aimed at protecting those who rescue children left alone in vehicles.
* Senate Bill 94 passed 53-0 and requires law enforcement agencies to adopt new policies regarding the identification of witnesses in a physical or photo lineup before July 1, 2016.
* Senate Bill 88, which authorizes employers to pay employee wages and salaries by a prepaid debit card from which funds may be withdrawn or transferred, passed 43-8.