Free Republic

Congress is considering whether to give President Obama the power to fast-track the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a sweeping international regulatory agreement the White House describes as "rules for the world's economy" — and the U.S. TPP regulates everything from the environment and energy (climate change, anyone?) to minimum wages, food and, most notably, immigration. If approved, the Trans-Pacific Partnership would have the force of a treaty. Its regulations would override U.S. law. With fast-track trade promotion authority (TPA), only a simple majority in both houses of Congress, not a two-thirds supermajority in the Senate, would be needed for approval. Congress could...

Wednesday on PBS “NewsHour,” Secretary of State John Kerry articulated the administration’s new position on Sen. Bob Corker’s (R-TN) bill demanding Congress get a vote on the merits of President Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran, in light of prominent Democrat Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) supporting the bill this week. Making it clear the bill can not “interfere” with the president’s deal, Kerry said “if it’s changed and adjusted and reflects the respect for the Constitution and the president’s prerogatives,” then Congress can vote.

""Reporter says John Kerry answered ‘Allah willing’ – in Arabic- when asked if nuke deal would happen"" Secretary of State John Kerry allegedly responded in a most unusual way to a reporter’s question Friday whether a nuclear arms deal could be reached with Iran before the March 31 deadline. “Allah willing,” Kerry replied — in Arabic, according to Laura Rozen, a reporter covering the Iran nuclear talks in Lausanne, Switzerland, for the Washington, D.C.-based online publication, Al-Monitor. As news reached the public Friday that a deal may be forthcoming, Rozen tweeted:

The forces that do not want a U.S. nuclear deal with Iran, nor any U.S. detente with Iran, are impressive. Among them are the Israelis and their powerful lobby AIPAC, the Saudis and their Sunni allies on the Persian Gulf, a near unanimity of Republicans and a plurality of Democrats in Congress. Is there a case to be made for a truce in the venomous conflict that has gone on between us since the taking of U.S. hostages in 1979? Is there any common ground? To both questions, President Obama and John Kerry believe the answer is yes. And they...

Presidential Memorandum -- Delegation of Authority Pursuant to Section 1236(b)(2) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015 MEMORANDUM FOR THE SECRETARY OF STATE SUBJECT: Delegation of Authority Pursuant to Section 1236(b)(2) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015 By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including section 301 of title 3, United States Code, I hereby order as follows: I hereby delegate the functions and authorities vested in the President by section 1236(b)(2) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal...

The leading Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee told Deputy Secretary of State Tony Blinken this morning that “there really can’t be any marginalization of Congress” on Iran nuclear negotiations.“Any attempts to sidestep Congress will be resisted on both sides of the aisle,” Rep. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) said at a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing.Engel also announced that lawmakers have crafted another Iran letter — signed by 360 members.He and chairman Ed Royce (R-Calif.) are hoping to get “a prompt response from the White House.”The letter to Obama notes that “of the 12 sets of questions that the...

It has been an Iranian tradition since 1979 to end Friday prayers with chants of “Death to America!” In a purely rational world, that would be all one needed to know that Iran is not a reliable negotiating partner. Alas, we do not live in such a world. But there’s more evidence. Iran, according to our State Department, has been the chief exporter of terrorism for the last three decades. It has worked closely with al-Qaeda, facilitating its attacks on America and our allies. Most of the September 11 hijackers traveled through Iran with the help of the Iranian government....

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, rides a bike after holding meetings with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif over Iran's nuclear program, in Lausanne, Switzerland, Monday, March 16, 2015.

Ineffective, fine. Stupid? Maybe, yeah. But “inappropriate”?Never underestimate the Democratic messaging machine, my friends. Many Americans haven’t noticed the story yet, according to a new survey conducted by YouGov from 10-11 March. 41% said they had heard nothing at all about “a letter written by a group of Republican lawmakers warning the leaders of Iran that any agreement they make with President Obama will only be an ‘executive agreement’ that could be revoked unless it gets congressional approval.”Yet when asked whether writing such a letter was appropriate, 42% say it was not, compared to only 28% who say it...

Prime Minister Netanyahu’s appearance before Congress highlighted the proposed agreement between the United States and Iran on nuclear power. Virtually all reports contend that these negotiations will lead to a “deal” or an “agreement.” The Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties uses a different term for the document which is being negotiated in Geneva. It is a treaty. Article 2 (1)(a) of the VCLT says: “‘Treaty’ means an international agreement concluded between States in written form and governed by international law.” Within international law, the proposed agreement is a treaty. The United States Constitution requires all treaties to be...

Forty-seven Republican senators warned Iran's leaders on Monday that any nuclear deal needs congressional approval in order to last beyond President Obama's term, in a stark letter aimed at re-asserting lawmakers' role as talks near a key deadline. ....

Forty-seven Senate Republicans are signaling in an open letter to Iran and the White House that a deal over Tehran’s nuclear program will be at risk once President Obama leaves office. “It has come to our attention while observing your nuclear negotiations with our government that you may not fully understand our constitutional system,” the senators wrote in the letter, which was first reported by Bloomberg. “Thus, we are writing to bring to your attention two features of our Constitution — the power to make binding international agreements and the different character of federal offices — which you should seriously...

Watch my “Off the Record” comment from last night’s ON THE RECORD and tell me what you think! Iran, Off the Record, ON THE RECORD, On the Record at 7, OTR, politics, President Obama See more  Videos

Among the terms of the United Nations Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) are the following mandatory provisions: 1.) Civilians are not permitted to “own, buy, sell, trade or transfer” “[any] means of armed resistance including handguns.” 2.) Also prohibited is the ownership of ammunition/munitions. 3.) All countries participating in the Arms Trade Treaty “shall establish and maintain a National Control System” with a list of all weapons including “their current owners.” This makes the registration of all firearms–that is, the National Arms Registry dreamed of by American liberals–a Treaty requirement. The registry will be used to enforce the prohibition against civilian...

The New York Times reports that if a permanent agreement is reached with Iran regarding its nuclear program before the end of November deadline, President Barack Obama will make every effort not to bring the agreement before the US Congress for a vote. Senior US government clerks told the newspaper that Obama is authorized to suspend most of the sanctions placed on Tehran, even without asking Congress...

The Council of State Governments Committee on River Governance recently met in Yakima, Washington. As last year’s chair of that Committee, I traveled to Washington to join Representatives and Senators from Montana, Idaho, Washington and Oregon, as well as a delegation from British Columbia. Our primary purpose was to discuss the impacts of the ongoing Columbia River Treaty negotiations between the United States and Canada.

The unelected and unaccountable sages at the World Health Organization (WHO) can’t seem to help themselves or resist the temptation to try to regulate the behavior of everyone on the planet. This is a shame, really, because a group like that could actually do some good if they stuck to trying to get basic supplies and medical care to people in remote, poverty stricken countries. But rather than devoting themselves to such laudable goals, they’re once again pushing to get every government on the planet to jack up sin taxes on tobacco.(This is something they’ve tried before, as I wrote...

President Obama is planning to use some legislative trickery to write a new climate change accord and bypass the Senate's historic responsibility to approve treaties.Hey! At least he's consistent in his lawbreaking. The Hill: Obama's climate team is putting together a “politically binding” deal to “name and shame” nations to cut their emissions, according to The New York Times. The administration’s hope is to get the deal signed by a United Nations summit next year in Paris. Because the Senate would be unlikely to ratify a treaty on global warming, the administration is seeking to mix fresh voluntary pledges with legally...

“The United States has determined that the Russian Federation is in violation of its obligations under the I.N.F. treaty not to possess, produce or flight test a ground launched cruise missile (GLCM) with a range capability of 500 kilometers to 5,500 kilometers or to possess or produce launchers of such missiles,” the report will say, according to the Times. Obama reportedly said in his letter to Putin that he is interested in high-level discussions with the goal of keeping the I.N.F Treaty intact and ensuring the Kremlin can come back into compliance with it. ... The public finding comes in...

The United States has concluded that Russia violated a landmark arms control treaty by testing a prohibited ground-launched cruise missile, according to senior American officials, a finding that was conveyed by President Obama to President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia in a letter on Monday.