The White House, sensing a legislative defeat was nigh, today said President Barack Obama would be willing to meet Congress half way and sign legislation codifying its role in processing a nuclear deal with Iran if a Senate committee axed key portions of the bill during a formal review this afternoon. Senators later voted 19-0 to give the White House some of, but not all of its asks, and left in a signature feature of the bill giving Congress the authority to approve a final deal with Iran that the White House earlier implied may have been on the chopping block. It now goes to the full Senate, where it is could pass with a veto-proof majority of more than 66 lawmakers. The House's top vote counter on Monday said lawmakers in the lower chamber would also take up the bill after their colleagues in the Senate finished the voting process. Senators voted 19-0 to give the White House some of, but not all of its asks, and left in a signature feature of the bill giving Congress the authority to approve a final deal with Iran that the White House earlier implied may have been on the chopping block . The Obama administration was in panic-mode this week, trying to strike a last-minute deal with legislators on both sides of the aisle that would satisfy its concerns with bill, which the White House had said as recently as yesterday that the president would 'absolutely' veto as written. While the legislative branch was in recess administration officials called 130 Members of Congress to try to persuade them not to act until the political framework that Iran agreed a week before firmed up. Officials ramped up their efforts in classified briefings with lawmakers today and yesterday. Among the White House's demands were that the Senate Foreign Relations Committee drop from the bill a requirement to for Iran to certify that it has not backed terrorism against Americans, cut down a 60-day 'window for Congress to look over a deal and 'clarify' that it is the president's 'decision to make' whether or not to enter into an agreement with Iran. It also said it wants legislators to promise that the bill currently under discussion 'would be the one and only mechanism for codifying precisely what the appropriate congressional oversight is into this matter.' 'If we arrived at a place where the bill that is passed by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee with bipartisan support is essentially is a vote to vote later on congressional sanctions - not the decision about whether or not to enter into the agreement - that would certainly resolve some of the concerns we've expressed about the authority that is exercised by the President of the United States to conduct foreign policy,' White House spokesman Josh Earnest said. It is 'critical' Earnest said that the legislation that comes out of the Senate is bipartisan so that 'there isn't an untoward effort to insert a different provision into some sort of must-pass piece of legislation that could really gum up the works here.' 'And if presented with a compromise along the lines that I just laid out here, that would be the kind of compromise the president would be willing to sign,' he said. Earnest later indicated that the president's signature would be predicated on senators watering the bill down to just a vote to later vote on congressional sanctions and the inclusion of language that would make clear the proper role of congressional oversight. 'If the president were writing this piece of legislation it would look substantially different,' he said, noting that he didn't want to leave reporters with the impression that even in senators were 'willing to agree to this substantial number of changes that I've laid out here, that we're gonna be particularly thrilled about the legislation that emerges. 'I rather think what we would find ourselves with is the kind of compromise that the president would be willing to sign,' Earnest explained. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Sen. Bob Corker,  the author of the bill, center, shakes hands with the committee's ranking member Sen. Ben Cardin after the committee unanimously passed the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015 . He later expressed concern that Republican members, if given a vote on the final deal, would be 'willing to flush down the toilet the best bet that we have' in favor of carrying out air raids  on Iran, as former U.S. Ambassador John Bolton has suggested. 'Only' that kind of military action 'can accomplish what is required,' Bolton said in a March 25 New York Times op-ed. 'Time is terribly short, but a strike can still succeed.' The bill's lead sponsor, Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman Bob Corker, during the hearing noted that as a result of 1600 Pennsylvania's last-ditch lobbying efforts, misinformation was circulating about the current language of the bill. 'This legislation is exactly the congressional review that we've been working on since day one,' he said, and had '100 percent of the integrity' senators on the committee hoped it would. Lawmakers did agree to take out the terrorism provision and to reduce the review period from 60 days to 30 days but refused to cut it out entirely. And sanctions that have been put in place, Corker explained 'cannot be lifted without the administration bringing to us every detail of the deal.' Then, he said, 'the clock will start' on the period of time Congress has to debate and decide if it wants to move ahead with a resolution of approval or disapproval - and in the meantime no sanctions can be lifted. And that's not the end of it, he explained, 'Congress stays involved.' Every 90 days, the administration would have to certify that Iran is in compliance with the accord, and if there are violations, the executive branch would have 10 days to notify Congress so it can reapply sanctions if necessary. 'So I think this puts Congress in its rightful role,' he said. The White House, sensing a legislative defeat was nigh, today said President Barack Obama would be willing to meet Congress half way and sign legislation codifying its role in processing a nuclear deal with Iran if a Senate committee axed key portions of the bill during a formal review this afternoon. In the end, the committee decided to buck the White House . Pushing back on the administration's suggestions that supporters of the Senate legislation are warmongers, Virginia Democrat Tim Kaine, a key force in the bipartisan negotiations around the deal, characterized the claims as 'ridiculous' and 'offensive' during the committee meeting, . 'I’m pro-diplomacy...but I have also been strongly pro the need for congressional approval,' he posited. 'I actually think that congressional approval, in this instance under the framework that is now before us, is necessary, helpful and what the American public demands and deserves.'' Democratic Chuck Schumer, next in line for his party's top leadership role in the supper chamber, applauded Corker and ranking Democratic Senator Ben Cardin for coming to a bipartisan agreement on how to move forward. '‎I'm certainly in favor of what they've put together,' he said, throwing his support behind the bill. New Jersey Democrat Cory Booker also lent his name to the legislation this afternoon, signing on as a cosponsor. 'The United States must do everything in its power to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon,' he said in a statement. 'The framework deal with Iran is an important step forward in accomplishing this goal by diplomatic means. 'But as the body that imposed sanctions on Iran, Congress has a vitally important role in any process that seeks to modify them,' he added. 'The Corker-Menendez bill sets up a reasonable mechanism for Congress to have a voice in the process that will help make any agreement with Iran as strong as possible.' Fellow New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez, a namesake of the bill who temporarily stepped aside as ranking member of the committee as he deals with legal troubles, said he wanted to make clear with the committee's vote it never 'envisioned a wholesale waver' of nuclear sanctions 'without congressional input.' He was responding to Iranian leaders' affirmations last week that they would not accept a deal that does not immediately terminate sanctions. The Obama administration has repeatedly said that it only ever agreed to the phased lifting of restrictions on Iran and made that clear during the last round of talks. Menendez, speaking during today's hearing before the vote, said, 'Let's send a message to Tehran that sanctions relief is not a given' and it is 'not a prize for signing on the dotted line.' South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, an original co-author of the legislation, said in a statement that 'Congress should have a say in lifting the economic sanctions which Congress created.' 'Every Member of Congress needs to listen, speak, and be accountable for what I believe will be one of the most significant foreign policy decisions our nation has faced in decades,' he said. 'Either with President Obama’s signature – or over his objections – this legislation should immediately be pushed into law.'
Sensing a legislative defeat White House said the president would be willing to sign the bill if senators axed key portions of their Iran bill .
Senators voted 19-0 to give the White House some of, but not all of its asks, and left in a signature feature giving Congress authority over a deal .
It now goes to the full Senate, where it is could pass with a veto-proof majority - making the president powerless to reject it .