151 Reps Speak Out for Peace and Diplomacy
Yesterday, in the largest show of congressional support to date for the nuclear deal with Iran, 151 democratic Representatives sent a letter to the President supporting his efforts to reach a diplomatic agreement and encouraging him to “stay on course.” The letter was spearheaded by Reps. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Lloyd Doggett (D-TX), and David Price (D-NC), and it expresses clear support for the administration’s efforts to secure a final deal with Iran.
As negotiations have progressed since their official start in January 2014, Congress has been less than helpful. In fact, some member of Congress have made it clear that they would rather we bomb Iran’s nuclear facilities and risk what comes next than continue negotiating a diplomatic solution. This letter directly challenges that position, pointing out that “war itself will not make us safe.”
I think it is fair to say that the letter that Tom Cotton (R-AR) and 46 other Republican Senators sent to the leaders of Iran left a bad taste in most people’s mouths. Thankfully, this letter was well thought out and distinctly lacking in treasonous intentions. On the contrary, its intentions are to reassure negotiators (and the American and Iranian people) that the US can meet commitments made at the bargaining table. Thus the letter immediately strengthens the position of negotiators as they sprint towards the diplomatic finish line while it builds U.S. political support for a final agreement should one be reached.
The Corker-Cardin legislation which passed in the Senate yesterday sets up a process that allows Congress to vote up or down on the final agreement with Iran. This allows the deal’s opponents a relatively clear shot at passing a “Joint Resolution of Disapproval”. If enacted into law, the Resolution of Disapproval would prevent the President from waiving sanctions and thus torpedo the deal. The silver lining is that if such a disapproval vote passed the President would be able to veto it. And with just over 1/3 of the House signing onto this pro-diplomacy letter, the odds that the deal’s opponents could override a Presidential veto just went down.
Below are the letter and a list of representatives who signed the letter. Check if your representative’s name is there. If it is there, call them and thank them for supporting diplomacy. If it is not, then call them and tell them they should. The Capitol switchboard is 1-202-224-3121. The switchboard operator will connect you with the office you request.
Dear Mr. President:
As negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program continue, we urge you to stay on course, building on the recently announced political framework and continuing to work toward a strong and verifiable agreement between the P5+1 countries and Iran that will prevent Iran from having a nuclear weapon. We commend you and your negotiating team, as well as our coalition partners, for the significant progress made thus far.
This issue is above politics. The stakes are too great, and the alternatives are too dire. We must exhaust every avenue toward a verifiable, enforceable, diplomatic solution in order to prevent a nuclear-armed Iran. If the United States were to abandon negotiations or cause their collapse, not only would we fail to peacefully prevent a nuclear-armed Iran, we would make that outcome more likely. The multilateral sanctions regime that brought Iran to the table would likely collapse, and the Iranian regime would likely decide to accelerate its nuclear program, unrestricted and unmonitored. Such developments could lead us to war.
War itself will not make us safe. A U.S. or Israeli military strike may set back Iranian nuclear development by two or three years at best – a significantly shorter timespan than that covered by a P5+1 negotiated agreement. We must pursue diplomatic means to their fullest and allow the negotiations to run their course – especially now that the parties have announced a strong framework – and continue working to craft a robust and verifiable Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action by June 30.
We must allow our negotiating team the space and time necessary to build on the progress made in the political framework and turn it into a long-term, verifiable agreement. If we do not succeed, Congress will remain at-the-ready to act and present you with additional options to ensure that Iran is prevented from acquiring a nuclear weapon.
Thank you for your resolve in preventing a nuclear-armed Iran. We look forward to continuing our shared work on this important matter.
Sincerely,
List of signers in alphabetical order
1
Adams, Alma
2
Aguilar
3
Ashford
4
Bass
5
Beatty
6
Becerra
7
Bera
8
Beyer
9
Bishop, S.
10
Blumenauer
11
Bonamici
12
Bordallo
13
Brady
14
Brown, Corrine
15
Brownley
16
Bustos
17
Butterfield
18
Capps
19
Capuano
20
Cardenas
21
Carney
22
Carson
23
Cartwright
24
Castor
25
Castro
26
Chu
27
Cicilline
28
Clark, Katherine
29
Clarke, Yvette
30
Clay
31
Cleaver
32
Clyburn
33
Cohen
34
Connolly
35
Conyers
36
Courtney
37
Cummings
38
Davis, D.
39
Davis, S.
40
DeFazio
41
DeGette
42
DeLauro
43
DelBene
44
DeSaulnier
45
Dingell
46
Doggett
47
Doyle
48
Duckworth
49
Edwards
50
Ellison
51
Eshoo
52
Esty
53
Farr
54
Fattah
55
Foster
56
Fudge
57
Gallego
58
Garamendi
59
Green, Al
60
Grijalva
61
Gutierrez
62
Hahn
63
Heck
64
Higgins
65
Hinojosa
66
Honda
67
Huffman
68
Jackson Lee
69
Jeffries
70
Johnson, E.B.
71
Johnson, H.
72
Kaptur
73
Keating
74
Kelly
75
Kennedy
76
Kildee
77
Kind, Ron
78
Kuster
79
Langevin
80
Larsen
81
Larson
82
Lawrence
83
Lee
84
Lewis
85
Lieu
86
Loebsack
87
Lofgren
88
Lowenthal
89
Lujan
90
Lujan Grisham
91
Lynch
92
Maloney, S
93
Matsui
94
McCollum
95
McDermott
96
McGovern
97
McNerney
98
Meeks
99
Moore
100
Moulton
101
Napolitano
102
Neal
103
Nolan
104
Norton
105
O’Rourke
106
Payne
107
Pelosi
108
Perlmutter
109
Pierluisi
110
Pingree
111
Plaskett
112
Pocan
113
Polis
114
Price
115
Rangel
116
Richmond
117
Roybal-Allard
118
Ruiz
119
Ruppersberger
120
Rush
121
Ryan, Tim
122
Sablan
123
Sanchez, Linda
124
Sanchez, Loretta
125
Schakowsky
126
Scott, Bobby
127
Scott, David
128
Serrano
129
Sewell
130
Slaughter
131
Smith, Adam
132
Speier
133
Swalwell
134
Takai
135
Takano
136
Thompson, B.
137
Thompson, M.
138
Tonko
139
Torres
140
Tsongas
141
Van Hollen
142
Veasey
143
Velazquez
144
Visclosky
145
Walz
146
Waters
147
Watson Coleman
148
Welch
149
Wilson
150
Yarmuth
151
Delaney
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