The Iran nuclear deal has supercharged US congressional lobbying, with US President Barack Obama securing the support of a prominent Jewish Democratic representative and pro-Israel groups pressuring lawmakers in an all-out, big-money drive.
Obama, his Cabinet and other allies are making the case that the deal, which calls on Iran to curb its nuclear program in exchange for billions of US dollars in sanctions relief, is the best possible way to prevent Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon.
US Secretary of State John Kerry, US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter and US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Martin Dempsey were yesterday scheduled to testify before the US Senate Armed Services Committee along with US Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz.
Photo: AFP
Former US undersecretary of state for political affairs and ambassador to NATO Nicholas Burns is to meet with House Democrats at the invitation of Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, who is leading the effort to round up Democratic support for the deal. House Democrats also were scheduled to meet with Obama at the White House later in the day.
“I believe that Israel, the region and the world are far more secure if Iran does not move toward possession of a nuclear weapon,” longtime Democratic Republican Sander Levin said in a statement that referenced his Jewish faith.
On the other side is the powerful American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), which is spending millions of US dollars on advertising to convince lawmakers that Iran cannot be trusted and that the deal should be scuttled. Its members were personally pressing the argument in meetings on Capitol Hill.
“We flew in this morning from Miami,” Stephen Fiske said as as he headed toward a lawmaker’s office on Tuesday — he is one of hundreds of AIPAC activists in Washington this week.
“We have a few meetings today and we have 13 tomorrow,” he added.
Lawmakers from Fiske’s home state, Florida, along with the New York delegation, are considered among the top lobbying targets in Congress, according to interviews with lawmakers, their aides and activists. Both states have large Jewish populations.
Congress has begun a 60-day review of the international agreement, with a vote expected in September. If the Republican-controlled Congress passes a resolution of disapproval for the deal, Obama has said he would veto it.
The administration is hoping to secure the backing of enough Democrats to sustain the veto. It takes a two-thirds majority in each chamber of Congress to override a presidential veto.
Tension rose on Tuesday during a packed hearing of the US House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs. Three of Obama’s Cabinet members — Kerry, Moniz and US Secretary of the Treasury Jack Lew — fielded pointed questions from wary representatives.
As the hearing entered its third hour, Republican Representative Scott Perry told the trio that the deal would embolden Iran, which is already involved in activities that destabilize the region.
“Well, we are going to give the crocodile, or the shark, a few more teeth and let us just see if it does something different,” said Perry, who thinks the administration needs to negotiate a better deal.
SEEKING CHANGE: A hospital worker said she did not vote in previous elections, but ‘now I can see that maybe my vote can change the system and the country’ Voting closed yesterday across the Solomon Islands in the south Pacific nation’s first general election since the government switched diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to Beijing and struck a secret security pact that has raised fears of the Chinese navy gaining a foothold in the region. The Solomon Islands’ closer relationship with China and a troubled domestic economy weighed on voters’ minds as they cast their ballots. As many as 420,000 registered voters had their say across 50 national seats. For the first time, the national vote also coincided with elections for eight of the 10 local governments. Esther Maeluma cast her vote in the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was