Obama Needs Only 13 More Senate Votes to Overturn Congress Decision: Report
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The Obama administration needs only 13 more votes in the Senate to defeat the Congress veto override on the document of the conclusion of nuclear talks between Iran and world powers, a report said.
20 of 46 Senate Democrats now support the Iran nuclear accord and Obama administration only needs to secure 13 more votes to defeat a veto override by the Congress, CNS News reported on Thursday.
“At least 13 Democrats in the Senate and 44 in the House will need to vote in favor of the disapproval motion, to override a veto already promised by the White House – assuming every Republican does as well,” the report said.
According to the report, Democratic Senators who have publicly supported the Iran agreement as of Thursday evening are as follows:
Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.), Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), Richard Durbin (D-Ill.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Timothy Kaine (D-Va.), Angus King (I-Maine), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Jon Tester (D-Mont.), Tom Udall (D-N.M.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.)
Senator Chuck Schumer of New York is the only Democrat who has declared his opposition to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
The following Democrat Senators are still undecided:
Sens. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Thomas Carper (D-Dela.), Robert Casey (D-Pa.), Christopher Coons (D-Dela.), Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.), Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Joe Manchin (D-W.V.), Edward Markey (D-Mass.), Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Harry Reid (D-Nev.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.)
Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany) on July 14 reached a conclusion on a lasting nuclear agreement that would terminate all sanctions imposed on Tehran over its nuclear energy program after coming into force.
The 159-page deal has its own opponents and proponents both in Iran and the other countries that are parties to the JCPOA, particularly the US.
While the United Nations Security Council has adopted a resolution to endorse the deal, the text of the document needs to be ratified by both Iran's Parliament and the US Congress.