OFFICIALS LEGISLATION INTEREST GROUPS PUBLIC STATEMENTS COMMITTEES VETOES

Letter to Barack Obama, President of the United States - Support of Iran Negotiations Signed by 150 Members

Letter

By: Bob Brady, Janice Hahn, Ruben Gallego, Kathy Castor, Elijah Cummings, Brad Ashford, Cheri Bustos, Debbie Dingell, Diana DeGette, Joaquin Castro, Ami Bera, Rubén Hinojosa, Sr., G. K. Butterfield, Jr., Tony Cárdenas, David Cicilline, Lacy Clay, Jr., Emanuel Cleaver II, Tammy Duckworth, David Price, Jim Clyburn, Mark DeSaulnier, Bill Foster, Jim McGovern, Louise Slaughter, Betty McCollum, Loretta Sanchez, Charlie Rangel, Frederica Wilson, Mark Pocan, Seth Moulton, Sheila Jackson Lee, Kilili Sablan, Mark Takai, Raul Ruiz, Chris Van Hollen, Jr., Bennie Thompson, Stephen Lynch, Lucille Roybal-Allard, Stacey Plaskett, Bonnie Watson Coleman, Dave Loebsack, Barbara Lee, Paul Tonko, Zoe Lofgren, Peter Welch, Bobby Scott, Lloyd Doggett II, Gerry Connolly, Keith Ellison, Karen Bass, John Conyers, Jr., Steve Cohen, Mike Capuano, Corrine Brown, Joyce Beatty, Yvette Clarke, Matt Cartwright, Lois Capps, Al Green, Joe Heck, Jr., Peter DeFazio, Mike Doyle, Jr., André Carson, Don Beyer, Jr., Earl Blumenauer, Brian Higgins, Madeleine Bordallo, Alma Adams, Rosa DeLauro, Mark Takano, Richard Neal, Ed Perlmutter, Jim McDermott, Jerry McNerney, Bobby Rush, Ben Luján, Jr., Tim Walz, Jared Huffman, Nancy Pelosi, Jared Polis, Dutch Ruppersberger, Sean Maloney, Adam Smith, Cedric Richmond, Norma Torres, David Scott, Doris Matsui, Pete Visclosky, Don Payne, Jr., Tim Ryan, Marcy Kaptur, Grace Napolitano, Eric Swalwell, John Yarmuth, Katherine Clark, Raul Grijalva, Luis Gutiérrez, Jan Schakowsky, Julia Brownley, Sam Farr, Anna Eshoo, Judy Chu, Suzanne Bonamici, Pete Aguilar, Danny Davis, Marcia Fudge, John Garamendi, Donna Edwards, Chaka Fattah, Sr., Susan Davis, Joe Courtney, Elizabeth Esty, John Carney, Jr., Sanford Bishop, Jr., Suzan DelBene, Xavier Becerra, Pedro Pierluisi, Chellie Pingree, Rick Nolan, Marc Veasey, Gregory Meeks, Nydia Velázquez, Terri Sewell, José Serrano, Mike Thompson, Jackie Speier, Alan Lowenthal, John Lewis, Niki Tsongas, Eleanor Norton, Hank Johnson, Jr., Linda Sánchez, Gwen Moore, Beto O'Rourke, Mike Honda, Ted Lieu, Maxine Waters, John Larson, Brenda Lawrence, Hakeem Jeffries, Eddie Johnson
Date: May 7, 2015
Issues: National Security Foreign Affairs

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.


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