Rep. Rosa DeLauro became the latest Connecticut lawmaker to back the controversial Iran nuclear deal on Thursday, calling the P5+1 agreement a “historic diplomatic accomplishment.”
Rep. Rosa DeLauro
“After strenuous review of the agreement and all of its annexes,” she said, “[…] I have concluded that the best option for preventing Iran from developing a nuclear weapon is to support the agreement.”
DeLauro, a liberal Democrat and strong backer of the Obama administration, stressed that the agreement — which reins in Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief — is the best alternative to military involvement.
While DeLauro said it is “true that Iran may try to cheat,” she argued that it will be far easier to catch cheating with the deal’s transparency and verification measures in place. Her bottom line: We are in a far safer position with the deal than without it.
“This agreement is not rooted in trust, but in our ability to verify compliance,” she said in a statement. “For these reasons I support the efforts of Secretary Kerry and Secretary Moniz to secure this agreement.”
DeLauro also argued that walking away from the deal would mean “going it alone,” rendering any re-imposed sanctions by the U.S. “ineffective.”
Still, Republicans who argue that the deal is too lenient on an untrustworthy Iran are likely to vote down the deal when it comes to a vote in mid-September. The real question, then, is whether a rejection of the agreement can survive a presidential veto.
That answer will depend on the votes of a few undecided Democrats — including Sen. Richard Blumenthal and Rep. Elizabeth Esty — who could sway in either direction. To sustain a veto, the Obama administration can’t afford to lose the support of more than 12 Democrats in the Senate and 43 in the House.
DeLauro joins Rep. Jim Himes and Sen. Chris Murphy in support of the deal.