Over 100 Members of Congress Call for Diplomacy with Iran

Last Updated on February 12, 2014.

Washington, D.C., Office of Congressman David Price— More than 100 Members of the House of Representatives signed a bipartisan letter supporting ongoing diplomacy with Iran.

Days before talks on a permanent agreement between P5+1 countries and Iran are set to begin in Vienna, 104 Members of the US House of Representatives sent President Obama a bipartisan letter supporting continued diplomatic engagement with Iran.

Representative David Price (D-NC) said, “I believe that we must take advantage of the opportunity before us to pursue a peaceful, diplomatic resolution to Iran’s nuclear program, and that we must resist calls by some in Congress to prematurely enact a bill or resolution that risks inadvertently derailing or impeding our ongoing negotiations.”

“While difficult and uncertain, diplomacy represents our best hope to prevent nuclear weapons in Iran and ensure the safety of our families and others around the world. Congress should not undermine diplomacy by giving the Iranian hardliners an excuse to scuttle the negotiations. So many of our colleagues have expressed their determination for diplomacy, and so many more share the same view,” added Representative Lloyd Doggett (D-TX), a senior member of the Ways and Means Committee.

The text of the letter and the list of signers in alphabetical order are included below.

***

Dear Mr. President,

As Members of Congress—and as Americans—we are united in our unequivocal commitment to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. The proliferation of nuclear weapons in the Middle East would threaten the security of the United States and our allies in the region, particularly Israel.

The ongoing implementation of the Joint Plan of Action agreed to by Iran and the “P5+1” nations last November increases the possibility of a comprehensive and verifiable international agreement. We understand that there is no assurance of success and that, if talks break down or Iran reneges on pledges it made in the interim agreement, Congress may be compelled to act as it has in the past by enacting additional sanctions legislation. At present, however, we believe that Congress must give diplomacy a chance. A bill or resolution that risks fracturing our international coalition or, worse yet, undermining our credibility in future negotiations and jeopardizing hard-won progress toward a verifiable final agreement, must be avoided.

We remain wary of the Iranian regime. But we believe that robust diplomacy remains our best possible strategic option, and we commend you and your designees for the developments in Geneva. Should negotiations fail or falter, nothing precludes a change in strategy. But we must not imperil the possibility of a diplomatic success before we even have a chance to pursue it.

Sincerely,

1
Bass
2
Beatty
3
Bishop, Sanford
4
Blumenauer
5
Bordallo
6
Brown
7
Butterfield, GK
8
Capps
9
Capuano
10
Carson
11
Cartwright
12
Christensen
13
Clarke, Yvette
14
Clay
15
Cleaver
16
Clyburn
17
Cohen
18
Connolly
19
Conyers
20
Cooper
21
Courtney
22
Cummings
23
Davis, Danny
24
DeFazio
25
DeGette
26
DeLauro
27
Dingell
28
Doggett
29
Duncan Jr (R)
30
Edwards
31
Ellison
32
Enyart
33
Eshoo
34
Farr
35
Foster
36
Fudge, Marcia
37
Garamendi
38
Grijalva
39
Gutierrez
40
Hanna (R)
41
Holt
42
Huffman
43
Jackson-Lee
44
Johnson, EB
45
Johnson, Hank
46
Jones, Walter (R)
47
Kaptur
48
Keating
49
Kelly, Robin
50
Kildee
51
Kuster
52
Larson
53
Lee, Barbara
54
Lewis
55
Loebsack
56
Lofgren
57
Lynch
58
Matheson
59
Massie (R)
60
McCarthy
61
McCollum
62
McDermott
63
McGovern
64
McNerney, Jerry
65
Meeks
66
Miller, George
67
Moore
68
Moran, Jim
69
Negrete McLeod
70
Nolan
71
Norton
72
O’Rourke
73
Pastor
74
Payne
75
Pierluisi
76
Pingree
77
Pocan
78
Polis
79
Price, David
80
Rahall
81
Rangel
82
Roybal-Allard
83
Ruppersberger
84
Rush
85
Ryan, Tim
86
Sablan
87
Schakowsky
88
Scott, Bobby
89
Shea-Porter
90
Slaughter
91
Speier
92
Takano
93
Thompson, Bennie
94
Thompson, Mike
95
Tierney
96
Tonko
97
Tsongas
98
Van Hollen
99
Velazquez
100
Visclosky
101
Walz
102
Waters
103
Welch
104
Yarmuth

(This press release was originally published on the website of Congressman Price.)

February 12, 2014