|
 Schumer's opposition, announced in a lengthy statement, could pave
the way for more of Obama's fellow Democrats to come out against the
nuclear pact announced on July 1 between the United States, five
other world powers and Iran.
The New York senator is among the most influential Jewish lawmakers
in the United States. He was the first Senate Democrat to announce
his opposition to the agreement.
Another influential Jewish lawmaker, U.S. Representative Eliot
Engel, the top Democrat on the House of Representatives Foreign
Affairs Committee, also said on Thursday he would oppose the nuclear
pact in a statement obtained by Reuters.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been pushing lawmakers
to oppose the nuclear agreement, which he considers a threat to his
country's survival. Some pro-Israel groups have also been spending
millions of dollars on an advertising campaign to push members of
Congress to vote no.
Obama has been engaged in his own lobbying effort, including a
combative speech on Wednesday in which he said abandoning the
agreement would open up the prospect of war.
Speaking at a news conference on a visit to the Vietnamese capital
Hanoi, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who negotiated the deal
on the U.S. side, said he respected Schumer and Engel but added that
"rejection is not a policy for the future."
"It does not offer any alterative and many people in arms control
and others have actually pointed that out. While I completely
respect everybody’s individual right to make a choice, I obviously
disagree with the choice made," he said.
The U.S. Congress has until Sept. 17 to consider a resolution of
disapproval of the Iran deal, which would eliminate Obama's ability
to waive all sanctions on Iran imposed by the U.S. Congress, a key
component of the agreement.
Lawmakers will begin debating whether to reject the deal when they
return from their August recess on Sept. 8.
Schumer insisted he was not influenced by party or politics and had
not been pressured.
"Advocates on both sides have strong cases for their point of view
that cannot simply be dismissed. This has made evaluating the
agreement a difficult and deliberate endeavor, and after deep study,
careful thought and considerable soul-searching, I have decided I
must oppose the agreement and will vote yes on a motion of
disapproval," he said.
Obama has promised a veto if the resolution is passed by the House
and Senate.
Republicans would need at least 13 Democrats in the Senate and 44 in
the House to vote against Obama to muster the two-thirds majorities
in both chambers needed to override a veto. So, while Thursday's
announcements are a blow to the president, opponents of the deal
still face an uphill battle to enact a disapproval resolution.
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OTHER DEMOCRATS IN FAVOR
Several Democrats in both the House and Senate have already come out
in favor of the nuclear deal, including Nancy Pelosi, the House
Democratic leader. Schumer's colleague from New York, U.S. Senator
Kirsten Gillibrand, announced her support on Thursday.
A handful of House Democrats in addition to Engel have said they
oppose the deal, including Representative Steve Israel, a member of
the chamber's Democratic leadership.
Schumer said lawmakers would come to their own conclusions but he
would try to persuade other senators to vote against the Iran deal.
Schumer is currently the number three Democrat in the Senate and is
in line to succeed Harry Reid as the party's leader in the chamber
when Reid retires in early 2017.
A congressional aide said Engel would vote for a resolution of
disapproval and also vote to override an Obama veto if the
resolution passed Congress. However, Engel did not say he would
lobby against the deal among other lawmakers.
Schumer's opposition was first reported by the Huffington Post. He
said in his statement he opposed the nuclear deal because he
believed Iran would not change and that the deal would let it
eliminate sanctions while retaining "nuclear and non-nuclear power."
"Better to keep U.S. sanctions in place, strengthen them, enforce
secondary sanctions on other nations, and pursue the hard-trodden
path of diplomacy once more, difficult as it may be," Schumer said.
The White House had no immediate comment on Schumer's announcement,
which was distributed by the Senate Republican leadership after it
was released by his office.
The liberal group MoveOn.org said its 8 million members would
organize a "donor strike" to withhold campaign contributions from
the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee as well as "any
Democratic candidate who succeeds in undermining the president’s
diplomacy with Iran."
(Additional reporting by Richard Cowan in Washington and David
Brunnstrom in Hanoi; Editing by Ralph Boulton)
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