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 Democratic Senators Richard Blumenthal, Gary Peters, Ron Wyden and
Maria Cantwell announced they would support the agreement, just as
lawmakers returned to Washington from a month-long summer recess.
Forty-two votes is one more than the minimum needed in the
100-member Senate to block a Republican-backed resolution of
disapproval of the nuclear deal, announced on July 14.
That would spare Obama the embarrassment of having to use his veto
power to protect a deal reached with five other world powers, seen
as a potential legacy foreign policy achievement for his
administration.
Obama had been guaranteed enough votes to sustain a veto once he
reached 34 "yes" votes in the Senate, but backers say avoiding the
veto process would send an important message to Iran, and the world:
Washington is unified behind it.
"This agreement with the duplicitous and untrustworthy Iranian
regime falls short of what I had envisioned. However, I have decided
the alternatives are even more dangerous," Wyden said in a statement
explaining his support.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest said the administration was
"gratified" by the growing support for the nuclear accord.
The last hope of bipartisan Senate support was dashed on Tuesday
when Senator Susan Collins, the chamber's last undecided Republican,
announced her opposition.
All of the senators supporting the deal are Democrats or
independents who caucus with them. Every supporter in the House of
Representatives is a Democrat.
Senator Joe Manchin on Tuesday became the fourth Senate Democrat
voting against the deal. At least 17 House Democrats have also said
they would vote with Republicans against it.
To block the resolution, deal supporters would need at least 41
senators to vote in favor of using the Senate's filibuster
procedural rule to keep a disapproval resolution from advancing.
It was not immediately clear if any would break with Democratic
party leaders and oppose a filibuster, but most said they would back
the procedural measure.
"If the cloture (procedural) vote becomes in effect the opportunity
to vote in support of the agreement, I will vote in favor of closing
debate," Blumenthal said.
 FIERCE LAST-DITCH LOBBYING
Groups on both sides of the issue were waging fierce last-ditch
campaigns to influence senators' votes on the procedural measure.
Given Republican unity against the nuclear agreement, pressure on
Democrats for the past two months has been intense, particularly
from pro-Israel groups that normally enjoy strong support from
members of both parties.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been a vociferous
opponent of the Iran deal, calling it a threat to his country's
existence. Republicans invited him to address Congress about his
opposition to the deal negotiations earlier this year.
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Many opponents argue that the deal offers sanctions relief in
exchange for too few nuclear concessions from Iran. They want
negotiators to return to the table to push for tougher terms.
However, the five other world powers that reached the deal have made
clear they have no intention of resuming talks. They will also ease
sanctions, regardless of Congress' vote on the accord, if Iran
fulfills its commitments.
Iran denies its nuclear program aims to produce weapons.
Republicans, who have majorities in the Senate and House, have
denounced the idea of using the procedural rule to keep a
disapproval resolution from advancing.
They note that Congress voted overwhelmingly earlier this year for
the legislation that lets Congress review the nuclear pact.
"I do hope that senators ... will allow us to actually have a vote
on the substance of the bill," Senator Bob Corker, the author of the
Iran Nuclear Review Act, told reporters.
However, he added that it had always been expected that, under
Senate rules, it would take 60 votes to pass a disapproval
resolution.
If a resolution of disapproval passed, and Congress overrode Obama's
promised veto, Obama would be barred from waiving many U.S.
sanctions on Iran, a key component of the deal.
Under the Review Act, which Obama signed into law in May, Congress
has until Sept. 17 to pass the resolution. Obama then has 12 days to
veto and Congress has another 10 days to try to override his veto.
The first congressional votes on the deal are expected this week.
A disapproval resolution is expected to receive the simple majority
of votes it will need to pass the House, where Republicans hold 246
of the 435 seats.
House Democratic leaders have been working to marshal the 146 votes
to sustain Obama's veto in that chamber, if necessary. By late
Tuesday, they had more than 120, all Democrats.
(Additional reporting by Richard Cowan, Andy Sullivan, David Lawder
and Emily Stephenson; Editing by Howard Goller and Steve Orlofsky)
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