"Death to America!"
Posted on 04/29/2015 4:38:28 PM PDT by maggief
Senators on Wednesday blocked a Republican push to tie Iran's support of terrorism to a final deal on the country's nuclear program.
Senators voted 45-54 on the amendment from Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), which would have required President Obama to certify as part of a diplomatic deal that Iran hasn't carried out or directly supported an act of terror against the United States or a U.S. citizen.
Republican Sens. Lamar Alexander (Tenn.), Dan Coats (Ind.), Bob Corker (Tenn.), David Perdue (R-Ga.), Jeff Flake (Ariz.), Lindsey Graham (S.C.), Orrin Hatch (Utah) and John McCain (Ariz.) voted with Democrats against the amendment.
Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) said ahead of the vote that Barrasso's amendment was a "poison pill" for the legislation. The White House had warned that it would not accept such a provision, and it was stripped from an earlier version of the legislation.
The Maryland Democrat, who is ranking member of Foreign Relations Committee, said the problem with the amendment, and those like it, is that it goes "beyond the terms of the nuclear agreement.
Barrasso countered that it was "important" to reinsert the terrorism measure, which was removed as part of an agreement between Cardin and Corker.
"I think it's very important that the American people get regular certifications from the president on this important point," he said. "Congress and the American people need to know if Iran is directly supporting acts of terrorism against our country and our people."
Roughly a dozen Republicans, including Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.), presidential hopeful Sen. Marco Rubio (Fla.) and Corker, huddled on the floor during the vote.
The senators at one point realized they were being watched by reporters, with Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) turning around and gesturing to the press gallery.
It's unclear what the meeting on the floor was about. Sen. James Risch (R-Idaho) told reporters after the vote that "we were talking about the details of the bill, that was pretty obvious wasn't it?"
He added that "it was about various aspects of the bill. ... We all have questions about it."
Asked if senators were trying to convince Rubio to stand down on his amendment that would link Israel's right to exist to the bill, Risch said "there was nobody trying to get anybody to do anything."
Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) blocked Rubio from bringing up his amendment.
Rubio didn't respond to questions from reporters.
Gee...Mitch the Ditch didn’t vote with McCain today?
Must not have had any cash on the table for him.
How awful. He had to vote with the group he supposedly leads.
Must have been painful.
these Senators are worse than worthless
they keep enabling the IslamoNazi and Communist agendas, over and over and over and over and over and over and over...
it does not seem to matter (for some, enough of them) whether they are D’s or R’s or whatever
an electoral house-cleaning is definitely needed... ASAP!
Fixed.
The usual suspects.
Sigh.
If the Senate thinks the agreement is dangerous it can only remove the president.
The Stupid Party.
Senators voted 45-54 on the amendment from Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), which would have required President Obama to certify as part of a diplomatic deal that Iran hasn't carried out or directly supported an act of terror against the United States or a U.S. citizen. Republican Sens. Lamar Alexander (Tenn.), Dan Coats (Ind.), Bob Corker (Tenn.), David Perdue (R-Ga.), Jeff Flake (Ariz.), Lindsey Graham (S.C.), Orrin Hatch (Utah) and John McCain (Ariz.) voted with Democrats against the amendment. Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) said ahead of the vote that Barrasso's amendment was a "poison pill" for the legislation. The White House had warned that it would not accept such a provision, and it was stripped from an earlier version of the legislation.
"Death to America!"
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