Senate Overwhelmingly Backs Iran Talks Bill

House Expected to Pass Bill Next Week

by Jason Ditz, 

In a 98-1 vote, the Senate has passed a bill which will give them veto power over the P5+1 nuclear deal with Iran. The lone “no” vote was from ultrahawkish Sen. Tom Cotton (R – AR), who was angry his amendments weren’t approved.

The bill has been somewhat watered down from what was initially proposed, and President Obama has said he will sign it, though at this point the overwhelming majority is veto-proof anyhow.

The House of Representatives will be the next to debate the bill,  with a vote expected there next week. Though there probably won’t be serious obstacles to the vote passing there either, it could face another round of attempts to add amendments aimed at killing the negotiations outright.

Senate hawks are expressing hope that even this watered down bill will effectively do that anyhow, saying they believe that Congress would not approve the deal as presently written, and will insist on “improvements” that will themselves almost certainly be unacceptable to the rest of the nations involved.

http://news.antiwar.com/2015/05/07/senate-overwhelmingly-backs-iran-talks-bill/