Below is a letter to current Members of Congress, signed by 75 former Republican and Democratic Representatives and Senators, in support of the Iran nuclear agreement. Center staff helped coordinate the signatories for the letter.
Letter to Congress from Former Members on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action
August 31, 2015
Dear Members of Congress,
We believe that the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action that the United States and our P5+1 partners negotiated with the government of Iran is the most viable means to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon and protect the security of the United States, Israel and other allies. We are writing to you as former Members of Congress to urge your support of this historic agreement.
The Joint Plan of Action is a verifiable and enforceable agreement that closes Iran’s pathways to a nuclear weapon while providing unprecedented international inspections of all aspects of Iran’s nuclear program. Should Iran break the agreement, it increases the time that it would take for Iran to enrich enough fissile material for one nuclear weapon, otherwise known as breakout time, from two months to more than a year. Under the agreement, sanctions relief for Iran is tied to verifiable benchmarks and is capable of being snapped back in the event of an Iranian violation of its terms.
We know of no viable alternatives to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action that is now before you. We agree that no deal is better than a bad deal. But we also agree that a good deal is better than no deal.
Congress has played an important role in making this agreement possible through bi-partisan support of sanctioning and isolating the government of Iran. We urge you and your colleagues to take the next steps by supporting this agreement and then exercising your oversight role through the robust monitoring and evaluation of its implementation.
As former Members of Congress, we appreciate the gravity of your decision and the considerable pressure that you are under as you weigh the merits of this agreement and the costs of failure to implement it. Supporting the agreement does not come without risks. But these risks must be considered in the context of the grave risks that would be incurred if you were to reject it. These include the unraveling of international sanctions, the suspension of international inspections and an Iranian government that is unconstrained in developing its nuclear program. They also include the increased likelihood of a military confrontation.
We believe that the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action with Iran is in our national security interests and we urge your support.
Sincerely,
Senator James Abourezk (D-SD)
Representative Michael Andrews (D-TX)
Representative Thomas Andrews (D-ME)
Representative Chester Atkins (D-MA)
Representative Walter “Les” AuCoin (D-OR)
Representative Alvin Baldus (D-WI)
Representative Michael Barnes (D-MD)
Representative Berkley Bedell (D-IA)
Representative Anthony Beilenson (D-CA)
Senator Jesse “Jeff” Bingaman, Jr. (D-NM)
Representative James Blanchard (D-MI)
Representative David Bonior (D-MI)
Representative Don Bonker (D-WA)
Representative John Burton (D-CA)
Representative M. Robert Carr (D-MI)
Senator Kent Conrad (D-ND)
Senator Thomas Daschle (D-SD)
Representative Ronald Dellums (D-CA)
Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND)
Representative Thomas Downey (D-NY)
Representative David Evans (D-IN)
Representative Victor Fazio (D-CA)
Representative Paul Findley (R-IL)
Representative James Florio (D-NJ)
Representative Barnett “Barney” Frank (D-MA)
Representative Donald Fraser (D-MN)
Representative Elizabeth Furse (D-OR)
Representative Samuel Gejdenson (D-CT)
Representative Richard Gephardt (D-MO)
Representative Wayne Gilchrest (R-MD)
Representative Daniel Hamburg (D-CA)
Representative Lee Hamilton (D-IN)
Senator Thomas Harkin (D-IA)
Representative Jane Harman (D-CA)
Senator Fred Harris (D-OK)
Senator Gary Hart (D-CO)
Representative Rush Holt (D-NJ)
Representative Elizabeth Holtzman (D-NY)
Representative William Hughes (D-NJ)
Senator J. Bennett Johnston (D-LA)
Representative Michael Kopetski (D-OR)
Representative Larry LaRocco (D-ID)
Senator Carl Levin (D-MI)
Representative Mel Levine (D-CA)
Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN)
Representative Stan Lundine (D-NY)
Representative Paul “Pete” McCloskey, Jr. (D-CA)
Representative Mike McCormack (D-WA)
Representative Martin “Marty” Meehan (D-MA)
Representative George Miller (D-CA)
Representative Walter Minnick (D-ID)
Senator George Mitchell (D-ME)
Representative Anthony “Toby” Moffett (D-CT)
Representative James Moody (D-WI)
Representative James Moran (D-VA)
Representative Dave Obey (D-WI)
Representative Richard Ottinger (D-NY)
Representative Jerry Patterson (D-CA)
Representative Earl Pomeroy (D-ND)
Representative Timothy Roemer (D-IN)
Representative Philip Ruppe (R-MI)
Senator James Sasser (D-TN)
Representative Patricia Schroeder (D-CO)
Representative David Skaggs (D-CO)
Representative James Slattery (D-KS)
Representative John Spratt (D-SC)
Representative Richard Stallings (D-ID)
Representative Ellen Tauscher (D-CA)
Representative John Tierney (D-MA)
Senator Joseph Tydings (D-MD)
Senator Mark Udall (D-CO)
Representative Robert Wexler (D-FL)
Representative John “Pat” Williams (D-MT)
Senator Timothy Wirth (D-CO)
Representative Robert Wise (D-WV)
