AUGUSTA — Reactions by Maine’s congressional delegation to President Barack Obama’s announced nuclear deal with Iran ran from the celebratory to the cautionary, as the state’s senators and representatives largely fell in line with their partisan counterparts.
Several Republicans on Capitol Hill have long been skeptical of any agreement with Tehran and continued to sound the alarm bells Tuesday after Obama announced a deal had been reached to curb Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for lifted international economic sanctions.
The most vocal critics have pledged to pass legislation to sink the agreement, but Obama has promised to veto any such bill. Significant bipartisan support would be needed to kill the deal.
While any deal with Iran has its share of detractors, there are those who have lauded Obama’s dedication to negotiations, including Rep. Chellie Pingree, a Democrat from Maine’s 1st Congressional District.
“The best way to stop Iran’s nuclear weapons program is through a comprehensive, international agreement like this one,” Pingree said in a prepared statement Tuesday. “We will get a chance to talk about the details in the days ahead, but I hope my colleagues in Congress don’t let partisan politics stand in the way of approving what could be a historic deal to stop the spread of nuclear weapons.”
U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, the most senior member of Maine’s delegation, and freshman U.S. Rep. Bruce Poliquin, both Republicans, used stern language Tuesday to criticize the deal.
Poliquin touted his support for Israel, which called the deal “a bad mistake of historic proportions.”
“Earlier this year, I attended Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to Congress,” Poliquin said. “I remain committed in standing firm with one of our strongest allies in the Middle East. We should stand with Israel, opposing aggression from Iran — a state sponsor of terrorism.”
Iran’s confirmed and suspected links to armed militant groups throughout the Middle East also caused heartburn for Collins, who said the “windfall” of lifted sanctions in Iran would only fuel further sectarian conflict in the region. She also said she was “disappointed” that Obama had already promised to fight congressional efforts to alter or kill the deal.
“A verifiable diplomatic agreement that prevents Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons and dismantles its nuclear infrastructure is the desired outcome; however, it is far from clear that this agreement will accomplish those goals,” Collins wrote.
Collins said the deal would only “delay, rather than dismantle” Iran’s capability to construct a nuclear weapon.
Maine’s independent U.S. senator, Angus King, said he welcomed the deal and was eager looked forward to “thoroughly examining the details to determine whether or not the deal contains the necessary provisions to ensure that Iran cannot develop nuclear weapons capability.” King was one of the original cosponsors of legislation to give Congress a say in the deal.
“As I have long said, this deal cannot be based on trust,” King said. “It must be based on strict enforcement and verification provisions, and a responsible review of the deal by Congress is a critical part of that process. It’s now time for Congress to step up and analyze this agreement on its merits to see if it meets the high standards necessary to be successful.”
Congress has 60 days to consider the agreement, during which time it can vote to support or reject the deal or do nothing. Given Obama’s promised veto of any effort to derail the accord, the Legislature will need two-thirds support to deal it a death blow — an unlikely scenario, given Democrats’ support, however tepid that support may be.
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