The Senate will begin debating a nuclear agreement with Iran on Sept. 8, the day it returns from the August recess.
Sen. Mitch McConnell made the announcement on Wednesday after securing an agreement with Democrats to expedite a resolution of disapproval of the deal, which would lift sanctions against Iran in exchange for reductions in the Islamic republic’s nuclear capability.
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McConnell on Tuesday said that he plans to make a rare call for the full Senate to be seated in the chamber during the debate.
“I think it ought to be treated in the Senate as a different matter, and so I’ll be trying to get consent to have a debate in which we have time set up for each senator to speak,” McConnell said. “We’ll be asking for each senator to remain at their desk during the debate, actually listen to each other during the course of the debate, leading to the final vote.”
The House has not scheduled a vote on the deal.
Republicans are expected to win a vote of disapproval, but it is not clear whether they have the two-thirds majority needed in both chambers to override a guaranteed presidential veto.
Both proponents and opponents of the nuclear deal will be lobbying Democrats during the August recess as many remain undecided, including Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and the Senate’s No. 3 Democrat, Chuck Schumer of New York.
