The top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee announced tepid support for the proposed nuclear deal with Iran, joining a small list of top party officials who have so far been willing to publicly get behind the agreement as it sinks in the polls.
Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said in a lengthy statement on Monday that there are aspects of the agreement that are “troubling” to him, but that Congress should improve it, “instead of rejecting the deal.”
Congress, however, cannot amend the nuclear deal when it votes on it after a 60-day review. Instead, lawmakers will likely vote on a resolution of disapproval, Republican leaders said.
With majorities in both chambers, it’s likely that resolution will pass, but will be vetoed by President Obama.
Obama, along with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., are working to secure enough Democratic votes in favor of the deal to uphold Obama’s veto.
Public support for the deal appears to be wavering. A Quinnipiac poll released Monday found respondents believed the deal would make America less safe by a margin of 58 percent to 30 percent.
As the Obama administration and top Democrats scramble to lock up support during the long August congressional recess, Schiff is a key “yes” vote, however tentative his support.
In fact, his statement was circulated Monday by Pelosi’s office under the headline, “FYI: Rep. Adam Schiff Announces Support of Iran Deal.”
Schiff’s assessment of the deal is far from rosy, however.
Schiff said he is troubled by the agreement because it allows Iran to continue to enrich uranium in amounts far larger than was originally anticipated, thus allowing the Islamic state to more quickly create a nuclear bomb.
“At the outset of negotiations, it was hoped that if it was necessary to grant Iran an enrichment capability at all, it would only be a token one, and that apart from a small research facility, fuel for its reactors might be stored or produced outside the country,” Schiff said. “Instead, while approximately 13,000 centrifuges will be removed from operation, the agreement allows Iran to operate over 5,000 centrifuges and, eventually, to bring on line a faster set of instruments that reduce the time necessary to create enough fissionable material for a bomb down to a matter of weeks.”
Schiff calls for making the nuclear deal stronger by taking a series of steps to ensure Iran is following the terms of the agreement and establishing “the expectation that while Iran will be permitted to have an enrichment capability for civilian use, it will never be permitted to produce highly enriched uranium.”
