NY Congresswoman Maloney To Vote Against Iran Deal
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Rep. Carolyn Maloney is the latest New York lawmaker to oppose President Barack Obama's Iran nuclear agreement.
Maloney said in a statement posted on her congressional website Thursday that she intends to vote against the deal.
She said she made her decision after carefully examining classified material. The congresswoman said she also talked to administration officials, experts and constituents on both sides of the issue.
Maloney, a Democrat whose district includes parts of Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens, commended Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry for "choosing a path of diplomacy." But she said even if Iran complies with the restraints, the deal doesn't block it from eventually acquiring nuclear weapons.
"This is an agreement with a nation that has not honored its non-proliferation commitments in the past," Maloney said in the statement.
"Iran will continue bankrolling terrorist militias throughout the Middle East—Hezbollah in Lebanon, Assad in Syria, Hamas in the Gaza Strip, and the Houthis in Yemen," she added. "And Iran continues to hold four American prisoners."
Other New York lawmakers who oppose the deal are Sen. Charles Schumer and Reps. Nita Lowey, Steve Israel and Eliot Engel.
Rep. Jerrold Nadler and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand are in favor of it.
New Jersey Sen. Robert Menendez has also come out against it.
The Republican-led Congress is in the midst of a 60-day review of the deal, and is expected to vote next month on a resolution of disapproval that President Barack Obama has vowed to veto.
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