This is one of the most serious national security, nuclear nonproliferation, arms control issues of our time. “The issue before the Congress in September is whether to vote to approve or disapprove the agreement struck by the President and our P5+1 partners with Iran. When I have disagreed it is also based on principled disagreement.
“But my support is not – and has not been driven by party loyalty, but rather by principled agreement, not political expediency.
"On key policies ranging from voting in the Finance Committee and on the Senate Floor for the Affordable Care Act, to Wall Street Reform, to supporting the President's Supreme Court Nominees and defending the Administration’s actions on the Benghazi tragedy, his Pivot to Asia, shepherding the authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) to stop President Assad's use of chemical weapons, during the time I was Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, to so much more, I have been a reliable supporter of President Obama. My dear, late mother would have been happy if I had agreed with her 98 percent of the time - and I revered her. In fact, I have supported President Obama, according to Congressional Quarterly, 98 percent of the time in 20. “I also don't come to this question as someone, unlike many of my Republican colleagues, who reflexively oppose everything the President proposes. My vote against the Iraq war was unpopular at the time, but it was one of the best decisions I have ever made. “Unlike President Obama's characterization of those who have raised serious questions about the agreement, or who have opposed it, I did not vote for the war in Iraq, I opposed it, unlike the Vice President and the Secretary of State, who both supported it. “In this case a secondary, but important, question is what it means for our great ally - the State of Israel - and our other partners in the Gulf. I decide on whether to support or oppose an issue on the basis of whether, it is in my judgment, in the national interest and security of our country to do so. “I come to the issue of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, with Iran, as someone who has followed Iran's nuclear ambition for the better part of two decades. Many of those have been of a momentous nature. “For twenty three years as a member of the House Foreign Affairs and Senate Foreign Relations Committees, I have had the privilege of dealing with major foreign policy and national security issues. He was introduced by Courtney Smith, Senior Associate Dean and Associate Professor. Senator Bob Menendez, senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, delivered the following remarks today at Seton Hall University’s School of Diplomacy and International Relations.
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