Dick Durbin: “this has been one of the most extraordinary measures that has come before the Senate in the time that I have served…”

“this has been one of the most extraordinary measures that has come before the Senate in the time that I have served here. It is rare to have an issue of this historic moment, of this importance, one that literally raises a question about war and peace in the Middle East, and one that has been considered so carefully by both sides of the aisle for such a long period of time. When I left for the August recess, here in the Senate most of the Members on my side of the aisle--the Democratic side--were still processing and reviewing the proposed agreement. And, over the course of August, these Members announced their public positions on the matter. As of today, there are 41 of the 46 Democratic Senators who have announced they will support the Iran agreement. There are another four who are opposed to it, and one who is yet to announce her position. We expect that to happen shortly. This is a unique matter. I asked my staff and others to research one particular aspect of this debate. The aspect I asked them to research was a letter sent on March 9 of this year by 47 Republican Senators. Forty-seven Republican Senators sent a letter to the leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Ayatollah.…”