Yesterday, the House Foreign Affairs Committee announced that 367 members of the U.S. House of Representatives had signed and “released a bipartisan letter to President Obama underscoring the ‘grave and urgent issues that have arisen’ relating to the ongoing nuclear negotiations with Iran.” The actionable part is at the end (see blockquote below), following a list of Iran’s transgressions (e.g., ” Iran has still not revealed its past bomb work, despite its international obligations to do so;” “Iran’s decades of deception,” and “Iran’s destabilizing role in the regio”).  The letter also states a clear demand that any agreement with Iran “must constrain Iran’s nuclear infrastructure so that Iran has no pathway to a bomb, and that agreement must be long-lasting.”

The United States has had a longstanding interest in preventing Iran from achieving a nuclear weapons capability. Over the last twenty years, Congress has passed numerous pieces of legislation, imposing sanctions on Iran to prevent that outcome, ultimately forcing Iran into negotiations. Should an agreement with Iran be reached, permanent sanctions relief from congressionally-mandated sanctions would require new legislation. In reviewing such an agreement, Congress must be convinced that its terms foreclose any pathway to a bomb, and only then will Congress be able to consider permanent sanctions relief.

Resolving the nuclear crisis with Iran remains of grave importance to our nation’s security. As the Administration continues to negotiate with Iran, we are prepared to evaluate any agreement to determine its long-term impact on the United States and our allies. We remain hopeful that a diplomatic solution preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon may yet be reached, and we want to work with you to assure such a result.

The Iran letter was signed by 10 out of 11 members of Virginia’s House delegation, the only non-signatory being Rep. Don Beyer. I’m curious why Beyer didn’t sign (I emailed his office late yesterday but haven’t heard back), while the other two Virginia Democrats – Gerry Connolly and Bobby Scott – did. Personally, I can see reasons for signing and for not signing. Although I don’t really disagree with anything in the letter, the question is whether it is helpful, harmful, or where exactly in between those two?

P.S. For a list of the 59 House Dems and 6 House Republicans who didn’t sign the letter, click here — a mixed bag ideologically, geographically, etc.  

What amazes me about the Affordable Care Act is how it’s worked out so well, even better in some ways than people had predicted, and how Republicans were were wrong about pretty much every aspect of what would happen. Now, just imagine if Republicans had been cooperative, instead of obstructionist, how many more people could have health insurance coverage right now under Medicaid expansion, etc. It’s truly disgraceful how Republicans have acted, as well as bizarre, given that the ACA was modeled heavily after their own plans and proposals (e.g., Romneycare).

Fifth Anniversary of Affordable Care Act

March 23, 2015 (Washington, D.C.) – U.S. Representative Don Beyer joined Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia M. Burwell, along with local officials, leaders, and consumers in Arlington this morning to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the Affordable Care Act.

“Historians will one day write that the Affordable Care Act was the single most important act of moral leadership in the early 21st century,” said Rep. Beyer. “Emancipation, women’s suffrage, Social Security, the Affordable Care Act – each a bold move to expand upon the idea that all Americans have the equal right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

“But we still have more work to do. Especially in the Commonwealth of Virginia. There is no denying that we badly need Medicaid expansion. We are lucky to have a true champion, fighting the good fight in Richmond. Governor McAuliffe has been courageous and relentless – and one day soon he will prevail, and the amount of human suffering he will banish is almost beyond imagination.”

Governor McAuliffe’s plan expands access to care, improve care for veterans and those with severe mental illness, and enhance value and innovation across our health system in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The Healthy Virginia Plan provides health insurance to as many as 25,000 Virginians, however more than 400,000 Virginians will continue to be uninsured as long as Medicaid expansion is not passed through the General Assembly.

Over 16 million Americans have gained quality, affordable health insurance since the ACA became law. More than 11 million Americans were able to sign up or re-enroll through the Marketplace during this year’s Open Enrollment. Nearly 80 percent of 2015 Marketplace customers using HealthCare.gov purchased coverage for $100 or less after tax credits.

Under normal circumstances, Hillary Clinton’s position on Israel would be a no-brainer. She would take the usual position of a Democratic candidate: strong in alliance with Israel, and expressing support for a peace process working toward a two-state solution.

These, however, are not normal circumstances.

The way the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, sought re-election, and succeeded in that quest — by an unprecedented slap at an American president in speaking as he did to Congress, in alliance with the president’s enemies; and by the ugly way he drew upon fear and bigotry in the final days when he faced possible defeat — have made the usual position impossible.

Hillary must now –that is, whenever she enters the presidential race — find a way to solve some difficult simultaneous equations. How does she 1) support Israel in ways that satisfy those who care about Israel and generally support the Democrats, 2) take into account the blow that Netanyahu inflicted on any notion of a peace process, and 3) stand with the president of her Party– a president who, being full up to here with Netanyahu, has deliberately (and in my view, quite rightly) affirmed the serious breach in the normal constellation of relations between the two countries.

Whether she finds a way to do so will demonstrate a good deal about her political skills. And about what she’s made of.