House Dems more united on Iran legislation

[Adelante]

House Democrats, who have been divided on whether the president needs authorization from Congress to attack Iran, suggested yesterday that they are more united on the controversial issue.

But with Iran measures possibly headed to the House floor as early as today, it is unclear if Democrats have the votes to pass legislation calling for the president to seek authorization from Congress for a preemptive strike on Iran.

House Democratic leaders initially attempted to insert Iran language in their now-vetoed Iraq supplemental bill after some New York Democrats, including Reps. Eliot Engel and Gary Ackerman, balked at the language.

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AIPAC is likely going to oppose renewed efforts in the House. Hoyer is close with Howard Friedman, a Baltimore-area constituent who is president of AIPAC.

Hoyer is one of the top recipients of AIPAC’s political contributions.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, retired Gen. Wesley Clark (D) together with Jon Soltz of VoteVets.org created a grassroots effort named StopIranWar.com. Their argument, apart from advocating diplomacy with Iran, is that a U.S. attack on Iran would be detrimental to Israel’s security.

http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/house-dems-indicate-they-are-more-united-on-iran-legislation-2007-05-15.html