Before leaving Washington to concentrate efforts on their re-election campaigns, U.S. senators voted yesterday to fund the federal government into 2013 and passed a measure asserting a tough stance towards Iran over its nuclear programme.
Report said that a 62 to 30 vote in a session that stretched past midnight, the legislators approved the moneys necessary for government to function for the next six months and avoided a possible shutdown until early next year – thus forgoing any partisan funding standoff well past November’s election date.
The bill will go to President Obama for its anticipated signature into law.
In a bi-partisan show of steadfastness on Iran, Senators passed a non-binding resolution – nearly unanimously – for the United States to pursue a policy other than containment, if necessary to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
Senate Joint Resolution, 41, advises that time is running out on diplomacy, and it “rejects any United States policy that would rely on efforts to contain a nuclear weapons-capable Iran.”
The bill reflects and supports President Obama’s existing stance.
It passed with only one vote against it; that of Republican Senator Rand Paul from Kentucky.
“A vote for this resolution is a vote for the concept of preemptive war,” Paul objected in his arguments before the Senate preceding the roll call ballot.
The bill text ended with the statement: “Nothing in this resolution shall be construed as an authorisation for the use of force or a declaration of war.”