Contact: Caroline Rabbitt (202) 224-2353

Washington, D.C.- Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) today released the following statement on the scheduled Cloture vote on his amendment to the Energy and Water Appropriations Bill:

"I'm pleased the Senate will finally have an opportunity to vote on whether American taxpayers should subsidize Iran's nuclear program and provide more dollars to the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism. I support the appropriations process and want to pass this appropriations bill. But given recent admissions by Obama administration officials that they actively sought to mislead the public on the Iran deal, it is imperative we hold them to their assurances that the administration's announced purchase of heavy water will be a one-time occurrence.

"There has been some suggestion that the United States's purchase of Iran's heavy water prevents it from being acquired by North Korea. This is an unfounded argument. All nations-including Iran-are prohibited from shipping heavy water to North Korea by UN Security Council sanctions. And, leaving the door open to continued heavy water purchases by the United States only incentivizes Iran to produce more heavy water and legitimizes this activity for years to come. Congress must act to ensure President Obama does not needlessly go beyond the terms of the nuclear deal and further embolden the ayatollahs in Iran."