Contact: Caroline Rabbitt (202) 224-2353

Washington, D.C.- Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) today released the following statement on the Obama administration's announcement of a 20 percent reduction in the U.S. stockpile of nuclear material:

"President Obama's trumpeting of a reduction in the U.S. stockpile of nuclear material is emblematic of his failed non-proliferation policies. President Obama claims that unilateral reductions in our nuclear capabilities and highly enriched uranium stockpile will allow the United States to 'lead by example.' But this naïve theory flies in the face of decades of non-proliferation experience and has emboldened our adversaries and would-be challengers to boost their nuclear-weapons capabilities and doctrines. While America has reduced its strategic nuclear forces, Russia has increased them. While the President speaks of ratifying the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, North Korea, China, and Russia proceed with nuclear testing to perfect their arsenals. While President Obama refuses to adequately maintain our nuclear forces, Russia flagrantly violates the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces Agreement. And while the president utters lofty words of a 'world without nuclear weapons,' Iran forces him into a deal that paves the way for the ayatollahs to obtain those very weapons. Despite his dream of a eliminating nuclear weapons from the earth, President Obama will be remembered as the worst non-proliferation president in history."