Ten years ago today, Corporal Benjamin Kopp's spirit departed from this world-but he remains with us in far more than memory.Ben was raised in Minnesota, where his mother described him as a "boy's boy." He played in the dirt with toy trucks and revered his great-grandfather, a decorated veteran from World War II. Then came 9/11, which changed Ben's life forever, just as it changed the lives of so many Americans. Ben was only 13-little more than a boy-but on that day of tragedy, he felt the call... Read More

Below are his remarks as delivered:  Madam President, I want to call your attention to a story that is tragic but also heartwarming and uplifting.Honorary Colonel River "Oakley" Nimmo of Camden, Arkansas passed away last month at the age of five after a protracted struggle with his enemy, a rare form of cancer called neuroblastoma. Oakley's family remembers him as a "sweet, brave boy" who liked to play with power wheels and toy guns. But for all those who knew him or have learned about him,... Read More

Below are his remarks as delivered: Tomorrow morning, the Senate will vote on whether to disarm our troops as they hold the line in the face of Iranian aggression in the Middle East. Tomorrow morning, the Senate will vote on whether to empower the ayatollahs as they continue to rampage across the Middle East, attacking U.S. aircraft, attacking ships on the high seas, threatening our troops in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Bahrain, Qatar, and elsewhere. That's because tomorrow morning we'll be voting... Read More

Below are his remarks as delivered: There's been a lot of confusion and outright misinformation about some proposed arms sales to our Gulf partners, specifically Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. I'm grateful for the opportunity this morning to clear up a few things, especially considering the current high stakes in the region. As many of you probably have heard, the Islamic Republic of Iran just this morning has shot down an American surveillance aircraft over the Strait of Hormuz. Yet... Read More

Below are his remarks as delivered: Many state legislatures across the country have taken action recently to protect unborn babies from the violence of abortion. My home state, for instance, Arkansas, has just passed a law protecting unborn babies after 18 weeks of development. And this reform is not just supported by Arkansans. It's supported by a large majority of all Americans, more than 70% of whom believe unborn babies ought to be protected at or before that stage of pregnancy. These... Read More

Below are his remarks as delivered: Madam President, I want speak today about the proposed disapproval of arms sales to our Gulf partners, Bahrain and Qatar. Last month, the Administration notified Congress of its intention to sell Apache helicopters to Qatar. Those helicopters will help with security and counterterrorism patrols, especially ahead of the 2022 World Cup, which will of course be a prime target for terrorists. We're also scheduled to sell air-defense missiles to Bahrain, where we... Read More

Below are his remarks as delivered: I want to thank the Committee and Chairman Isakson and Ranking Member Tester for inviting me to speak at this hearing. I also want to thank my colleague from Arkansas, Senator Boozman, as well as Senator Blumenthal for co-sponsoring Senate Bill 857, which would increase the special pension for Medal of Honor recipients. Medal of Honor citations often read like Hollywood scripts-only the heroism is so amazing most people wouldn't believe it really happened if... Read More

Below are his remarks as delivered: Five years ago, I, along with 46 of my fellow senators, released a letter to Iran's Ayatollah, letting him know that any nuclear deal he reached with President Obama wouldn't be worth the paper it was printed on unless it was ratified as a treaty by two-thirds of the United States Senate. We wrote, "The next president could revoke such an executive agreement with a stroke of a pen and future Congresses could modify the terms of the agreement at any time." Now... Read More

Below are his remarks as delivered: The Senate has unanimously rejected the so-called Green New Deal-and in a display of political courage for the ages, 43 Democrats voted present, including many of the bill's own sponsors. Now, many of those are running for president-and in fact it seems like all the Democratic senators are running for president-and perhaps they realize what a disaster the Green New Deal is for them. The Green New Deal would force a transition in just 10 years, one decade, to... Read More

Below are his remarks as delivered: The Senate will soon vote on the president's declaration of a national emergency. We have reached a moment of crisis. But it's not a constitutional crisis-it's a crisis on the border. A crisis of American sovereignty. When hundreds of thousands of foreigners arrive at the southern border and demand entry, that's not migration. That's an emergency and a threat to our sovereignty. And the stories speak for themselves. Last Thursday, an American citizen named... Read More

Contact: Caroline Tabler or James Arnold (202) 224-2353 Earlier today, Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) spoke to the Heritage Foundation on why U.S. withdrawal from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty will advance U.S. interests in the Indo-Pacific region. Click here to watch his remarks in full. Below are his remarks as delivered: Thank you. Thank you, Jeff, for that kind introduction. It's good to be back at the Heritage Foundation to speak today about the Intermediate-Range Nuclear... Read More

Below are his remarks as prepared for delivery: Good evening. Thank you for the kind introduction and for that warm welcome. It's an honor to be with you tonight, and always a pleasure to be back in the company of soldiers. I want to acknowledge Colonel Jim Tuite, Sergeant Major Ed Brooks, Lieutenant Colonel Todd Burroughs, and Sergeant Major Lee Ward. Thank you for your service to our country and your leadership of these fine troops. And most of all, I want to acknowledge and thank the soldiers... Read More

Below are his remarks as prepared for delivery. Good morning, and thank you to John Walters for that kind introduction. And thanks to the Hudson Institute for inviting me to speak about China's brutality in Xinjiang Province. It's good to be back with you. Hudson continues to host some of the most important discussions on topics of great concern to America and the world. This event is no exception. That's because there's perhaps no greater threat to freedom today than the communist regime in... Read More

Below are his remarks as delivered:Good morning, it's an honor to be with the National Narcotics Officers' Associations Coalition. Thank you to Bob Bushman for that kind introduction. I'm honored to receive your Member of the Senate award. In truth, though, I ought to be honoring all of you. Without your help, I would not be so well-equipped with the facts and knowledge I need to defend law enforcement in the Senate. Your authority and expertise were invaluable during the debate last year over... Read More

I'd like to take this opportunity to express my support for the 20,000 men and women of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. They work hard every day to keep drugs off our streets, to stop human trafficking, to protect our communities from gang violence, and yes, to enforce our immigration laws. Theirs can be a thankless job, but they do it with courage, dedication, and professionalism. So I, for one, want to say, thank you. And, I'd like to point out the overwhelming support that House... Read More

I ask consent to have a colloquy with the senator from Maryland. Thank you, Mr. President. The Senator and I have done a lot of work together on an issue that is a genuine threat to our national security. And that's the threat of Chinese telecom companies stealing our technology, infiltrating our telecom networks, and hacking into the data not just of our government or our military but also private citizens. Earlier this year I asked the directors of all four major intelligence agencies-the CIA,... Read More

The Director of the Central Intelligence Agency is not as old an office as some others in the President's Cabinet, but it's no less important. The Director's job is to provide the critical information on which the President's national-security decisions are based. And for this reason, presidents of both parties have chosen seasoned statesmen to serve in this post, men like Allen Dulles, George H. W. Bush, Robert Gates, and Mike Pompeo. Often, they've kept in office directors who were appointed... Read More

Contact: Caroline Tabler or James Arnold (202) 224-2353 The office of Secretary of State has always held a place of special prominence in the President's Cabinet. The conduct of foreign policy is the highest craft of statesmanship. In the Secretary's hands rest matters of the most sensitive, delicate, and consequential nature, affairs of war and-we always hope-peace. President Kennedy put it simply when he said, "Domestic policy can only defeat us; foreign policy can kill us." That's why... Read More

Contact: Caroline Tabler or James Arnold (202) 224-2353 An opioid epidemic is sweeping the country. More than sixty thousand Americans are dying from opioid overdoses each year-more than the number of Americans who died in all twenty years of the Vietnam War. What a staggering fact that is. But behind each number is a tragedy for a family who loses its loved one. Today, I want to tell the story of the Hacala family from Rogers, Arkansas. It's a story of love, persistence, courage. And, I hope, a... Read More

Contact: Caroline Tabler or James Arnold (202) 224-2353   Thank you all very much for the warm welcome. To my old teacher and friend, Charles Kesler, thank you for that kind introduction. After that, even I am interested in what I'm going to say tonight. It's good to be back at the Claremont Institute. This dinner in honor of our hero Sir Winston Churchill is something of an annual reunion for all of us. We're here tonight to show our continued support for the Institute. I know you all hope... Read More