The Hill, April 29, 2016 – Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) on Thursday slammed the White House for mocking his knowledge of the Iran nuclear deal, saying his criticism of a proposal to buy heavy water is no joke.
 
“This guy at the White House may think it’s a laughing matter to subsidize Iran’s nuclear program but I don’t, I think it’s a very serious matter,” Cotton said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”
 
“We are not obligated to take the heavy water, we certainly are not obligated to provide U.S. taxpayer dollars to Iran’s nuclear program for that heavy water,” Cotton argued.
 
Senate Democrats on Wednesday refused to end debate on an appropriations bill because of an amendment from Cotton blocking the purchase of heavy water from Iran.
 
The Energy Department last week confirmed it was buying 32 tons of Iran’s heavy water — which could be used in a reactor to produce material for atomic weapons — in a roughly $8.6 million deal.
 
Obama administration officials have said that the U.S. is buying the heavy water from Iran in order to help Tehran reduce its material stockpile as required under the international nuclear deal.
Cotton said Thursday of support for his legislation, “I think I probably have a veto-proof majority.”