Still determined to do whatever he can to wreck the Iran nuclear agreement, Sen. Tom Cotton attempted Wednesday to amend a $37.5 billion bipartisan energy and water spending bill with what a leading Democrat called a “poison pill.” But, joined by four Republicans, Senate Democrats poleaxed the bill in a 50-46 vote. The bill included several national-security programs, including the Department of Energy’s oversight of the nation’s nuclear arsenal.
Part of the 2017 fiscal year budget, the bill—viewed in some quarters as representing a fresh attitude about getting budgets passed early on—had been expected to pass easily, which is why it was put up first. But Cotton wanted his amendment rejecting purchases of heavy water from Iran considered before the vote on the overall bill.
As part of the Iran nuclear agreement, which Cotton, every other Senate Republican and a number of Democrats oppose, Tehran must dilute, sell or dispose of its stockpile of heavy water, which is used to moderate some types of nuclear reactors and in the process of making nuclear weapons. Cotton’s amendment would have blocked the Obama administration’s plan to purchase $8.6 million of heavy water. The senator labeled this a “subsidy” for the Iranian government. Many other Republicans have also criticized the purchase. But President Obama has vowed to veto any move to block it.
Cotton was so confident of his amendment’s support that he had agreed to a 60-vote threshold even though it only needed a simple majority to pass. Ted Barrett at CNN reported:
"The onus is on them and we're not going move forward until [they] do this," said Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York, a top Democratic leader. "This is totally extraneous and at the last minute."
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"Yet another way to blow up the appropriations process," said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell after the vote. "No matter what the issue, there is a new and creative way to throw a monkey wrench into the gears."
In the aftermath, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest took a poke at Cotton, telling reporters, “Senator Cotton is certainly no expert when it comes to heavy water. I’m confident that he couldn’t differentiate heavy water from sparkling water. His focus is on undermining the effective implementation of this agreement that prevents Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.” In response, Cotton tweeted: “[Y]ou’re right, I don’t know much about sparkling water. It isn’t served in Army, unlike in your ritzy West Wing.”
Whether Cotton will take the proper approach and introduce the heavy water issue via a standalone bill or try again to introduce a rider to another appropriations bill is anyone’s guess. But at least he has managed to do what plenty of his Senate colleagues on the Republican side of the aisle desire: no concessions to bipartisanship no matter what its leadership seeks.