Tom Cotton

Congress and the President should repeal the Budget Control Act immediately and return as soon as possible to at least the funding baseline proposed in Bob Gates' FY 2012 defense budget.

Thank you all for your service, not just on this commission, but many of you have served our country in other ways.

Having dealt with junior enlisted men who are new to the Army, I can say the financial literacy proposals are very critical as well.

But, in the meantime, Iran now controls or has dominant influence in five capitals in the Middle East.

So, why is it that Iran can initially undertake needlessly provocative acts toward the United States and our partners, yet we are supposed to just simply look the other way while this Congress, considering legislation that clearly would…

Secretary Kerry obviously miscalculated when he said 15 months ago that we could reach a deal in 3 to 6 months.

15 months ago, Secretary Kerry said that we could reach a deal with Iran in 3 to 6 months.

Can America afford any more cooperation from Iran?

Iran, however, is responsible for killing and maiming hundreds if not thousands of our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

We conduct diplomacy to protect our interests, not we have an interest in our diplomacy.

So, hard to imagine our Government walking away.

Many generals and admirals, as you know, have said that Russia is our number one enemy.

The long-term confrontation that we have with Russia--today we have it. We had it throughout the Cold War.

I am doubtful that any deal could be reached with this Iranian regime that would stop this Iranian regime from pursuing nuclear weapons.

Hamas is not a country. It is not a legitimate negotiating partner. It is a terrorist organization that must be destroyed.

I remain deeply skeptical of the Joint Plan of Action, but I do wish you the best of success that we can reach an agreement that completely eliminates Iran's nuclear weapons program.

And I would simply say that perhaps we would be in an even better place if we had not relaxed the sanctions in November, but increased them, as this committee attempted to do last summer, followed by House action, or perhaps if we had…

Hamas must be destroyed. The Gaza Strip is run by a rat's nest terrorist organization and has been for years.

It is a travesty that Meriam was detained at all in Sudan, or that her detention has continued.

We are blessed to live in a country where that is not the case, where justice is based on the natural rights of every person given to us by our creator.

With due respect to the gentleman from Indiana on numerous points, this is the fifth restriction that this Congress has undertaken. If it were to pass, it simply shows the judgment of this Congress, the people's representatives, that these…

I have an amendment at the desk. The Acting CHAIR. The Clerk will designate the amendment. The text of the amendment is as follows: At the end of the bill (before the short title) insert the following: Sec. __. None of the funds…

I find it offensive and insulting that this administration, up to and including the President, would cite the principle of leaving no man behind to justify this action.

A nuclear Iran is the gravest threat we face from Iran, but the terrorist threat that Iran poses does have two important links to it.

I believe that one reason that America has been so great and so prosperous for so long is that we are not merely a democracy, but a constitutional democracy.