U.S. Senate Candidate Neal Simon Releases Statement About Sen. Ben Cardin's Vote on Newly-appointed IAEA Ambassador Jackie Wolcott

ROCKVILLE, Md., Sept. 26, 2018 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Neal Simon, unaffiliated candidate for the U.S. Senate for Maryland, today released a statement today regarding Sen. Ben Cardin's vote on Jackie Wolcott's appointment as Ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

The statement is as follows:

"On Monday, senators from both parties came together to confirm Jackie Wolcott to serve as our Ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency. The IAEA Ambassador serves a critical role in working with our allies in the international community to prevent nuclear proliferation and maintain the security of the U.S. against nuclear attacks. Ms. Wolcott was nominated for this key role in January and is indisputably qualified for the position.

"Seventy-five Republicans and Democrats voted to confirm Wolcott. Sen. Cardin was not among them. Instead, he followed the extreme members of his party – Sens. Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris – who put partisan politics over the security of our country and voted against confirming Wolcott.

"Two years ago, Cardin said that 'the IAEA responsibilities are greater today than at any point in its 60-year history. It already monitors the nuclear programs of more than 1,200 nuclear facilities around the world to ensure these facilities are not used to produce nuclear weapons. In the coming years, the IAEA will be responsible for monitoring and verifying the nuclear agreement with Iran, confronting North Korea's nuclear program and dealing with a variety of other non-proliferation threats.'

"On Monday, Sen. Cardin refused to join a bipartisan group of Senators to fill a role that is critical to both our national security and American influence in the global community and that has already been vacant for 20 months. I am disappointed in this decision and am pleased that Jackie Wolcott was confirmed in spite of the dangerous partisan game he played."

For more information, visit http://www.nealsimon.com and follow on Twitter: @nealjsimon.

Paid for by Neal Simon for U.S. Senate.

SOURCE Neal Simon