Political Quotes

“This amendment would remove a section in the bill relating to the B83 nuclear gravity bomb and prohibit any funding for B83 sustainment. The B83 is the last megaton-class nuclear weapon in our arsenal. It exists to destroy deeply buried targets. China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran are putting some of the things they value most underground, covered in steel and concrete. The B83 is currently our only way of getting to those targets. When the Biden administration proposed to begin retiring the B83 last year, we asked: How are you going to replace them? They didn't have an answer. So, Democrats and Republicans agreed on a provision in the FY 2023 NDAA that allowed the Department to retire up to 25 percent of those bombs but prohibited any further retirements until the Department completed the study on how to replace that capability. As of this date, the Biden Pentagon is still studying the problem, and we are not any closer to the B83 replacement. The language included in our bill repeats the bipartisan compromise struck in last year's NDAA--nothing more and nothing less. I also note this amendment would prohibit all sustaining funding to the B83. Not even the Biden administration thinks this is a good idea. Stockpile sustainment includes the safety and surveillance activities necessary to keep nuclear weapons safe and secure. There is no exception in this amendment to allow for those activities to continue. Completely cutting off funds is irresponsible. Mr.…”