Political Quotes

“I thank the chairman. I rise in vigorous opposition to Mr. Holt's amendment. At a time when the technical and strategic case for missile defense has never been stronger, the gentleman's amendment would strike bipartisan provisions that will improve our missile defenses. For example, the amendment would strike a provision the committee adopted that would improve the kill assessment capability of the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense system. Why would the gentleman want a national missile defense system with a less robust kill assessment capability than is technically possible? The amendment would strike a provision dealing with an Analysis of Alternatives on the future space sensor architecture for our missile defense system. Does the gentleman not want an informed judgment and study on a persistent overhead space sensor system? The gentleman may be laboring under misimpressions of missile defense. I know there are so-called ``experts'' in the disarmament community who labor to create doubts about our missile defense system, but I ask, How many of these ``experts'' have been briefed on what the system does, on the incredibly technically demanding tests that the warfighters create? I would say none. I urge the gentleman to withdraw his amendment, to come get some classified briefings; and let's see if we can't add him to the overwhelming bipartisan group of policymakers that supports a strong and robust national and regional missile defense system. With that, Mr.…”