Political Quotes

“This amendment would prohibit funding for the W-87-1 nuclear warhead and attempt to life extend the Minuteman ICBM. In practical terms, this amendment is a backdoor attempt to kill the U.S. ICBM program. We have heard time and again from the U.S. Air Force, STRATCOM, and GAO that the Minuteman ICBM cannot be life extended. The parts simply don't exist, and we need this new capability. This would also fly in the face of the decision made by President Biden in his nuclear posture review to continue retiring the Minuteman III and replacing it with Sentinel ICBM. This was the same decision President Trump and President Obama came to when they were reviewing this data. Adopting this amendment would also send a terrible signal to our allies. Allies around the world rely on the protection provided by the U.S. nuclear umbrella which reduces the incentive for those nations to pursue nuclear programs of their own. Extending the nuclear guarantee underwrites the security of over 30 formal treaty allies including NATO, Japan, Australia, and South Korea. This amendment is akin to unilateral disarmament and would be a huge win for Russia and China. Mr. Speaker, I urge Members to oppose this amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.”