Jon Kyl: “I think, while we have accepted this amendment, it is important that the Record be corrected because Senator Harkin said…”

“I think, while we have accepted this amendment, it is important that the Record be corrected because Senator Harkin said some things that I believe not to be correct. I also think that we need to be careful about how we act around here. The fact that some people made some estimates as to how much it was going to cost to construct the National Ignition Facility and in fact were greatly underestimating the cost of the facility should not be a reason for us to suggest that this facility is unnecessary. They suggest that it is a 'boondoggle,' to use the word of the Senator from Iowa. They suggest that it is in the same category of some other discretionary projects which we end up not funding in Congress. In fact, the Senator from Iowa and others recognized its importance in their support for the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty when they argued that we didn't need testing any more because we were going to have this wonderful Stockpile Stewardship Program, a part of which is the ignition facility, and, therefore, they were willing to rely upon the Stockpile Stewardship Program and the National Ignition Facility in lieu of testing forevermore.”