Adam Schiff: “I have to take my hat off to my colleague from Washington, because no one has led more consistently and more strongly on…”

“I have to take my hat off to my colleague from Washington, because no one has led more consistently and more strongly on this issue than you have. Before our caucus had a strategy jointly that we have put forward before the President came forward, Jay Inslee was there, and you have been just the most powerful advocate for years for an Apollo-like project to bring about energy independence. Let me touch on the first point you made, and then I want to go a little bit more into energy independence and talk about some of the other pillars, and then get to the pillar we are going to focus on this evening. You mentioned that the priority has to be placed on securing this nuclear material in the former Soviet Union. I agree with you exactly. When you look at what is preventing al Qaeda from detonating a nuclear weapon on our soil, you might look at the difficulty of getting the material in the country. Well, that is not very difficult. Unfortunately, as we have discussed, we don't have the portal technology engaged to the degree that we need it, and how would you get a nuclear weapon in the country? Well, I like to quote the chancellor of UCLA, Chancellor Carnesale, who says, well, you could smuggle it in a bail of marijuana. That is one way you could get it in. That is sort of the magnitude of the problem of keeping it out. That is a tough strategy at the border. Well, then, you might ask, what about the technology? Maybe it is tough to actually build the mechanics of the bomb.…”