Dianne Feinstein: “I thank the Chair. I also thank the distinguished Senator from Alabama. I wish to speak on the bill. There is probably…”

“I thank the Chair. I also thank the distinguished Senator from Alabama. I wish to speak on the bill. There is probably no one in the Senate I have greater respect for than the chairman of the Committee on Armed Services. He certainly does know his material. He certainly has put in the years. He certainly has done the work. I very profoundly disagree with what he has said with respect to the robust nuclear earth penetrator. We have heard this is only a study, that it is minor in scope, that we have debated this before. It is certainly true, we have debated this before. We debated it before because we feel strongly about this issue. We have debated it before because the Congress eliminated the money last year. We have debated it before because we have a strong passion and belief that this is the wrong way for our Nation to go. The fact that we have debated this issue before--Senator Kennedy, Senator Reed, Senator Levin, myself-- does not in any way, shape, or form downgrade or demean our arguments. Let me discuss this program which is only ``a study.'' Let me discuss for a moment the way this program started out. It started with appropriations for the study of a robust nuclear earth penetrator with a 5-year budget projection of $486 million. That is how it started.…”