Dianne Feinstein: “I was 13 years old when I saw this picture. When we discuss nuclear weapons, this is the picture I remember. The only…”

“I was 13 years old when I saw this picture. When we discuss nuclear weapons, this is the picture I remember. The only country on Earth that has ever used nuclear weapons is our own. It has been debated ever since whether this was positive because it saved American troops and ended the war or whether it has launched our country and other countries into a race which well could prove disastrous for all of us. This is a photograph of Hiroshima after the nuclear bomb was dropped on the city on August 6, 1945. Mr. President, 80,000 people died from the initial blast and 60,000 people died from radiation poisoning, for a total of 140,000 people dead. And that bomb was 15 kilotons. The second photograph is of Nagasaki after August 9, 1945. Approximately 75,000 of the city's 240,000 residents were killed instantly. In total, approximately 100,000 people died in the blast. I rise today once again to address a critical issue that is related to the security of the American people and our nuclear proliferation efforts: the renewed push by this administration to reopen the nuclear door, including funding for a 100-kiloton nuclear bunker buster. I have argued this on the Senate floor before, that such actions, combined with the policy of unilateralism and preemption, run counter to our values and nonproliferation efforts and put U.S. national security interests and American lives at risk.…”