Lynn C. Woolsey: “today I have introduced the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty Commitments Act. It calls on the Bush administration to keep…”

“today I have introduced the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty Commitments Act. It calls on the Bush administration to keep America's word, to live up to the agreements we have made to reduce our arsenal of nuclear weapons. The Cold War has been over for about 15 years. I can accept, although I disagree, with the argument that an aggressive nuclear arms race might have been the right approach in a bipolar standoff between rival superpowers, but at a time when our greatest threat comes from stateless terrorists there are smarter ways to protect America. Mr. Speaker, 33 years after the United States signed onto the Nonproliferation Treaty, or NPT, our government is actively seeking to undermine it. Last year, for example, the Bush administration sought $70 million for a new and completely unnecessary nuclear weapon, the Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator, commonly known as the ``bunker buster.'' Mr. Speaker, the United States of America already possesses 10,000 nuclear weapons. We already spend $6 billion annually on nuclear weapon activities, activities which represent a substantial increase over Cold War era expenditures. Do we really need to spend more money on weapons that will make the world more dangerous while ignoring other national security priorities, thumbing our nose at international law, and losing global credibility in the process?…”