Lynn C. Woolsey: “I am here today to highlight a security issue that has been overlooked since September 11, 2001. That would be the…”

“I am here today to highlight a security issue that has been overlooked since September 11, 2001. That would be the number of nuclear weapons in the world today. As I speak here on the floor of this House, the United States has 7,500 nuclear weapons deployed and ready for use. Their destructive power is equal to 80,000 Hiroshima-sized bombs. At the same time, Russia has more than 6,000 warheads scattered across Asia, some of them still on hair-trigger alert. I wonder if any are pointed at this building, this building that we are standing in right now. Even India, Pakistan, and now North Korea have joined the nuclear club. These countries are motivated to obtain nuclear weapons for several reasons: security, global influence, and pride. These countries are motivated to obtain nuclear weapons because other countries have them or are trying to get them, including the United States. It is a Catch-22 with unthinkable consequences. But make no mistake: every nuclear weapon built by any country on this Earth was built with money diverted from a school that should have been built, a hospital that should be saving lives, and food that should be feeding the poorest of the poor. The resources that human beings pour into weapons solely intended to facilitate their very own destruction is astonishing. These weapons threaten not only individuals and nations, but the very existence of humankind. This is a threat that cannot be tolerated.”