Lynn C. Woolsey: “just when we thought star wars was relegated to the video rental store, it comes back as national policy. Mr. Chairman…”

“just when we thought star wars was relegated to the video rental store, it comes back as national policy. Mr. Chairman, It is unbelievable that in the same week that the Gingrich Congress passed a budget that hurts seniors, hurts children, and hurts the environment, we are considering spending $245 billion on the military. This bill that we are talking about now will accelerate the space-based star wars program and wind up costing $30 billion to $40 billion by the time the project is completed. That is not science fiction, folks; it is double-feature horror show: yesterday's conference report and today's defense bill. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of the DeFazio amendment because the Nation cannot waste $30 billion to $40 billion on a space-based star wars system. When our seniors are losing the guarantee of high-quality health care, this Nation cannot afford to waste $30 billion to $40 billion on a space-based star wars system when our young people cannot afford to go to college. This Nation cannot afford to waste $30 billion to $40 billion on a space-based star wars system when poor children are losing the guarantee of basic health care. Mr. Chairman, let us ground ourselves in reality for a moment. The United States spends as much on the military as all of our allies combined. We spend 100 times more money on the military than Iraq. Iraq, which is the biggest spender among the rogue nations.…”