Ronald Dellums: “I want to have the attention of the distinguished gentleman from New York. I would like to read briefly and in part from…”

“I want to have the attention of the distinguished gentleman from New York. I would like to read briefly and in part from a letter from the Secretary of Defense. It says, ``I understand and share the concerns about Russian behavior that lie behind this amendment,'' speaking of the Solomon amendment, ``but shutting down the CTR program would not be an effective method for addressing these concerns. Instead, shutting down the CTR program would severely damage our security.'' Now, this is the Secretary of Defense. Damage our security. This is a dangerous amendment. We are jeopardizing American Security. Now, to speak further, The CTR is directly reducing the threat to the United States from former Soviet nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction. Under CTR, the United States is directly facilitating the dismantlement of ICBM's and silos, bombers, ballistic missiles, submarines, and other weapons that were designed to destroy the United States. For example, CTR has provided critical support for the following achievements: Over 3,800 nuclear warheads have been removed from deployment, and over 800 launchers have been eliminated. Kazakhstan has become a nuclear free area and the Ukraine and Belarus will become so during 1996, halting potential proliferation brought about by the breakup of the Soviet Union.”