Zoe Lofgren: “many Congressmen more senior than I have expressed concern that a topic as serious as the revision of the laws and…”

“many Congressmen more senior than I have expressed concern that a topic as serious as the revision of the laws and procedures governing the national security of the United States deserved more than a day and a half of debate. I agree, and last night, after I was recognized to offer an amendment, I was cut off and not allowed to do so. Consideration of my proposal was prohibited by the majority, but I want to let the American people know what my proposal was. Many people back home in my district have expressed total amazement to me that we would even consider resumption of the star wars missile defense program. We all remember when the Berlin Wall fell and the cold war ended. In light of that fact, why would we want to spend $30 to $60 billion on star wars now? We've already spent $30 billion and we have nothing to show for it. With the cold war over, it is time American families get something concrete and useful for their tax dollars. For the same amount of money that we would spend on star wars, we could extend the school day to 5 p.m. for every child in America. That would be useful to the families that I represent and to families across the country. Working parents could stop worrying about their kids at loose ends, unsupervised from the time school is out until their weary parents return home from work. And wouldn't this help our country immeasurably?”