John Chenoweth: “Mr. Chairman, I am a freshman, but I am a sad freshman tonight, because I think that the last vote, and if we pass this…”

“Mr. Chairman, I am a freshman, but I am a sad freshman tonight, because I think that the last vote, and if we pass this amendment, has in large part broken the Contract With America, not a Contract With America that was formed just in this last election cycle, but a Contract With America that was formed in the formulation of this Nation. When we talk about quality of life, there is no quality of life if this country is vulnerable to missile attack, and you and I all know that the entire dynamics of the debate changed in 1984 when SDI became a potential reality. The quality of life in America was more peaceful, because the Iron Curtain came down. I have trouble with H.R. 7, but it was President Reagan who said in 1984 that history teaches that wars begin when governments believe the price of aggression is cheap. Mr. Chairman, upon the formation of this country was John Jay in the Federalist Papers No. 4, who reminds us that-- Wisely, therefore, do they consider union and a good national government as necessary to put and keep them in such a situation as, instead of inviting war, will tend to repress and discourage it. That situation consists in the best possible state of defense, and necessarily depends on the government, the arms, and the resources of the country. I wish I felt this strongly about a few other parts of the bill, but I must stand firm on my principles.”