Douglas L. Peterson: “As relics of the cold war, when there was a serious nuclear threat, nuclear fallout shelters are being used to store…”

“As relics of the cold war, when there was a serious nuclear threat, nuclear fallout shelters are being used to store garden tools. Yet the Republicans are suggesting we need to prioritize our national security interest and place greater emphasis on incoming ballistic missiles over the development of Scud defense, which poses certainly a considerably greater threat to U.S. lives. A nuclear warhead weighs about 270 pounds, is slightly larger than a water cooler bottle and does not need a missile for effective delivery. It can be brought across the Mexican border in a pickup truck. And if you doubt that ability, just check the incoming from all over the world with cocaine as it arrives here every day. So why are we proposing the development of a multibillion dollar national missile defense that will take away resources from very important readiness, modernization, and quality of life programs for our defense? We will spend massive amounts of funds on a system that can be countered by a 1970 El Camino. What has happened to common sense? H.R. 7 is bad legislation. It directs our national defense priorities away from our troops. It restricts our peacekeeping participation and our capabilities there. It undermines the President's authority as commander-in-chief. It is a reckless expansion of U.S. defense commitments through our NATO participation. This bill certainly does not represent common sense. The common sense vote is no on this bill.”