Political Quotes

“this amendment which we offer is one that was debated last night on the floor of the Senate. It is very straightforward. If we are to go forward with a national missile defense system, we should have honest, realistic testing, including testing for countermeasures so we can say to the American people: Your money is being well spent; so we can say to them: If this is a source of security and defense for America, it is one that will work and function. Some have looked at my amendment and said it must be critical of the system because Durbin has questioned the system in the past. I presented, during the course of the debate last night, a letter from the Director of Testing and Evaluation in the Department of Defense, Mr. Philip Coyle, in which he writes to me and says: This letter is to support your effort to reinforce the need for realistic testing of the National Missile Defense System. It is very clear to the Pentagon, as it is to those who listened to the debate last night, that this is not a friendly amendment nor an amendment that sets out to end the national missile defense system. This is an amendment which asks for the facts and asks for the reality. I hope Senators will support it.”