Ed Markey: “I come to the floor to speak on behalf of the amendment being offered by my colleagues Senator Warren from Massachusetts…”

“I come to the floor to speak on behalf of the amendment being offered by my colleagues Senator Warren from Massachusetts and Ranking Member Jack Reed from Rhode Island. I strongly support this amendment, and I want to explain why. A nuclear weapon is a nuclear weapon, period. They are the only human-made force that could destroy all of humanity in a matter of minutes. They annihilate utterly and completely. The size of the bomb does not matter. Using any nuclear weapon is a step so grave that it is, in and of itself, an act of war. It also invites nuclear retaliation. That is why President Ronald Reagan was right when he said: ``A nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought.'' Nuclear weapons are fundamentally different than any other military capability we possess. Congress must have a role in determining when these weapons are developed, how they are managed, and if, Heaven forbid, we must ever use them again. Oversight is one of the fundamental responsibilities of this body, and on no issue is it more important than nuclear weapons. That is why I support what Senator Warren and Senator Reed are doing. It rightly protects the role Congress must play in determining if and when we as a nation decide to develop more of the most lethal weapons on the planet. What Senator Warren and Senator Reed are doing is ensuring that Congress must authorize developing new or modified nuclear weapons because that is all important.…”