Doug Bereuter: “not too many months ago this Congress created a commission to examine the threat of distribution of weapons of mass…”

“not too many months ago this Congress created a commission to examine the threat of distribution of weapons of mass destruction, and specifically, the development of ballistic missile technology to rogue countries and to lesser developed countries. That commission, a bipartisan commission of some of the most distinguished Americans in the area of defense, security and intelligence, has unanimously made its recommendations to the Congress. I know that Members will be busy the next several weeks, but I urge them to look at the executive summary or the full report which has been presented to their offices. I think this report is chillingly important. It suggests to us that our assumptions in the administration were very faulty when it comes to the amount of time, the difficulty that countries will have in securing ballistic missile systems and weapons of mass destruction. We have, they tell us, far underestimated the opportunity to buy or to acquire technology for that purpose. Mr. Speaker, I urge Members to look at this report. It is one of the most important items of information being brought to our attention on national security for many years. It is up to my colleagues to examine this and to try to have an impact on the future Congress, the 106th Congress.”