Political Quotes

“I stand in strong opposition to this amendment and the extreme damage it would do to our national security. Need I mention that a nuclear-armed power just invaded its neighbor, a country that has modernized its ICBM force. Defunding the modernization of the land-based leg of our nuclear triad in this global environment should be unthinkable. Here are the facts. First, China is our pacing threat. It is on track to double its nuclear stockpile in the next decade, matching our ICBM force. At that rate, it may acquire the ability to strike all 400 US ICBM sites in one wave. Meanwhile, Russia is rattling its already modernized nuclear saber to coerce the U.S. and our allies. Defunding the ICBM modernization at a time like this sends a terrible message to our adversaries and to our allies. To our allies, can they trust us with the nuclear umbrella when we have ICBMs that are 50 years old? Secondly, our military leaders have stated there is zero margin left to delay modernization of this ground-based leg of our triad. The Minuteman III was built in the 1970s and had a designed lifespan of 10 years. Our airmen have worked miracles to sustain these weapons, but they have become far more expensive to maintain than to replace. The price tag for replacement is high, but it pales in comparison to a catastrophic consequence of failing in deterrence. Finally, the ground-based leg of our triad has never been more important.…”