Jeff Bingaman: “There is concern on the signal that this repeal could send to other nations, especially those we are working with to…”

“There is concern on the signal that this repeal could send to other nations, especially those we are working with to stem the proliferation of nuclear weapons. In particular, my intent in submitting this amendment was the effect that the repeal would have on the Cooperative Threat Reduction Program, which was started by Senators Nunn, Lugar, and Domenici. I want to be assured that we do not send any bad-faith signals to Russia, and other countries, that participate in the program. The United States spends over a billion dollars a year in this effort; the repeal of the low-yield ban must not negatively affect this investment of the taxpayers' money.”