William R. Richardson: “his bill is the most far-reaching foreign policy bill to come before the House in several years, and we are debating it…”

“his bill is the most far-reaching foreign policy bill to come before the House in several years, and we are debating it for 10 hours to meet a political deadline and to make the congressional recess. This is what this bill does: It would force the United States to take on the world by itself in every instance; it would put excessive conditions and restrictions on the President's conduct of national security affairs; it would cripple U.N. peacekeeping; and it would move the United States toward new security commitments in Eastern and Central Europe at a time of declining resources. The bill raises significant issues that go to the heart of national security. Title II raises questions about whether we choose star wars over readiness in our national defense strategy; title II creates a National Security Commission that would usurp the role of Congress and the executive branch; and titles IV and V seriously threaten U.S. national security by eliminating an important collective security tool and completely undermines the President's authority as Commander in Chief.”