On the recordMay 17, 2012
I want to thank Mr. Price. Mr. Chairman, I want to echo what he has just said about the importance of this amendment. This amendment merely says that the President shall not unilaterally do these reductions without it being pursuant to a treaty or a statute passed by Congress, just that Congress has to be involved. This provision parallels a provision in the new START Implementation Act. It recognizes the concern that Congress has from the information that is coming out of the administration. The Associated Press just reported that the Obama administration is weighing options for sharp new cuts to the nuclear force, including a reduction of up to 80 percent in the number of deployed weapons following just on new START, which has additional reductions, coupled with the President's open-mic statements that he wants greater flexibility on missile defense in a secret deal with the Russians. You have to come to a point where Congress has to be concerned that they be in the loop, that the President not take unilateral actions to both reduce our nuclear weapons at the same time that he's negotiating to diminish our missile defense system with the Russians as part of his secret deal.
