Political Quotes

“The reality behind the fiscal cliff is that, if we really get down to work, talking with one another, digging into the details, it really is not that hard. The nuclear arsenal is a prime example and something that doesn't get nearly the attention it deserves. It is an illustration of why the fiscal sequestration level over the next 10 years for the Department of Defense, which would bring it down to 2007 spending levels, adjusted for inflation, is really not that draconian. During the Cold War, the United States spent, on average, $35 billion a year on its nuclear weapons complex. Today it spends an estimated $55 billion. The nuclear weapons budget is spread across the Department of Defense, Department of Energy, the Department of Homeland Security. And the government doesn't publicly disclose how much it is, but the last year that the elements were aggregated together, it spent at least $52.4 billion. That's in 2008, according to the Carnegie Endowment for Peace. That doesn't include classified programs, and it was 5 times the State Department budget, 7 times the EPA, and 14 times what the Department of Energy spent on everything else it does. Indeed, the President agreed to a $200 billion modernization in order to secure the approval of the strategic arms reduction treaty in the Senate. Well, perhaps it's time for us to take a step back and ask what is actually the purpose. Who is the enemy that this nuclear arsenal is going to deter?…”