Political Quotes

“I want my colleagues to ask themselves a question. That question is, how long will it be before rogue nations are able to reach American soil with ballistic missiles? In 1995, some said 15 years. President Clinton used this information to justify his veto of the 1996 defense authorization bill which called for the deployment of a national missile defense system by the year 2003. Mr. Speaker, as our esteemed chairman of the House Committee on National Security, the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Spence), said, the missile threat is not 15 years away, it is here now. Recently we found out that North Korea fired its Taepo Dong 1 missile over the Sea of Japan. This missile has a maximum range of 1,250 miles. If anyone thinks that North Korea and other nations do not have the technological ability to hit American soil, we could all be dead wrong. The U.S. must be able to defend itself from ballistic missile attacks. Efforts not unlike those to make the U.S. first to the moon are needed to protect the American way of life. The President must agree to put a ballistic missile defense system in place today because the American citizens need to be secure that they are safe.”