Political Quotes

“Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of this amendment, which would strike $65 million for the development of the W76-2, or low-yield, nuclear warhead and move that funding to the nuclear nonproliferation account. The development of these warheads is based on the fallacy that nuclear war can be small and contained using smaller, lower yield weaponry. The idea that a nuclear war can be contained or minimized is dubious at best and terrifyingly dangerous at worst. Former Secretary of State George Schultz has affirmed this, saying that ``nuclear weapons are nuclear weapons'' and that the only logical path of a nuclear strike is escalation to higher yield weapons. This sentiment was recently reiterated in a letter signed by Secretary Schultz and nearly three dozen other current and former national security experts and officials, including former Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Richard Lugar and former Secretary of Defense William Perry, opposing the development of these types of warheads. Further development of these types of weapons creates a greater possibility for a nuclear confrontation that will be impossible to contain. Instead of making us safer, it will only increase the chances that countless lives could be wiped out in an instant. This is an excellent amendment. It will make America safer. Mr. Chairman, I urge my colleagues to support the excellent amendment by the gentlewoman from California.”