Jack Reed: “I am disappointed the Feinstein-Kennedy amendment did not pass because I believe that amendment really responded to the…”

“I am disappointed the Feinstein-Kennedy amendment did not pass because I believe that amendment really responded to the issues of the moment. We are in a dangerous time because we see around the globe where there are nations aspiring to become nuclear powers, where proliferation is one of the most dangerous threats this Nation faces, particularly proliferation that would provide fissile material to terrorists, which is the great fear of all of us. In order to resist the growth of nuclear powers around the globe, we have to be faithful to our commitment to arms control and our sense that further development of nuclear weapons--and, I would argue, weapons without military requirements--is really not so much an exercise in protecting the United States but it is an exercise that will lead us down a path that could see our country exposed to even more dangers. So I am very much concerned that the Feinstein-Kennedy amendment failed. Therefore, I am proposing an amendment that I hope will essentially put restraints upon the use of these dollars in the development of nuclear weapons, and I will explain it in more detail later.”