Richard K. Armey: “let me just say I am proud of what the Congress is doing this week. Like the balanced budget agreement, like the first…”

“let me just say I am proud of what the Congress is doing this week. Like the balanced budget agreement, like the first tax cuts in 16 years, like the real welfare reform, like all the other elements in the contract with America, we are here once again taking the lead on an important issue. Only this one may be the most important issue of them all. Some happy day in the future, when we are all elderly and retired, we will find ourselves tucking a grandchild in for the night. Unlike our own generation, when we were young, that child will be going to sleep in his bed safe from any foreign attack because this Congress made the decision to deploy a national missile defense. We are going to be able to smile and say to that child, ``we gave you a defense that defends.'' The best anyone could give us was the advice to duck and cover. But missile defense is about more than making American children safe in their beds. I believe it will advance the cause of freedom around the world. It will do so by taking away one of the most horrible props that modern dictatorships use to intimidate their own people, the terror weapon. Missiles today are prestige items. Any dictator that owns them can appear more powerful and enduring. If he cannot win the affection of his own people, his missiles can at least instill in them a measure of respect.”