Political Quotes

“I support a national missile defense. I have voted--repeatedly--to fund research and development that would make such a defense not just a theoretical hope but a reality. In the past, however, I have also opposed legislation identical to S. 257, the National Missile Defense Act of 1999 as it was introduced. I voted against it when it was reported from the Armed Services Committee. I did so, even though I unequivocally support providing our nation a real defense against missile attack, because I believed that as introduced the bill would not advance that objective and could possibly move us in the opposite direction. While it is imperative for the United States to deploy a defense against missile attacks by North Korea and other rogue nations, it is equally imperative that we consider affordability, operational effectiveness, and treaty implications when determining how best to proceed on such a major acquisition program. Mr. President, the Department of Defense, in testimony before the Armed Services Committee, has made it very clear that we can't accelerate the national missile defense program beyond what we're doing right now even if we spend significantly more money on it. Yet the original legislation implied that money is no object, that we should forgo our basic responsibility of getting the best defense possible for the taxpayer's dollar.”