Political Quotes

“for the purpose of this debate, there are really only two nations which possess intercontinental systems that can strike the United States, and that is Russia and China. China has a system which can reach not only two States, Alaska and Hawaii, but, indeed, we have reason to believe that it could reach the central parts of the mainland United States. For the record, I am not talking about an organized command and control attack on the United States by China. I am talking about the accidental firing, the unintentional--perhaps in a training mission--firing of a live missile, either from Russia or China. Should not we have the bare minimum capability in this country to defend against a single or perhaps two or three missiles being fired? I say yes. Our difference is the schedule on which it is to be built. You have reasons to believe that $500 million is enough. I feel strongly, as does the committee, that $800 million is the required amount to keep the research and development at the most expeditious pace, such as a President can make the decision with regard to deployment.”