Political Quotes

“We have over 5,100 nuclear warheads. Now I have seen it cited at one point that that gives us the power to destroy the Earth 23 times. I will confess that I have not done an extensive fact check on that estimate. So let's just say it's only 10 times. That we have the nuclear capability to destroy the Earth 10 times--less than half of what some of the estimates have been. That strikes me and I think every other rational observer as a more than sufficient deterrent. This is not a matter of saying that we're going to get rid of all of our nuclear weapons and hope that everybody else does. It's a matter of recognizing the expense of maintaining that stockpile versus some other choices that could be involved in protecting our national security. And I know a number of Members on both sides of the aisle in this committee can look at shipbuilding, at planes, at support for our troops, and imagine a number of different ways that we could spend that money more effectively on national defense, not to mention the deficit. It's a very simple opposition to this argument. If this President or any President determines that it's in our best interest to reduce that stockpile, he should be able to propose it. Now it's a budget item. It has to come through Congress. It has to be debated. But the larger point is, again, we have over 5,100 nuclear warheads. Now it's true that we used to have even more than that.…”