Adam Smith

We were not entering an arms race because we bilaterally have a verifiable inspection regime for the weapons that are deployed.

Escalation is escalation, and nuclear use would be the ultimate escalation.

I think we should maintain our policy of not using them first and using them as a credible deterrent.

Is there a way that we can do this in a more cost-effective manner?

I hope that as we go forward and try to figure out what the new nuclear deterrent needs to look like we don't imagine that we have to have absolutely everything.

Credible deterrent is not just about how many nuclear weapons you have, but it is also about maintaining an open dialogue.

I don't think we should simply say, 'Well, it is important so we are going to spend whatever it takes.'

We have to have enough of a deterrent to make sure that they never use them because they know that it would lead to their own destruction because of the size of our deterrent.

I appreciate the focus on our nuclear weapons deterrent for this week. I think it is incredibly important.

We absolutely have to have a nuclear deterrent because, unfortunately, there other countries--and hostile countries like Russia, North Korea--that have nuclear weapons.

If we are attacked through cyber, what is an appropriate response?

We still don't really have a comprehensive strategy for how to do that. That is part of the problem.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate you holding this hearing on this very important topic, and it is one that I guess we are probably going to spend more than 55 minutes trying to figure out the problem, unfortunately.

I would agree completely with Mike that designating the Muslim Brotherhood would be counterproductive.

This is the one group, Al Qaeda, ISIS, Boko Haram, Al Shabaab, et cetera, that wakes up every morning trying to kill as many Westerners as is humanly possible.

I think you can rank the threats in different ways, but I have always felt that the number one threat was what is presented by Al Qaeda and ISIS and all of the offshoots.

On Monday, February 6 and Tuesday, February 7, 2017, I was unable to return to Washington, DC for recorded votes due to inclement weather at home in the Puget Sound region. Had I been present, I would have voted: ``Yes'' on rollcall vote…

A strong infrastructure means a strong America, an America that competes globally, supports local, regional, economic development, and creates jobs.

We did spend $619 billion... for fiscal year 2017 on our defense budget.

The language around it, you know, the portion of it that said, well, we will give preference to Christians over Muslims, the degree to which it was called a, quote, 'Muslim ban,' which did come out of some people's mouths, the way we do…

Partnerships are going to be enormously important.

The incredible importance of alliances... alarms me slightly about the 'America first' approach.

Cutting taxes again by multi-trillion dollars is not going to make that easier.

I will also agree with the chairman that we have to figure out how to spend the money smarter.

We face an incredibly complex threat environment.