[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 203 (Monday, December 18, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2380]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         WE NEED THE B-2 BOMBER

                                 ______


                          HON. J.C. WATTS, JR.

                              of oklahoma

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, December 18, 1995

  Mr. WATTS of Oklahoma. Mr. Speaker, President Reagan said, ``If we 
are forced to fight, we must have the means and the determination to 
prevail or we will not have what it takes to secure the peace.''
  Our zest for freedom will supply the determination--and the Congress, 
through the language in the defense authorization bill for fiscal year 
1996, will supply the means.
  An integral part of the means to fight and win is the B-2. The 
chairman and members of the National Security Committee have clearly 
supported the B-2. Studies indicate the United States will require more 
than 20 B-2 bombers to support the U.S. national military strategy and 
that makes the B-2 a critical part of our war fighting arsenal.
  Let's set the record straight: The aging fleet of B-52 and B-1 
bombers will see their performance decline in the next 5-10 years and 
can never perform the stealth mission of the B-2.
  There are no new bombers on the drawing board for the next 20 years, 
and the B-2 is an installment on Congress' promise to revitalize our 
national security posture.
  Conferees have always intended to continue industrial base activities 
necessary for production of additional B-2's.
  If the program is expected to continue, prior year funds must be 
obligated immediately. Only then, will the hundreds of thousands 
directly involved in this program clearly understand our support for 
this much-needed program, and last,
  The B-2 and its stealth technology is within our economic and 
production capability--it must be acquired while we can.
  I challenge each of my colleagues to think about world events. I 
challenge each of my colleagues to think about your safety and the 
safety of your families. The notion that we are safe--or war is less 
likely--should be dismissed. While their names may have changed, the 
tools of mass destruction are still there--ballistic missiles, chemical 
weapons, nuclear weapons, and other threats to our very existence. We 
must have the technology to counter that threat and the B-2 is part of 
our technological edge.
  This is our only chance to harness the B-2's revolutionary 
capabilities. Capabilities that, because of who we are and what we 
stand for, will benefit not just the people of America, but the entire 
world. The time is now to move forward with the B-2.

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