[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 173 (Thursday, December 13, 2001)]
[House]
[Pages H10060-H10061]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         AMERICA IS FIRING THE STARTING GUN ON A NEW ARMS RACE

  (Mr. MARKEY asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. MARKEY. Mr. Speaker, this Administration has Arms Control 
Amnesia. The President has decided to unilaterally withdraw from the 
Anti-ballistic Missile Treaty. He and his administration do this 
without really fully understanding what the response from China will 
be.
  In fact, if we decide that we are going to attempt to deploy a 
system, by the way, one on which we have already spent $50 billion 
without any real success, then there is a very high probability that 
there will be a dramatic increase in Chinese expenditures on their 
missiles that will be pointed at the United States. We have already 
been through that arms race for generations. It is time for us to end 
that race.
  The ostensible justification for pulling out, however, is September 
11. That event was not caused by the absence of a missile defense; it 
is because we did not have a policy of thinking about

[[Page H10061]]

thoroughly the terrorist threats that could in fact jeopardize the 
lives of ordinary Americans.

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