[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 42 (Tuesday, April 12, 2005)]
[House]
[Pages H1873-H1874]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   SMART SECURITY AND NUCLEAR WEAPONS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Woolsey) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, last year the Subcommittee on Energy and 
Water Development of the Committee on Appropriations bravely stood up 
to the White House by rejecting the administration's request for new 
nuclear weapons funding.
  The White House had requested over $70 million for research on the 
robust nuclear earth penetrator, also known as the ``bunker buster'' 
and other nuclear weapons initiatives.
  The Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development of the Committee on 
Appropriations zeroed out the President's nuclear weapons initiative; 
and, just as importantly, they have boldly rejected all funding for the 
supremely misguided bunker buster nuclear bomb, labelling it 
provocative and unnecessary.
  I credit the subcommittee's chairman, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. 
Hobson). He courageously stood up to the White House on this issue. But 
President Bush did not let that stop him from once again requesting 
funding for the bunker buster bomb in this year's 2006 budget proposal.
  This year the President has requested $4 million to study the 
feasibility of constructing the bunker buster and another $4.5 billion 
for bunker buster testing in the Air Force budget. The President's 
budget also notes that he may request another $14 million for the 
bunker buster in fiscal year 2007.
  What could the Bush administration possibly be thinking? The United 
States already possesses the most sophisticated and modern military 
ever created, yet sometimes it seems like President Bush and his allies 
still think we are fighting the Cold War. Fortunately, there are still 
many,

[[Page H1874]]

many in Congress who live with the rest of us in the 21st century.
  The bunker buster's proponents claim that it is an important device 
needed in the post-9/11 world to enable our military to attack cave and 
hideouts with supreme precision, but we do not need a nuclear weapon to 
accomplish this. The U.S. already possesses the capability to target 
terrorists wherever they are hiding.
  The Bush administration's repeated attempts to develop new nuclear 
weapons like the bunker buster epitomizes the hypocrisy that 
underscores President Bush's foreign policy. At the same time that he 
seeks to prevent countries like Iran and North Korea from developing 
nuclear weapons, the White House has demonstrated its own nuclear 
weapons ambitions with a vigorous intensity.
  We must remember that the creation of the bunker buster would violate 
the nuclear non-proliferation treaty which the United States ratified 
in 1972. That is why later this week I will introduce a resolution 
calling on the United States to uphold its binding commitment to this 
vital international treaty.
  But these nuclear ambitions should not come as a surprise. In fact, 
it is just the latest in a long line of instances that demonstrate the 
Bush administration's petulant double standard when it comes to 
interacting with the rest of the world.
  Before the bunker buster came along, they rejected the Kyoto Protocol 
on global warming, claiming that it would hurt the United States 
economy. Before that, it was the rejection of the International 
Criminal Court which President Bush opposed because it would allow 
Americans who violated international laws to be tried for war crimes 
just like war criminals from other countries.
  The policy of rejecting international treaties is bad for the United 
States. Instead of thumbing our nose in the face of international law, 
America, the world's largest democracy, needs to serve as the gold 
standard for global consensus and agreement. That is why I have worked 
to develop a SMART Security platform for the 21st century.
  SMART Security is a Sensible Multi-lateral American Response to 
Terrorism. Instead of creating new nuclear weapons, SMART Security 
would work to control the spread of such weapons through aggressive 
diplomacy, global weapons inspections, and comprehensive non-
proliferation efforts.
  We need to lead the world's nations to end the era of nuclear 
weapons. We need to demonstrate that nuclear weapons will not protect 
the people of the world because if these weapons are actually used 
there will be nothing left to protect.
  Think about the price we have paid to eliminate weapons of mass 
destruction in Iraq, weapons that actually do not exist. Over 1,500 
American lives lost, more than 12,000 severely wounded American 
soldiers, tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians killed, and more than 
$200 billion spent.
  Should we not invest our resources in addressing genuine nuclear 
threats?
  Mr. Speaker, if we do not start working with the other nations in the 
world, there may come a time when other nations no longer want to work 
with us.

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