[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 81 (Tuesday, June 2, 2009)]
[House]
[Pages H6053-H6054]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       ENDING THE NUCLEAR THREAT

  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, when the Cold War ended, the people of the 
world hoped that the threat of nuclear war would end also, but that 
hasn't

[[Page H6054]]

happened. Today, more nations than ever have nuclear weapons. North 
Korea's powerful underground nuclear explosion last week reminded us 
that testing continues. And there are great fears that terrorists could 
get nuclear weapons through the black market. Tragically, the United 
States has not done enough to stop the threat.
  The previous administration turned its back on arms control. It 
practically laughed at America's obligations under the Nuclear Non-
Proliferation Treaty. It refused to push for Senate ratification of the 
comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, and it proceeded with plans for the 
United States to develop new nuclear weapons, which undermined our 
ability to deal with North Korea and Iran.
  Mr. Speaker, we must do better. The United States must lead. We must 
lead a new global effort to make the world nuclear free. It's the moral 
thing to do, and it's also smart politics. If we are seen as leading 
the fight for nonproliferation and disarmament, we will be in a much 
better position to convince the world community to put peaceful 
pressure on North Korea and Iran to give up their nuclear ambitions.
  President Obama is already moving the right direction. In his speech 
in Prague on April 5, he promised to reduce the role of nuclear weapons 
in our national security strategy. He announced the new diplomatic 
effort with Russia to reduce warheads. He promised to work for 
ratification of the Test Ban Treaty, and he said he would seek a new 
treaty to end the production of fissile materials for use in nuclear 
weapons. I welcome all of these policies.
  In fact, 3 days before the press speech in Prague, I introduced 
Resolution 333, which is called No Nukes. It calls upon the United 
States to take a number of important actions to end the nuclear threat. 
It calls upon the United States to pursue multilateral negotiations to 
produce verifiable steps that every country should take to eliminate 
their nuclear weapons. It calls for the United States and Russia to 
work together to end the deployment of nuclear weapons that are 
currently operational and can be launched on short notice. It urges the 
President to declare that so long as the United States has nuclear 
weapons, we will not--and I say we will not--use them first. It calls 
for ending the previous administration's policy of preventative warfare 
and ending our development of new weapons of mass destruction, and it 
calls for a ban on weapons in outer space.
  I've also introduced House Resolution 363, which describes my Smart 
Security Platform for the 21st Century, which includes several 
initiatives to stop the spread of weapons of mass destruction. It calls 
for beefing up inspections and regional security arrangements to stop 
proliferation. And it advocates more funding for the programs designed 
to keep Russian weapons and materials from falling into the wrong 
hands.
  I urge my colleagues, please examine both of these resolutions and 
support them. There is no time to waste. The world is getting more 
dangerous every single minute. And if there is a nuclear attack, we 
won't be able to save our lives by ducking under our desks like we were 
taught in grade school.
  Mr. Speaker, America must move aggressively to end the nuclear 
menace. It's the most important thing we can do for our country, and it 
is the most important thing we can do for our children and our 
grandchildren.

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