[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 49 (Monday, March 26, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2017-S2018]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            MISSILE DEFENSE

  Mr. KYL. Mr. President, the last subject I would like to comment on 
is an unrelated subject. It has to do with comments the President was 
overheard making in a meeting he was holding with Russian President 
Dmitri Medvedev at the Nuclear Security Summit in South Korea. He had a 
hot mike which captured comments he was making privately to President 
Medvedev. He requested a little space, as he put it, in negotiations 
over missile defense issues until after the election when he said he 
would have more flexibility.
  Well, obviously, this presents a problem that is going to have to be 
discussed with the Congress because if the President is, in effect, 
saying he would like to make a deal to limit U.S. missile defenses now, 
but he would be accountable to the American public if they became aware 
of it before his reelection bid, it would be very difficult for him to 
make the kind of concessions that President Medvedev wants. But if the 
Russian President would just wait until after the next election, then 
the President will have more flexibility to work with the Russians on 
what they want.
  Well, President Medvedev very helpfully said: I will pass this on to 
Vladimir.
  Here are a few things we know: We know President Obama canceled plans 
to station antiballistic defense systems in Poland and the Czech 
Republic. We know the President supported language in a new START 
treaty to link missile defense to nuclear reduction. We know the 
administration is sharing information with Russia, including plans to 
deploy missile defenses in Europe. We know the President has 
significantly reduced funding for and curtailed development of the U.S. 
national missile defense system, undermining our ability to effectively 
intercept long-range ballistic missiles, and we know the President has 
doubled down on efforts to reduce our nuclear arsenal while failing to 
honor his promises to modernize the aging nuclear weapon complex.
  What we don't know is what President Obama has in mind for working

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with the Russians after his reelection when he would--as he put it--
have some flexibility in negotiating with them. Perhaps the Russians in 
whom the President confided could shed some light on missile defense 
plans. Then perhaps the President should shed that light on these 
negotiations with the American people before discussing them with the 
Russians.
  I yield the floor.

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