[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 72 (Tuesday, April 27, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Page S2205]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             FOREIGN POLICY

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, now on one final matter, yesterday I 
discussed how the Biden administration's wishful thinking has set them 
up for foreign policy failure in Central Asia and the Middle East. The 
likely catastrophe in Afghanistan may well consume the administration 
and distract from the challenges proposed by competition with Russia 
and China.
  The President's meager defense budget proposal suggests his 
administration isn't taking strategic competition very seriously to 
begin with. Russia and China have spent years--years--investing heavily 
in military modernization with a specific eye toward threatening U.S. 
forces. We spent the previous administration repairing the readiness of 
our forces and beginning to modernize after years on the back foot.
  A bipartisan Commission concluded we would need sustained increases 
in defense funding to successfully counter the growing Russian and 
Chinese capabilities. Yet adjusting for inflation, President Biden's 
proposal would amount to a reduction in spending.
  This administration has talked tough with both these rivals, and I 
have given credit where credit has been due, but when the time came to 
speak in the language that Putin and Xi understand best--money and 
power--this White House flinched.
  Just last week, Russia reminded us of the threat it poses to Europe 
with a massive mobilization of forces on Ukraine's border. NATO allies 
are already struggling to meet their commitments on collective 
security.
  So you have to ask, Would declining American spending make Putin more 
likely or less likely to think twice next time? And what about China? 
Will China be more likely or less likely to respect its neighbors' 
territorial waters if the United States stops contending for an edge in 
naval and long-range capabilities and lets ourselves fall behind?
  The head of the U.S. Strategic Command reported last week that both 
Russia and China are modernizing their nuclear arsenals faster than the 
United States. He warned that if we fail to keep pace, we will be ``at 
risk of losing credibility in the eyes of our adversaries.''
  Our nuclear triad has preserved the peace for decades, but crucial 
components are now decades older than the men and women we have 
operating them. If we want to maintain effective deterrence, we have to 
modernize.
  Whether this administration likes it or not, we are locked in a race 
with adversaries who plan literally decades ahead. A lack of resolve 
will compound on itself and invite disaster. Surely that cannot be the 
legacy President Biden hopes to leave.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

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