[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 12465]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    OUR NATIONAL DEFENSE IS IN PERIL

  (Mr. McKEON asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. McKEON. As Congress continues to debate proposals to raise the 
debt limit and rein in Federal spending, I wish to remind my colleagues 
of the perils of Senator Reid's proposal, specifically as it relates to 
national defense. The Reid plan would cut defense, including funds to 
maintain the reliability of our nuclear weapons and triad of strategic 
delivery vehicles that represent our deterrent for both ourselves and 
our allies.
  Because the Obama administration has reduced our strategic forces to 
the lowest level in decades, the health of our deterrent must be a top 
national security priority. Prior to the ratification of the New START 
Treaty, the President committed to fund a host of nuclear modernization 
efforts that were supported on a bipartisan and bicameral basis. The 
House also passed language in the fiscal year 2012 Defense 
authorization bill to ensure the President makes good on these 
commitments.
  We cannot allow a proposal like Senator Reid's to jeopardize the 
reliability and security of our strategic deterrent. We must continue 
to maintain our investment in our security, stability, and peace.

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