Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2008

Floor Speech

ENERGY AND WATER DEVELOPMENT AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2008 -- (House of Representatives - June 19, 2007)

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Mr. MARKEY. Mr. Chairman, I rise to commend Chairman Visclosky and Ranking Member Hobson for their clear vision and their courage in producing this bill. This bill represents an historic shift in policy, and that is why this bill deserves such strong support.

This bill almost doubles the funding for real nuclear nonproliferation programs, both in the former Soviet Union and around the world, adding close to $1 billion for the most effective programs. The bill provides dramatic increases over the President's request for the program, and I commend Mr. Visclosky and Mr. Hobson for their crucial, long overdue investment in the security of the United States. We are here only because of their leadership.

Secondly, while the President wants to build thousands of new warheads at a price tag of up to $100 billion, this bill puts a brake on the Reliable Replacement Warhead program and it demands an explanation of why the United States needs to build thousands of new nuclear weapons even as we are, with agreements with the Russians, trying to reduce the number of nuclear weapons in this world.

I commend the chairman and the ranking member of the subcommittee for dramatically realigning our nuclear priorities in such a positive manner. I urge adoption of this historic measure.

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