National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005

NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2005

Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I thank the Senator from Oklahoma for his courtesy in allowing me to speak briefly against this amendment which, as we have heard, prohibits any funding both for a feasibility study on the robust nuclear earth penetrator and for the advanced concepts initiative. My concern is the premise upon which this amendment is offered. If the events of the last decade have taught us anything, it is that weakness invites aggression by those who see that as an opportunity to terrorize or otherwise wreak havoc on innocent civilians in this country and elsewhere.

The concept that we should somehow prohibit important research-and this amendment would eliminate research because, of course, production is prohibited by current law-the suggestion and the logic, if there is any, that by somehow blinding ourselves to the threat and the means to overcome the threats that surround us in an ever dangerous world is beyond me. If we have learned anything in the last decade from the time of the bombing of the World Trade Center in 1993 to the bombing of our American embassies in Africa to the Khobar Towers incident to the bombing of the USS Cole, it is that weakness in the eyes of terrorists and rogue nations invites aggression.

I wonder from where the sense of moral equivalency comes that we often hear in this debate. There are those who have said time and again that if we are to try to reduce the proliferation of nuclear weapons around the world, how can America then conduct research on the robust nuclear earth penetrator and on those areas covered by the advanced concepts initiative? But
I wonder if those who are making these statements truly believe America's research on such weapons systems to protect ourselves and to defend ourselves is somehow the equivalent of the actions of rogue states and terrorists. Moral equivalency is simply wrong.

There are those who suggest that somehow by conducting essential research into hardened weapons like the robust earth nuclear penetrator, that may perhaps be able to protect our country and assist us in exposing hardened bunkers, which can contain command and control or perhaps even biological or other weapons of mass destruction research facilities, that we will start a new arms race. I detect a hint of perhaps the old cold war mentality that somehow they believe we will enter into some sort of arms race which will endanger the world.

The truth is, America, as a fraction of its GDP, spends more on defense than the next 20 nations in the world. We are the only superpower that exists in the world and there is no risk of an arms race such as we saw occur with the former Soviet Union. So this is merely a matter of allowing us to do the basic research into weapons that would allow us to protect ourselves against hardened and deeply buried targets where laboratories could store or produce weapons of mass destruction. We can conduct research on these weapons as a way to protect ourselves and indeed make America safer.

Finally, this amendment would eliminate the advanced concepts initiative. It is important to reiterate what that initiative will do. The initiative focuses on increasing the reliability, safety, and security of our existing nuclear weapons stockpile. It focuses on assessing the capabilities of our adversaries to ensure we avoid a technological surprise. It focuses on thinking up innovative methods for countering our adversaries' weapons of mass destruction and developing weapons systems requirements, and it focuses on evaluating concepts to meet future military requirements.

I fail to see the wisdom of our willingness to blind ourselves to emerging threats in a very dangerous world. As I say, our weakness, our willingness to disarm ourselves and blind ourselves to the danger that surrounds us is an invitation to those who see that as a means for them to use terrorism to accomplish their political goals in this world in which we live.

I urge my colleagues to oppose the amendment today. I thank the manager of the bill for this time and I yield back any remaining time to him.