Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2014

Floor Speech

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Mrs. LUMMIS. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to the Quigley amendment as well. It will defund the operation and maintenance of 150 of our land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles.

Regardless of your stance on the nuclear triad--and we will have the opportunity to discuss it later--it is irresponsible to stop funding maintenance of our nuclear weapons with no formal reduction plan.

Are we supposed to leave warheads rotting in the silos? This amendment does not fund the decommissioning of warheads. If it did, a full-scale reduction of our force would be a costly endeavor, one that takes time and is a decision that should not be taken lightly.

But it will effectively reduce our ICBM capabilities by one-third without any strategic considerations or multi-lateral negotiations with other nuclear powers. The Joint Chiefs have directly and explicitly recommended against a unilateral reduction.

As the administration continues to weigh final force structure decisions scheduled to occur in FY 15, I ask my colleagues to consider the consequences of removing this funding the year before.

The mission of the Air Force Global Strike Command is to provide a safe, secure, effective nuclear deterrent force for the President of the United States. The Quigley amendment would impede the Air Force's ability to fulfill that mission, preempts the President's force structure decision, and lacks feasibility without preparation.

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