Markey Applauds Obama Statement on Reducing U.S. Nuclear Arsenal

Press Release

Today, Congressman Edward J. Markey (D-Mass), senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and founder of the Congressional Non-Proliferation Task Force, responded to President Obama's remarks in Seoul, South Korea at the Nuclear Security Summit. At the summit, President Obama said, "I firmly believe that we can ensure the security of the United States and our allies, maintain a strong deterrent against any threat, and still pursue further reductions in our nuclear arsenal." On Monday, shortly before his remarks to the summit, the President told students at South Korea's Hankuk University, "We can already say with confidence that we have more nuclear weapons than we need." Rep. Markey issued the following statement:

"I wholeheartedly agree with President Obama that we can cut our nuclear weapons arsenal without undercutting our national security. It makes no sense to spend money we can't afford on nuclear weapons we don't need. Congress must use its power of the purse to realign our resources with both our economic and national security realities. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 3974, the Smarter Approach to Nuclear Expenditures (SANE) Act. The SANE Act will save $100 billion over the next ten years by making our nuclear weapons forces the right size for the 21st century."

Last month, Rep. Markey introduced legislation that would cut $100 billion over the next ten years from America's nuclear weapons budget. Co-sponsored by 47 House members, the SANE Act of 2012 cuts specific nuclear weapons and related programs such as cutting the current fleet of nuclear submarines from 12 operational at sea to eight operational at sea ($3 billion savings) and ending the nuclear missions of air bombers (up to $17 billion savings). Last fall, Rep. Markey led a letter to the Congressional Super Committee along with 64 House members calling for cuts of hundreds of billions from America's nuclear weapons programs.

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