William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Ms. GABBARD. Mr. Speaker, we are living in very dangerous times.

Yes, we are in the midst of a global pandemic, which should be inspiring our Nation's leaders to deescalate tensions with other countries, work with world leaders to defeat this disease that threatens us all, but that is not what we are seeing. Instead, we are seeing increasing tensions and a new cold war being waged on two fronts between the U.S. and China and Russia, with thousands of nuclear missiles at the ready.

Instead of deescalating tensions, the Trump administration is making things worse by tearing up the INF Treaty, ending the Open Skies Treaty, making no effort to renew the New START treaty, and dangerously moving to violate the nuclear test ban treaty, which, if allowed, would only encourage other countries like North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Iran, and many others to develop or to increase nuclear weapons capabilities, rapidly increasing the proliferation of these nuclear weapons and a nuclear arms race around the world.

Mr. Speaker, this puts us all at risk because there is only one outcome to this escalation of tensions and a nuclear arms race, and that is total destruction of our world.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this critical amendment.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source