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Floor Speech

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Mr. SCHMITT. Mr. President, I rise today in recognition of the Kansas City National Security Campus and the important role it plays in strategic deterrence on the occasion of its 75th anniversary.

I stand here today at the desk of President Harry S. Truman. In 1946, President Truman established the Atomic Energy Commission, and in 1949, Kansas City was selected as the location to produce nonnuclear components for our nuclear arsenal. For 75 years, the Kansas City National Security Campus has been the primary site within the Nuclear Security Enterprise for procuring and producing--say that a few times-- nonnuclear parts and components for nuclear weapons.

As the United States continues to advance nuclear modernization programs, the Kansas City National Security Campus plays an essential role in America's national security, helping to ensure the nuclear stockpile is safe, secure, and reliable.

More than 6,000 hard-working Missourians go to work day in and day out, and the importance of their contribution to our country and its defenses cannot be understated. They make 80 percent--80 percent--of the nonnuclear components for the weapons in our national nuclear arsenal. In addition, they support proliferation deterrence, supply chain security, and our overall responsiveness to global threats. Kansas City National Security Campus is not only improving the reliability and modernity of our arsenal, they are making it more efficient too.

The U.S. nuclear stockpile remains the bedrock of our strategic deterrence, and the security and stability it provides to our country's defense is paramount. It is not an exaggeration to say that this is the most important moment for our nuclear arsenal in generations, and the Kansas City National Security Campus is at the center of it all.

At a time when the People's Republic of China is rapidly growing and modernizing its own arsenal, Kansas City National Security Campus and the critical role it plays in our defense is more important than ever. Never in our history have we faced so dangerous a threat as communist China, founded on the belief that the power to govern comes not from the people but from the barrel of a gun. We must therefore meet their strength with our own, and Kansas City National Security Campus is making our country and its defenses stronger each and every day.

I am deeply proud--and there are many of them here today--to represent the State of Missouri and the folks from that campus in the U.S. Senate and to represent the dedicated workforce of the Kansas City National Security Campus. They are central to our Nation's security.

I could not be more pleased to recognize the Kansas City National Security Campus and its 75 years of contributions to national security. Some of the facility's leadership is with us today in the Gallery, and I thank them for their service.

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