Rehberg Says Obama's Statements Show Increased Need for Congressional Checks & Balances

Press Release

Montana's Congressman, Denny Rehberg, today released the following statement in response to comments made by President Barack Obama to Russian President Dmitri Medvedev. The comments, which were picked up by a hot-microphone, suggests something that Rehberg and others have suspected for ages: that President Obama is saving his more radical agenda for a second term when he no longer needs to worry about re-election.

"It's very troubling to hear President Obama suggest he'll be able to act with "more flexibility' once he is freed from the constraints his "last election.' If he's eager to abandon the duty of public accountability, it will be all the more important for Congress to serve its Constitutional role as a check and balance. Whether it's for the ICBM mission at Malmstrom or the preservation of gun rights, someone's got to remind the President that in America the power resides with We the People, and that he answers to us, regardless of politics or elections."

The full transcript of President Obama's conversation is below:

President Obama: On all these issues, but particularly missile defense, this, this can be solved but it's important for him to give me space.
President Medvedev: Yeah, I understand. I understand your message about space. Space for you…
President Obama: This is my last election. After my election I have more flexibility.
President Medvedev: I understand. I will transmit this information to Vladimir.

Despite election-year promises that the ICBM mission at Malmstrom is safe, the President's comments above suggest otherwise.

Malmstrom Air Force Base, located in Great Falls, is home to the 341st Missile Wing. Between reductions contained in the New START Treaty and much deeper cuts of up to 80% being formulated in President Obama's pending National Security Council (NSC), Montana faces a considerable risk of losing our 150 Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs).

President Obama has called nuclear disarmament "a moral obligation," and said the United States should lead by example to bring about "a world without nuclear weapons." The New START Treaty effectively requires the United States to unilaterally disarm at a time when nuclear proliferation is increasingly a threat among rogue nations.

According to the Bureau of Arms Control (October, 2011), upon ratification, Russia had 1,537 warheads deployed. As of September 1, 2011, Russia has increased warhead deployment to 1,566 while the U.S. has unilaterally decreased warhead deployment from 1,800 to 1,790.

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