WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today gave the following opening remarks at a full committee hearing titled “Arms Race 2.0.” Witnesses included The Honorable Marshall Billingslea, former Presidential Envoy for arms control, and The Honorable Rose Gottemoeller, former undersecretary of State for arms control and international security.
Chairman Risch gave the following remarks:
“I want to thank our witnesses, Mr. Billingslea and Ms. Gottemoeller, for being here today to discuss what could be defined as one of the most existential issues of our time.
“Both of you have been doing this for a long time and have advised us on both sides of the dais here, on this issue.
“America is currently experiencing an unprecedented increase in the nuclear threat posed by our adversaries around the world.
“For the first time in our history, we face two peer nuclear powers in both Russia and China, but also threats from multiple smaller and unstable nuclear powers, like North Korea, and aspiring nuclear powers, like Iran.
“While it has suspended its New START obligations and continues to test and develop nuclear weapons, Russia’s nuclear triad of ICBMs, SLBMs and nuclear-capable strategic bombers is nearing full modernization.
“For years, Russia has consistently failed to comply with nuclear agreements and instead uses arms control talks to constrain U.S. policy towards Russia and pursue concessions on issues far beyond just nuclear weapons.
“It used this strategy successfully on President Obama with New START, it used it on Biden in the “Strategic Stability Dialogue” in the lead-up to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and Russia tried and failed to pull the same tricks on the Trump Administration.
“We can be sure the Russians will try again, endangering the safety of the American people and further eroding global stability.
“Meanwhile, China is in the midst of a dramatic nuclear buildup and has the fastest-growing nuclear arsenal of any nuclear-armed state. And while China races to nuclear parity with the U.S., it shows little to no interest in arms control talks.
“But as troubling as these developments from Russia and China are, we cannot take our eye off rogue states with nuclear ambitions. Fortunately, President Trump took action to destroy Iranian nuclear facilities earlier this year. By doing so, he prevented a dangerous, ideologically driven Islamic autocracy from acquiring a nuclear weapon that could threaten the U.S., Israel, and others around the world. But the Iranian regime won’t stop there, and we need to stay vigilant.
“Like his neighbor in China, Kim Jong-Un has repeatedly rejected talks on denuclearization even as he pursues a full-scale expansion of North Korean nuclear strike capabilities. More concerningly, in return for North Korea’s direct support for Russia’s war in Ukraine, Russia is likely providing technical expertise on advanced space and military capabilities that will boost North Korea’s nuclear ambitions.
“To quote the Congressional Commission on the Strategic Posture of the United States, on which both of our witnesses have served: we are in a “decisive decade” in regard to our nuclear future.
“Let’s be crystal clear, the Cold War nuclear arms control paradigm is dead. Our adversaries have ensured this outcome. In this decade, we will have no choice but to confront the reality that the old arms control architecture is gone, constrains our nuclear arsenal, and allows Russia and China to exploit our good will.
“As President Trump has said many times, our goal is Peace Through Strength. Under the Biden Administration, the U.S. simply extended existing nuclear agreements like New START without attempting to improve them or even enforce them, only to have Russia suspend its commitments after invading Ukraine.
“With New START expiring in February, we must seize this once in a generation opportunity to lead on any new arms control negotiations with Russia. It’s time to move beyond blind faith in Putin and take the reins on our nuclear future.
“To counter China, we must modernize and rebuild our nuclear arsenal. For far too long, underinvestment in our nuclear triad has only created greater insecurity. It is time we modernize the triad and re-establish a strong, credible deterrent.
“Mr. Billingslea, Ms. Gottemoeller, I look forward to hearing your thoughts on how we can take on this “decisive decade,” as you have called it, and shape it to protect this and future generations from the nuclear aggression of our competitors.
“With that, I’ll defer to the distinguished ranking member, Senator Shaheen.”
These remarks have been lightly edited for clarity. Witness testimony is available on foreign.senate.gov.
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