"Cut nuclear weapons budget," agrees Rep. Frank

"Madam Speaker," wrote Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA) in a statement inserted into the Congressional Record, "in a thoughtful and well documented article in the Boston Globe for December 3, Joseph Cirincione makes a very persuasive case for putting significant reductions in our nuclear weapons budget at the head of the list of budget savings President-elect Obama intends to make. Mr. Cirincione is the president of Ploughshares, and some of us remember the good work he did as a staff member working on trying to fashion a sensible nuclear weapons policy years ago in the House. He speaks with a great deal of knowledge and I am very pleased that someone as responsible and well informed as Mr. Cirincione has come forward to make this case. As he says in his article, the President 'can cut obsolete programs and transfer tens of billions of dollars per year to pressing conventional military and domestic programs.' Madam Speaker, no rational solution to the problem of an ever- increasing budget deficit can be imagined that does not include significant reductions in the rate of military spending. Joseph Cirincione demonstrates how this can be done in a way that does no damage whatsoever to our national security and I ask that the article be printed here."