WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and U.S. Representative Michael McCaul (R-Texas), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, released the following statement on the Final Report of the Congressional Commission on the Strategic Posture of the United States. The commission, authorized in the Fiscal Year 2022 National Defense Authorization Act, concluded that the United States must reorient its strategic posture and invest in the capabilities to counter, deter, and, if necessary, defeat two peer nuclear adversaries – Russia and China – while simultaneously facing advanced threats emanating from Iran and North Korea.
“As the commission highlights, Russia and China are pursuing destabilizing and aggressive nuclear modernization plans. Russia continues to violate its longstanding arms control and non-proliferation treaties and commitments while China refuses to even engage in talks on nuclear weapons despite its massive breakout in capabilities. The global security landscape has changed dramatically and it is no longer sufficient for the United States to just fund the Obama-era nuclear modernization plan – we must urgently consider additional adjustments to our own nuclear posture if we are to sustain deterrence against two nuclear peers. Failure to do this will leave us unable to deter and defend against these threats, as well as the threat of nuclear escalation from Iran and North Korea.”
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