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THE FUTURE OF NUCLEAR DETERRENCE

                   OPENING STATEMENT BY SENATOR GLENN
                                HEARING
                               before the
                SUBCOMMITTEE ON INTERNATIONAL SECURITY,
                  PROLIFERATION, AND FEDERAL SERVICES
                                 of the
                              COMMITTEE ON
                          GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
                          UNITED STATES SENATE
                       ONE HUNDRED FIFTH CONGRESS
                              FIRST SESSION
                               __________
                           FEBRUARY 12, 1997
                   OPENING STATEMENT BY SENATOR GLENN
    Today marks a change in the structure of this Committee--the 
resurrection of a subcommittee devoted in part to issues relating to 
the global spread of the world's most dangerous weapons. I remember 
well back in 1977 when I successfully urged then-Chairman Ribicoff to 
establish a subcommittee called ``Energy, Nuclear Proliferation, and 
Federal Services,'' whose title in 1981 became ``Energy, Nuclear 
Proliferation and Government Processes.'' I believed then, just as I 
believe now, that the global spread of nuclear weapons and other 
weapons of mass destruction merited close attention by the Congress. I 
have every hope that the Committee will continue its excellent record 
on this subject well in the future.
    When I became chairman of this Committee in January 1987, I 
abolished this subcommittee because I wanted to address proliferation 
issues at the full Committee level. I am certain that Sen. Cochran will 
give the subject the attention it deserves through this new 
subcommittee. I look forward to working with him and the ranking 
member, Senator Levin, whose interest in this area is longstanding, and 
who will also have many opportunities to address this issue as the 
ranking member of the Armed Services Committee.
    I look at the subject of today's hearing--the future of nuclear 
deterrence--as encompassing some of the most important issues on 
America's national security agenda today. It requires us to think 
closely about what roles and missions we can expect our nuclear forces 
to perform in the years ahead. It requires us to consider the 
possibility that other nations may now be trying to copy what the U.S. 
has achieved by way of nuclear deterrence capabilities. The subject 
will take us into the realms of missile defense, new threats arising to 
U.S. interests from the Third World, the danger of a resurgence of old 
threats, the challenges posed from maintaining U.S. security in an age 
of shrinking Federal budgets, and the ways that America's treaties are 
working to preserve U.S. strategic interests.
    I congratulate Sen. Cochran for the level of attention he intends 
to devote to proliferation-related issues and offer may full 
cooperation for a strong bipartisan effort in this area throughout the 
new Congress.
    Since the subcommittee also has jurisdictional responsibilities for 
the areas of civil service and postal service, Senator Cochran's plate 
will undoubtedly be full in this era of reinventing government, 
downsizing of the civil service, and intensified search for economies 
and efficiencies in government. I look forward to working with him and 
Senator Levin in these areas as well.