Chairman Poe on the hearing: “With the world’s attention focused on the nuclear ambitions of Iran and North Korea, it’s vital that we do not forget the advancing capabilities of our most powerful nuclear rivals. In the last year, both Russia and China unveiled new nuclear weapons that are specifically designed to target the United States in the event of a nuclear conflict. Meanwhile, Russia is in clear violation of its Intermediate Nuclear Forces Treaty obligations and China is rapidly expanding and modernizing its nuclear arsenal. As these two principal rivals continue to aggressively assert their influence around the world, it is essential that we explore how the world’s most dangerous weapons factor into the equation and how we may be able to mitigate this enormous threat.”

Opening Statements

Full text of Chairman Ted Poe’s opening statement

Witnesses

Austin Long, Ph.D.
Senior Political Scientist
RAND Corporation
[full text of statement]
[truth in testimony form]

Patricia M. Kim, Ph.D.
Stanton Nuclear Security Fellow
Council on Foreign Relations
[full text of statement]
[truth in testimony form]

The Honorable Frank Rose
Senior Fellow
Security and Strategy
Foreign Policy Program
The Brookings Institution
(Former Assistant Secretary for Arms Control, Verification, and Compliance, U.S. Department of State)
[full text of statement]
[truth in testimony form]

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Hearing transcript (PDF)