{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.fischer.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news?ID=3B59129C-B28B-4859-8EF4-514C4B3816D8", "VIDEO: Fischer Highlights Urgent Need to Update U.S. Strategic Posture Following Alarming Bipartisan Report", "2023-10-19", "2023", "2023-10", "Republican", "Senate", "NE", "Deb Fischer", "F000463", "www.fischer.senate.gov", "fischer", "https://www.fischer.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases", "scraper", "\u201cUnless We Change Our Strategy, We Will Not Be Able to Deter Both China and Russia\u201d\n\nWASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 U.S. Senator Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and the top Republican on the Strategic Forces Subcommittee, delivered remarks at a hearing today to highlight the urgent need for the United States to comprehensively update its strategic posture, including by modernizing its nuclear deterrent. The hearing focused on the findings from a recent bipartisan report on the long-term strategic posture of the United States.\n\nDuring her remarks, Senator Fischer noted that the current U.S. strategy is not sufficient to effectively deter America\u2019s two peer nuclear competitors, China and Russia. Senator Fischer also emphasized the importance of turning the Commission\u2019s recommendations into legislation.\n\nThis week, Senator Fischer released a joint statement with the Chair of the Strategic Forces Subcommittee in support of the bipartisan report.\n\nClick the image above to watch video of Sen. Fischer\u2019s remarks\n\nClick to download audio\n\nClick to download video\n\nFollowing is a transcript of Senator Fischer\u2019s remarks:\n\nThank you, Mr. Chairman.\n\nI do want to begin by thanking the commissioners for your work on this report. The report is thoughtful, clear-eyed about the threats, and honest about how underprepared we are to address these threats. And we are woefully underprepared.\n\nSince the Second World War, the United States\u2019 national security strategy has been predicated on having one major nuclear adversary. And we now face two major nuclear adversaries for the first time in history. Russia and China have rapidly modernized their strategic nuclear forces. They have dramatically expanded their theater nuclear forces, and they are developing novel nuclear weapons and delivery systems. Meanwhile, we have barely begun to modernize our strategic nuclear forces, and only plan to replace them on a one-for-one basis \u2013 a plan that was developed on outdated assumptions.\n\nAs you say in your report, our nuclear force modernization program of record is \u201cabsolutely essential, although not sufficient to meet the new threats posed by Russia and China.\u201d\n\nAnd, as your report also conveys, the United States has no strategy to address this threat. We cannot effectively deter two nations with a national defense strategy that has a \u2018one major war\u2019 sizing construct. Unless we change our strategy, we will not be able to deter both China and Russia. If our adversaries believe that we lack capacity or lack the will to respond to an attack and to defend our allies and partners, they will act accordingly.\n\nYour report had 131 findings and 81 recommendations which, if acted upon, will provide the United States with the capacity and capability necessary to maintain our place in the world. These recommendations include changes to the planned size and composition of our nuclear forces, including the development of new theater nuclear delivery systems. They include overhauling the NNSA, dramatically expanding our domestic industrial base \u2014 including the establishment of a third nuclear shipyard, developing a comprehensive homeland missile defense architecture and a resilient space architecture that includes both offensive and defensive elements.\n\nAnd we must do this with a sense of urgency \u2014 Senator Kyl, urgency \u2014 which has, frankly, been utterly lacking from the Department of Defense and the Department of Energy.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T18:43:12Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.fischer.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news?ID=3B59129C-B28B-4859-8EF4-514C4B3816D8"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.6305191200226545, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}