Senator Robert Dole: 
Let me visit briefly about one of the most controversial issues before Congress this year. For several weeks, knowledgeable and responsible men have been testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee on the Anti-Ballistic Missile [ABM] System proposed by President Nixon. One advocate of the modified ABM plan said it would be extremely dangerous to trust the Soviet Union not to seek a position to destroy the US in a surprise attack. An opponent to the safeguard system said it would be impossible for the Soviet Union to achieve a nuclear first strike capability by the mid-1970s. Here we have two conflicting points of judgment from well versed and well-intentioned men. I remember Speaker [John W.] McCormack, Speaker of the House of Representatives, once advised that whenever the security or the survival of the United States is at stake, if there is any doubt in your mind, resolve it on the side of our nation's security. President Nixon's decision to deploy the safeguard Anti-Ballistic Missile System directly affects the security of United States, the life of every American citizen, and I happen to believe the survival of freedom everywhere. These are inescapable ingredients of his decision to proceed with the modified ABM system. The President will not compromise with these ingredients, and I believe rightly so. His case rests squarely on the need to ensure the security of the United States in the mid-1970s, and he justly resolved the ABM issue on the side of our national security. And let me say that it occurs to me that we must place our national security number one on the list of priorities. And I would hope that when the Senate and the House considers this highly controversial issue in the next few weeks, the President's view will be sustained.