ST. GEORGE — Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah, insisted Wednesday that the United States could push ahead with its nuclear weapons research programs without testing a single new bomb.

"There is no question that nuclear weapons, used as a deterrent, keep us safe," Bennett said during the first of eight scheduled debates lined up with his Democratic challenger, Paul Van Dam, over the next few weeks.

"The main thing I want you to understand is that we can produce nuclear weapons without ever testing them," he added. "We can design weapons by computer. In fact, we can and are designing a bunker buster bomb by computer simulation and don't need to test it."

Bennett worried that his strong support of nuclear weapons research, which includes the maintenance of existing stockpiles, has been taken out of context.

"I am anti-nuclear testing, but I am also anti-nuclear ignorance," he said, adding the country must prepare itself to face an uncertain, dangerous future. "There is no need for what's known as the bunker buster in today's world, but I ask you, 'Will today's world be tomorrow's world when it comes to nuclear deterrents?' "

Van Dam said while he was glad to hear of Bennett's opposition to any resumption of nuclear weapons tests.

"I just haven't been able to tell that from the actions he's taken," said Van Dam, adding that Bennett voted against the comprehensive ban against nuclear weapons testing, signed by the United States and Russia.

"If we have bunker busters, we'll have a return to the nuclear arms race. Let's just say 'no' to nuclear weapons testing."

Both Van Dam and Bennett said they oppose the federal government's No Child Left Behind law for a variety of reasons.

"I voted against it," Bennett said. "It's too heavy handed, and we're working to get more flexibility into the program."

Van Dam said the federal government should reward schools for what they do right instead of setting them up for failure.

Homeland security, from protecting the nation's borders to providing local police with the right equipment, needs more attention, he added.

"We are spending $1 billion a week in Iraq. It is bleeding this country, and we now have a lot of vulnerability," Van Dam said. "Overall, our first responders are not getting the money they need to make America safe. We need to focus on what's going on here."

The nation's growing deficit will not be erased by a growing economy, Van Dam added.

"We're going to have to tighten our belts and prioritize. We have imperiled Social Security and put Medicare on the edge by carrying this debt," he said. "Fifty percent of the people we've talked to in Utah don't have any health care. What I hear being proposed, by the senator and this administration, is a Band-Aid approach to a system that's on life support."