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Cherry 'Star Wars' National Missile Defense Fund Redirection Bill

Sponsor: Rep. Max Cherry (D-NC)

Co-Sponsor(s):
Rep. Juan Galt (R-CA)
Rep. Richard Perry (D-WV)
Rep. James Conway (D-MA)
Rep. JJ Jackson (R-MD)
Rep. Ken Hollins (D-MN)
Rep. Chris Phirman (D-OH)
Rep. Kurt Garwood (R-MI)
Rep. John D. Cole (D-IN)
Rep. Jesse Ewiak (D-PA)
Rep. Tom Hain (D-PA)
Rep. Jason R. Collins (D-IN)
Rep. Vernon MacGyver (D-MI)
Rep. Brad McMillan (R-ND)

A BILL

To redirect remaining 2004/2005 Star Wars Missile Defense funds to more necessary causes.

SECTION I. SHORT TITLE.

This Act/Amendment/Bill may be cited as the "'Star Wars' Fund Redirection Bill."

SECTION II. FINDINGS.

Congress finds the following:

1) A total of $7.4 billion dollars has been budgeted for 2004/2005 for the 'Star Wars' National Missile Defense (NMD) (ballistic-missile-defense) programs.
2) These types of missile defense systems are unnecessary and create hostilities.
3) These types of missile defense systems force the U.S. to pull out of valuable treaties.
4) It is not yet known if these missile defenses are even capable of being a success.
5) Many experts believe these missile defense systems to be unrealistic, useless, pointless, dangerous, a waste of money and completely unnecessary.
6) At this time of war and hostility, these funds could be better spent protecting our troops, providing them with better pay, aiding our Veterans and to safeguard us from much more realistic attacks using weapons of mass destruction and bioterrorism by increasing the Counterrorism budget.
7) Many argue that the time for this type of system, The Cold War, has passed and in this day and age the threat this type of system would protect us from is non-existent.

SECTION III. REDIRECTION OF 'STAR WARS' DEFENSE FUNDS.
1) All current 'Star Wars' Missile Defense systems will be abandoned and funding will be immediately cut.
2) Remaining funds for the 2004 allocation of funds to the program will be distributed accordingly as described below (see 4).
3) All funds allocated for 2005 will be distributed accordingly as described below (see 4).
4) The total remaining from 2004 remaining funds and 2005 allocated/planned funds will be described to the following in the following percents (the total of all the remaining funds being 100%):

a) For purchase of armor and other military troop and personnel protection tools, devices and covering: 35%.

B) To go towards increases in ACTIVE military troop's wages: 40%

c) To go towards Veteran�s benefits: 15%

d) To go towards the Counter-terrorism fund: 10%.

5) All current developement completed for the system will be scrapped and the military will decide what to do with the equipment already set up for the NMD system, rather using it for other purposes are selling it if possible.

Section IV. Definitions

In This Act:

1) �Star Wars� National Missile Defense System - A national missile defense (NMD) system intended to shoot down long-range missiles that consist of a series of networked ground-based radar systems and early-warning satellites designed to detect the launch of an intercontinental nuclear missile. It is nicknamed �Star Wars� for its use of satellites.

Section V. Enactment

This bill shall go into effect immediately upon passage.

Mr. Chairman,

This bill certainly addresses some needs for further spending in the defense infrastructure in its reallocation of funds, however, at too great a cost.

While the Star Wars project has not produced a National Missile Defense System as of yet, it has produced verifiable and significant results on the path to a National Missile Defense System.

The current research to date has brought us the Patriot System, which saw solid and verifiable success in Iraq, as well as helped to keep Israel out of the first Gulf War conflict when Saddam Hussein launched missiles against Israel. It created the perception of safety for the Israeli people that prevented a much wider conflict, and the Patriot 3 system deployed in the second Gulf War helped to prevent attacks on barracks.

The current research has helped to create the most advanced anti-ship missile defense system to date in the Aegis system on destroyers that are the envy of the world over because of their proven ability to intercept anti-ship missiles and protect a wide area.

The current research has helped to create what is formerly known as the Brilliant Eyes satellites that have the ability to detect launches globally, determine their trajectory, and validate the threat as real or a decoy, all within 30 seconds of launch.

The two things still to be fully developed are a multitiered interceptor system and the integration of the systems.

The world still has missile threats and missiles are the easiest way to deliver WMD to America. North Korea is capable of hitting Alaska and potentially the west coast. China is able to hit most of the Continential United States, with Russia being able to hit all of it. China, N. Korea, Iran and many others are seeking intercontentiental ballistic missiles with global reach, and the missile club is growing.

Some would argue that a missile defense will only lead to missile proliferation, but they fail to see that proliferation of missiles is already happening. The gene is out of the bottle. No missile defense system will be perfect, but a missile defense system might limit the number of hits in a missile attack from 20 to 5, which would save a lot of lives.

Yes, it is true that terrorism is a immediate priority, and a missile defense will not stop terrorists. However, it is clear that if we become too focused and shortsighted, it will come back to haunt us.

After WW1, America shrunk its military only to find the need to rebuild it for WW2 as we were unprepared to enter WW2. America was so heavily focused on the Cold War, that we didn't realize Afghanistan would create the leaders for almost every major terrorist network today. America was so focused on our peace dividend at the end of the cold war, that we failed to fully recognize terrorism as the next great threat, in spite of Republican Richard Lugar making it a centerpiece of his bid for the Presidency in 1996. We must learn the lessons of the past so we are not doomed to repeat them.

While terrorism and low intensity conflicts must be our primary focus, we must not lose sight of other potential threats that a National Missile Defense can minimize if completed. No one would have imagined in 1980 that the Cold War would end a decade later. And no one can know for sure if Russia and China will be our friends a decade from now. While we hope for the best and work towards solid relations with both of them, it is important that we maintain a military that is prepared for a global shift if it were to come. One that would protect America since that is the FIRST priority of the government.

To be wrong in this debate does not risk a single mushroom cloud as a terrorist could do, but rather several mushroom clouds over America. We must continue this research because the benefits could save hundreds of millions of American lives. We must learn the lessons of history and not be too shortsighted or focused that we lose track of other possible threats.

I yield,