Everett Floor Statement for Duncan Hunter National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2009

Statement

Today, the U.S. House of Representatives began consideration of H.R. 5658, the Duncan Hunter National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2009, which authorizes budget authority for the Department of Defense and the national security programs at the Department of Energy. Rep. Terry Everett (R-AL), Ranking Republican on the Strategic Forces Subcommittee, released the following opening statement:
Today, the U.S. House of Representatives began consideration of H.R. 5658, the Duncan Hunter National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2009, which authorizes budget authority for the Department of Defense and the national security programs at the Department of Energy. Rep. Terry Everett (R-AL), Ranking Republican on the Strategic Forces Subcommittee, released the following opening statement:

"I thank my good friend, Mr. Hunter for yielding to me, and thank him for his leadership and friendship. Mr. Hunter has served our nation and his constituents in California with great distinction.

"Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of H.R. 5658-the Duncan Hunter National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2009. I would like to congratulate Strategic Forces Subcommittee Chairman Tauscher. It has been a pleasure working with her these last two years. Together, we have developed legislation where we agree on far more than we disagree.

"This year's bill contains many sound measures that provide key capabilities to the warfighter and strengthen our strategic forces.

"I am particularly pleased with the support this bill provides to national security space. The bill addresses many important issues including:

"Continued awareness of the growing threat to space and emphasis on mitigating our vulnerabilities;

"The need to wargame and exercise the loss of space capabilities;

"Full funding for key acquisition programs such as AEHF, WGS, SBIRS, and GPS-3, that reflect a measured approach to space acquisition; and

"Protection of the T-SAT budget request, while the Department reevaluates architecture options after their decision to reduce this program by $4 billion.

"The mark makes positive strides in the area of Atomic Energy Defense Activities by:

"Adding funding to research enhanced surety for existing weapons systems; and

"Directing the Secretaries of Defense and Energy to report on steps they are taking to enhance inventory controls for nuclear weapons.

"I am disappointed the Reliable Replacement Warhead (RRW) study wasn't directly funded. Our nuclear deterrent is aging, while the rest of the world's nuclear powers are modernizing theirs. The commander of U.S. Strategic Command testified that we are accepting significant future risks with our legacy Cold War stockpile.

"The American public may not realize this, but the current Administration has implemented the largest nuclear stockpile reductions since the end of the Cold War and has an extensive nonproliferation program to reflect the evolving proliferation threat.

"A reliable, modernized nuclear stockpile that includes RRW holds the promise of allowing us to further lower our nuclear weapons numbers, while continuing to provide a strong deterrent for the United States and our allies.

"Our missile defense deliberations proved the most challenging. While we agreed on many provisions, such as full support for Patriot PAC-3, Aegis, and THAAD, there are a few provisions that the minority could not concur with.

"I am deeply concerned about the 50 percent cut to European Missile Defense contained in the bill. I believe this sends a terrible signal to our Allies and emboldens Iran.

"While Congress puts the brakes on this effort to protect the American people, our forward-deployed forces, and our allies, Iran has stepped on the accelerator. Iran continues to: expand its arsenal of short and longer-range ballistic missiles, install advanced centrifuges to enrich uranium, and evade questions on past nuclear weapons research.

"Our NATO allies recognize this threat and, in April 2008, provided unanimous endorsement of the European missile defense proposal. In a few weeks, the Czech Republic plans to sign agreements with the U.S. to host the missile tracking radar.

"This is a crucial time for the U.S. to continue its leadership; in addition to NATO, we have key allies such as Israel and Japan who are relying on U.S. commitments to missile defense. I am therefore disappointed that the committee would not accept my amendment to restore funding to this effort, particularly after significant progress is being made to meet the conditions outlined in last year's legislation.

"As the Secretary General of NATO said at a speech on May 5th, ‘In tomorrow's uncertain world, we can not wait for threats to mature before deciding how to counter them.'

"I also remain concerned about China's actions in space. According to the Pentagon's annual China military report, its undeclared and unexplained January 2007 anti-satellite test is only one part of a larger Chinese counterspace program to prevent the use of space. Thus, I was strongly disappointed and troubled that my amendment to direct an independent study to examine the feasibility of space-based defense concepts was not supported in our committee markup. Such a system might also provide another layer of defense against ballistic missile threats.

"In the final analysis, there is far more in this bill that we agree on, than disagree on. I would, however, caution members from further reducing funding for missile defense. These programs have already been cut by over 700 million dollars. Any further reductions to these important programs would have very detrimental effects to our national defense.

"I think the programs in our subcommittee's jurisdiction are some of the most exciting things our nation does. It is important that we not lose sight of the vital role our space, missile defense, and nuclear deterrent capabilities play in our national security.

"I would like to thank the other members of the subcommittee and the staff for their hard work toward making this year's bill a quality product. I would also like to thank you, Madam Chairman, for all the work this subcommittee does during the year.

"Mr. Chairman, I urge support for this measure and yield back the balance of my time."

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