[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 39 (Tuesday, March 31, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E526]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            THEATER MISSILE DEFENSE IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 1998

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                            HON. KEN BENTSEN

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, March 30, 1998

  Mr. BENTSEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of this 
legislation, the Theater Missile Defense Improvement Act (TMD), H.R. 
2786.
  I strongly support this legislation to provide additional funding to 
rapidly improve U.S. theater missile defense programs. The need for 
this legislation is clear. Last year, U.S. and Israel intelligence 
reports revealed that Russia engaged in a transfer of missile 
technology to Iran. An unclassified CIA report to Congress released in 
June, 1997 confirmed that Russia supplied a variety of ballistic 
missile-goods to foreign countries including Iran. These missiles have 
an expected range of 1,300 to 2,000 kilometers within the range of 
Israel, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and 200,000 American military and civilian 
personnel.
  In response to this threat, last year the House passed legislation, 
H.R. 2709, to deter Russian assistance to Iran's missile program by 
imposing sanctions on foreign companies that assist its missile 
development. However, in the six months since the passage of H.R. 2709, 
Iran has successfully tested a medium range missile engine, and North 
Korea and Iraq have continued to expand their missile capabilities. In 
addition, in the six years since 28 soldiers lost their lives in a SCUD 
attack in Dharan, Saudi Arabia, the U.S. still has not developed the 
ability to readily deploy defenses against sophisticated missile 
threats. The existing TMD systems were designed to repel older threats 
and have only limited capabilities against the newest generation of 
more capable missile systems.
  While I fully respect the goals of the Nunn Lugar Cooperative Threat 
Reduction Program, which has provided assistance to Russia and other 
republics in dismantling and limiting the proliferation of nuclear 
weapons in the former Soviet Union, I am concerned that the third goal 
of this important program has been compromised. The third goal was to 
prevent the diversion of nuclear technology from the former Soviet 
republics to rogue states. The Israeli and U.S. intelligence reports 
confirm that Russia has violated the terms of the Nunn Lugar agreement, 
and I believe the rapid development of a deployable TMD system is 
needed to secure the interests of the United States and its allies, 
especially Israel, in the Middle East.
  The bill authorizes the Secretary of Defense to identify actions the 
Defense Department could take to counter the threats enhanced missile 
programs pose to the United States, establish cooperative measures 
between Israel and the United States to protect Israel against such 
threats, and develop a program to counter such threats within the next 
one or two years. In addition, it would provide funding to ensure that 
the capabilities of U.S. TMD systems keep pace with missile development 
programs being undertaken by Iran, North Korea and other regional 
threats.
  I believe that passage of this bill is vital to U.S. security and 
interests in the Middle East, and I urge my colleague to support its 
passage.

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