[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 73 (Tuesday, June 9, 1998)]
[House]
[Page H4249]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                     PROVIDE FOR THE COMMON DEFENSE

  (Mr. ROGAN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. ROGAN. Mr. Speaker, the Preamble to the Constitution of the 
United States says America was established to provide for the common 
defense. That is the primary obligation of the President as Commander 
in Chief. But America is vulnerable today to a missile attack from 
abroad, and unbelievably this is the deliberate policy of the United 
States: to remain vulnerable to a missile attack.
  How can this be? We justify this policy of mutual destruction based 
upon a treaty with a country that no longer exists. This policy is 
dangerous, obsolete and wrong. It is also deceptive because most 
Americans believe we are safe from a ballistic missile attack, although 
we are not.
  It is time to honor our obligation to the Constitution and to the 
American people by building a missile defense system. We have the know-
how, and we have the resources. It is time to act to protect America 
from a ballistic missile attack.

                          ____________________