[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 101 (Friday, July 24, 1998)]
[House]
[Page H6419]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           IRANIANS TEST INTERMEDIATE RANGE BALLISTIC MISSILE

  (Mr. HUNTER asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, when just a couple of days ago the Iranians 
tested an intermediate range ballistic missile, one that has the range 
to strike Israel, our administration was once more embarrassed, because 
they had predicted a number of times that the Iranians could not 
achieve this capability until sometime late next year.
  Well, the Iranians were a year ahead of schedule. Only one person 
predicted they would be able to do it much earlier in this body, and 
that was the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Weldon). He is working on 
a piece of missile defense legislation. The gentleman from New Jersey 
(Mr. Saxton) is putting in legislation a number of us are cosponsoring 
which directs the President to conduct an emergency program to build a 
defense against the systems the Iranians are developing right now.
  Mr. Speaker, now is the time for the President to act. With the same 
urgency with which our enemies are building the ballistic missiles, we 
must act with the same urgency to build defenses against those 
missiles.

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