[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 138 (Tuesday, October 6, 1998)]
[House]
[Page H9596]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     THE NEED FOR A NATIONAL BALLISTIC MISSILE DEFENSE SYSTEM TODAY

  (Mr. PETERSON of Pennsylvania asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute.)
  Mr. PETERSON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I want my colleagues to 
ask themselves a question. That question is, how long will it be before 
rogue nations are able to reach American soil with ballistic missiles? 
In 1995, some said 15 years. President Clinton used this information to 
justify his veto of the 1996 defense authorization bill which called 
for the deployment of a national missile defense system by the year 
2003. Mr. Speaker, as our esteemed chairman of the House Committee on 
National Security, the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Spence), 
said, the missile threat is not 15 years away, it is here now.
  Recently we found out that North Korea fired its Taepo Dong 1 missile 
over the Sea of Japan. This missile has a maximum range of 1,250 miles. 
If anyone thinks that North Korea and other nations do not have the 
technological ability to hit American soil, we could all be dead wrong.
  The U.S. must be able to defend itself from ballistic missile 
attacks. Efforts not unlike those to make the U.S. first to the moon 
are needed to protect the American way of life. The President must 
agree to put a ballistic missile defense system in place today because 
the American citizens need to be secure that they are safe.

                          ____________________