[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 94 (Wednesday, July 19, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Page S7223]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   FY 2001 DEFENSE APPROPRIATIONS ACT

  Mr. ALLARD. Mr. President, today I rise in strong support of the FY 
2001 Defense Appropriations Act Conference Report. This bill provides 
the much needed funding for our deserving men and women in the 
military. After years of declining military budgets, this Defense 
Appropriations bill does the right thing by putting more of our 
resources toward our Armed Forces.
  While I strongly support the overall bill, I would like to make note 
of one serious omission--the cut in funding for the Discoverer II or 
DII program. I know that Senator Stevens and the Defense Appropriations 
staff fought hard for the DII program, but that they ran up against an 
entrenched opposition from the other side.
  Discoverer II is a key element in assessing the utility, feasibility, 
and affordability of Space Based Radar (SBR). SBR will provide all 
weather, 24 hour, 7-day a week global surveillance coverage. The 
Department of Defense has stated that SBR will satisfy many unfilled 
requirements, such as Long Range Endurance Reconnaissance, Surveillance 
and Target Acquisition, Improved Ground Moving Target Indicator 
Tasking, Processing, Exploitation and Dissemination Interoperability, 
and provide simultaneous access to multiple theaters worldwide.
  The program not only had the wide support of many Members of 
Congress, but also from the Secretary of the Air Force, the Director of 
the National Reconnaissance Office, the Under Secretary of Defense for 
Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics, the CINC of US Space Command, 
the CINC of US Central Command, and the Chief of Staff of the Air 
Force.
  While I cannot understand the reasoning for such opposition, I do 
want to thank Senator Stevens and his staff for fighting for this 
program and only hope that we can revive this important program in the 
future. The capabilities it will provide are too important to let it go 
quietly in the night. As the Chairman of the Strategic Subcommittee on 
the Armed Service Committee, as a member of the Senate Intelligence 
Committee, and as a member of the Commission on the National 
Reconnaissance Office, I have heard from our military and intelligence 
leaders that this capability is needed and that we must demonstrate the 
space based radar. That is why I will continue to fight for this 
defense capability.
  Again, Mr. President, I want to thank Senator Stevens for all his 
hard work and for producing such a strong bill for our military men and 
women.

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