[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 103 (Thursday, September 7, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Page S8191]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            MISSILE DEFENSE

  Mr. KYL. Mr. President, as you know, President Clinton recently 
announced that he would further delay deployment of a national missile 
defense system to protect the United States. Regrettably, although the 
President's decision was disappointing, it was not surprising given the 
track record of the Clinton-Gore administration. In fact, when one 
looks back over the past 8 years it is clear that this latest decision 
is merely the capstone to a string of poor decisions by this 
administration that have left us defenseless against a growing threat 
to America's security.
  Time after time, the administration has taken steps to delay 
development of a system to defend against a missile threat that the 
Rumsfeld Commission, our intelligence agencies, and the Defense 
Department have said is increasingly serious. The administration has 
failed to pursue development of promising missile defense technologies, 
such as sea- and space-based defenses, has underfunded the limited 
programs it has authorized, and has pursued misguided arms control 
policies.
  This week, Senator Thad Cochran released a report entitled ``Stubborn 
Things'' that chronicles the record of neglect by this administration 
toward missile defense. The report contains ten chapters, corresponding 
to each year over the past decade. Each chapter includes a 
chronological recitation of events relevant to ballistic missile 
defense, including the progression of the missile threat facing the 
United States, developments in arms control negotiations, as well as 
data on the level of funding devoted to these vital programs.
  Senator Cochran named the report after a quote from John Adams, who 
said in 1770:

       Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, 
     our inclinations, or the dictates of our passions, they 
     cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.

  True to the spirit of John Adams' admonition, Senator Cochran's 
report simply lays out fact after fact about what has transpired in the 
area of missile defense over the past decade. It is an excellent 
compilation of the events and decisions that have led us to our current 
situation.
  For example, after the President announced that he would not 
authorize deployment of a national missile defense system, 
administration officials said the President had reached this decision 
in part because development of a booster for the ground-based system 
has lagged. But as Senator Cochran's report points out, this is a 
legacy of one of his administration's first decisions after taking 
office. In February 1993, the administration returned unopened 
proposals by three teams of companies that had bid, at the request of 
the Defense Department, to develop a ground-based national missile 
defense interceptor.
  The track record of the Clinton-Gore administration on missile 
defense is clear: they were slow to recognize the threat, failed to 
pursue the most promising forms of defense, underfunded the limited 
programs they half-heartedly pursued, and have failed to exercise 
leadership in addressing the concerns of our allies and other nations 
like Russia.
  Senator Cochran and his able staff, Mitch Kugler, Dennis Ward, Dennis 
McDowell, Michael Loesch, Eric Desautels, Brad Sweet, and Julie Sander, 
are to be commended for producing this excellent report. By presenting 
the facts without rhetoric or spin they have significantly advanced the 
national debate on this important issue. I highly commend the report to 
my colleagues and to members of the public interested in this subject.

                          ____________________