[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 1]
[House]
[Page 170]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




        PRAISING PRESIDENT BUSH'S INITIATIVES ON MISSILE DEFENSE

  (Mr. WILSON of South Carolina asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, President George W. Bush 
made history when he announced to the world on December 17, 2002, that 
America would deploy a national missile defense shield to protect our 
country. My friend and mentor, the late Congressman Floyd Spence, 
continually warned us about the urgency of having a missile defense 
system in place to protect the homeland. President Bush has 
demonstrated tremendous leadership by taking action to work with our 
allies to create such a system inspired by Ronald Reagan.
  As my colleague and chairman of the Committee on Armed Services, the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Hunter), recently stated, ``The case for 
deploying a national missile defense system has never been more clear. 
Today, the United States cannot stop a single ballistic missile headed 
for an American city.''
  I wholeheartedly agree, and I believe Congress should work in a 
bipartisan fashion to successfully implement a missile defense shield 
that will protect the American people and our allies.

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