[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 12176]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      MISSILE DEFENSE FUNDING CUTS

  (Mr. COFFMAN of Colorado asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. COFFMAN of Colorado. Madam Speaker, missile defense is critical 
to the protection of our Nation. It requires constant improvement and 
innovation in order to meet the growing challenges by those who may 
wish to destroy us.
  Iran is currently focused on developing nuclear weapons, and North 
Korea is hard at work, extending its military capability into space 
and, correspondingly, achieving a status where they can pose a threat 
to the security of the United States.
  Some 25 countries and counting are acquiring domestic missiles, many 
capable of carrying weapons of mass destruction. Despite all this, the 
Obama administration plans to cut the Missile Defense Agency's budget 
for fiscal year 2010 by $1.4 billion.
  The reduction in missile defense should be of concern to all 
Americans. Without an investment in missile defense today, given the 
complexity of the science and engineering involved in developing new 
systems, we will not be able to respond to the threats to the United 
States of tomorrow.

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