Senate Proceeding on Oct 1st, 2009 :: 10:15:50 to 10:24:25
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10:15:47 to 10:16:07( Edit History Discussion )

Jeff Sessions: decade, and i hope my colleagues will support our amendment. i thank the floor. mr. sessio the presiding officer: the senator from alabama. mr. seions: i would like to say how much i have enjoyed the clarity and the integrity with which senator lieberman has stated the situation in which we

10:15:50 to 10:24:25( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Jeff Sessions

10:16:08 to 10:16:29( Edit History Discussion )

Jeff Sessions: find ourselves. it comes from greatxperience over a number of years, both on the technical matters of missile defense and on the geopolitical threats this nation faces, and i certainly value that opinion.

10:16:30 to 10:16:51( Edit History Discussion )

Jeff Sessions: i would share one thought with us, with my colleagues, and i hope that my colleagues will understand this. what happened in this year's budget was a very long lead plan to develop

10:16:52 to 10:17:13( Edit History Discussion )

Jeff Sessions: a very, very robust missile defense system. we can disagree about some of the details of this or that, but let me just say what occurred. in this year's budget, the president canceled the kinetic energy interceptor, the k.e.i. it was a high-speed new missile

10:17:14 to 10:17:34( Edit History Discussion )

Jeff Sessions: that would be less expensive and have great capability, particularly in a launch phase attack against the united states. the budget zeros that out. we've been working on that for quite a number of years. they're also working toward and doing research on a m.k.v., a multikill vehicle, in which you

10:17:35 to 10:18:00( Edit History Discussion )

Jeff Sessions: could put on one ground-based interceptor a -- a three, or more perhaps, interceptors that could knock down three missiles. zeroed that out. no more funding on that. we had alan that we've been developing for a number of years

10:18:01 to 10:18:22( Edit History Discussion )

Jeff Sessions: to develop an airborne laser. we have a lays other an airplane that can fly in an area where you may expect a launch to occur. doesn't have to be very close but in the region, and if they catch a missile in the launch phase, the laser can hit it and knock it out of the sky. it's really remarkable what the capabilities are. somebody -- we -- that's been

10:18:23 to 10:18:45( Edit History Discussion )

Jeff Sessions: debated, i will admit, but it's beenunded for a number of years. and the test of it will occur this year. the defense department expects the test to be successful. and we there was enough money in the bill to at least test after that, zeroed out, no funding for a.b.l.

10:18:46 to 10:19:09( Edit History Discussion )

Jeff Sessions: and so what about our ground-based interceptors and g.m.d. system that we've been working for 30-plus years on, spent over $20 billion on, that was planned to implant 44 interceptors in alaska -- most of them california.

10:19:10 to 10:19:31( Edit History Discussion )

Jeff Sessions: and that has been cut from 44 to 30. and what about the plan to deploy ten in poland, in europe to give us redeficit-neutra reservdeficit-neutralreservredundancy in snwrpzeroed out. so -- in europe? zeroed out.

10:19:32 to 10:19:52( Edit History Discussion )

Jeff Sessions: this isn't just a nibbling away. this is an erroneous, i think, policy that really makes me nervous. because we have this system. it's ready to go forward and we going to have a new system out here ten years from now, and there's a lot of slips between the cup and the lip. i'm not sure whether we'll ever

10:19:53 to 10:20:13( Edit History Discussion )

Jeff Sessions: get that done if we put it off, waiting on some new missile to come along. the -- as senator lieberman noted, the administration requested, however, $151 million to be unobligated 2009 funds

10:20:14 to 10:20:34( Edit History Discussion )

Jeff Sessions: long-range missile defense system in europe. they -- they requested that that money be used for research and development and testing this two-stage system. this andment that senator lieberman and i have proposed would prohibit the diversion of that away from what the obama

10:20:35 to 10:20:55( Edit History Discussion )

Jeff Sessions: administration asked for and to require it to be spent on the two-stage g.b.i., including options for deployment in europe and elsewhere. ?well, the mawrk th mark that we're

10:20:56 to 10:21:16( Edit History Discussion )

Jeff Sessions: dealing with today cuts the $51 billion from the d.m.b. test and targets. and thoh -- these how things are cleverly done -- does not explicitly cut for the testing of the two-stage g.b.i. the missile defense agency -- understand, this is what the

10:21:17 to 10:21:37( Edit History Discussion )

Jeff Sessions: senate appropriations committee intends -- and hints they have submitted to us an appeal letter and asked us not to do it. m.d.a. argues that this c will require cancellation of fy 2010 testing activities related to two planned two-stage g.b.i. flight and intercept tests.

10:21:38 to 10:21:59( Edit History Discussion )

Jeff Sessions: we've proven the technology of the three-stage interceptor. it's simpler, actually, to, therefore, develop a throw-stage when we've proven, it's simpler to have a two-stage but we have to test it and develop it. and s

10:22:00 to 10:22:21( Edit History Discussion )

Jeff Sessions: such a cancellation, as occurred in this bill, will also impact data collection applicable to the three-stage g.b.i., requiring further testing in the future at additional cost. risk and delay -- delay prove out -- the proving out of the

10:22:22 to 10:22:42( Edit History Discussion )

Jeff Sessions: two-ste g.b.i. avionics capabilities required for the european component and future three-stage avionics capability. and slowing the development and testing of the two-stage g.b.i. is inconsistent with the administration's intent to continue such development as a hedge against developmental

10:22:43 to 10:23:04( Edit History Discussion )

Jeff Sessions: problems with the sm-3 block 2-a and 2-b, the ones that are intended in the distant future for europe. so general cartwright, our commander in europe, has indicated by 2015 this would be a united states and that's why

10:23:05 to 10:23:26( Edit History Discussion )

Jeff Sessions: we've offered this language. i believe it's the right thing to do to keep this program at least ongoing and not to waste the effort that we have extended so far and to complete the testing of a g.b.i. which can al be used in the united states as part of a layered defense against incoming

10:23:27 to 10:23:47( Edit History Discussion )

Jeff Sessions: missiles also in the -- the appeal submitted to the committee from the department of defense this language -- quote -- "canceling fy 2010 activities for these tests would have a major impact on the test program

10:23:48 to 10:24:09( Edit History Discussion )

Jeff Sessions: and on data collection applicable to two-stage and three-stage ground-based interceptors m&s." so they say it would have a major impact on the program and they've asked us to keep it. that's what this amendment is. i was hoping that we could perhaps reach some sort of

10:24:10 to 10:24:26( Edit History Discussion )

Jeff Sessions: accord that we could work with the committee on. i'm not sure that's been -- we've been able to do that at this stage, but the matter is important. i hate to have to come to the floor and -- and offer this amendment. i like to respec committees, but it's important and that's why we felt it's