Reps. Turner, Franks Assail Cuts As Harmful To U.S. National Security

In a challenge to President Obama, some members of Congress will attempt to roll back at least some of his planned funding cuts in missile defense programs.

A pitched battle will erupt tomorrow as the House Armed Services Committee (HASC), in a likely marathon day-into-night session, prepares to write the Department of Defense (DOD) authorization bill for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2010.

Reps. Michael Turner (R-Ohio) and Trent Franks (R-Ariz.) expressed astonishment that Obama is proposing to cut funding for systems to protect the nation against missile attacks, just as the missile threat is growing worldwide.

Turner is the ranking Republican on the subcommittee. Franks is a founder and co-chair of the bipartisan congressional Missile Defense Caucus.

Why, Turner asked, is Obama proposing deep missile defense cuts when its own missile defense policy and strategy review is unfinished, as is the sweeping Quadrennial Defense Review.

"By making such decisions now, it appears the DOD is prejudicing the outcomes of these reviews," Turner objected.

Franks is leading a bipartisan group of lawmakers in sponsoring legislation to reverse some of the $1.2 billion of reductions that Obama would impose on missile defense programs, specifically seeking to restore $500 million for the Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system, also called the National Missile Defense system.

The GMD system is the only part of the multilayered overall U.S. missile defense system that is able to counter incoming enemy long-range missiles or intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs).

Even as Obama is pushing to cut the GMD and some other missile defense programs, the GMD system is performing well in tests. (Please see separate story in this issue.) And the threat that the GMD is to defeat is burgeoning. For example, North Korea has just tested a nuclear weapon in an underground blast, and is poised for another atomic bomb test.

As well, North Korea recently launched a Taepo Dong-2 missile that flew about 2,000 miles before splashing down in the Pacific, a huge advance from a test in 2006 where that type of missile failed shortly after launch. And intelligence sources report the North may be readying yet another Taepo Dong-2 launch. (Please see separate story in this issue.)

Too, Iran defiantly continues its illicit production of nuclear materials, and has launched missiles in salvos. Further, Iran has launched a missile from a submerged submarine. And Iran recently launched a satellite into orbit, showing that Tehran grasps the technology needed to build multi-stage intercontinental ballistic missiles.

Turner and Franks protested cuts to the GMD and other missile defense programs during a HASC strategic forces subcommittee meeting where the missile defense funding portion of the total DOD fiscal 2010 budget was written, including the cuts that Obama is seeking. The subcommittee then adopted the cuts on a voice vote, and moved the measure on to the full HASC.

The two lawmakers decided to hold their fire and postpone an attempt to reverse the GMD cuts until the full committee meets tomorrow to write the total defense authorization bill.

A bipartisan group of representatives will attempt to add $500 million to the GMD fiscal 2010 program funding. Even if the full committee adopts the restoration measure, the GMD program will only receive the same amount it currently spends. Aside from Turner and Franks, those lawmakers include Reps. Parker Griffith (D-Ala.), Jim Marshall (D-Ga.), Pete Sessions (R-Texas), and Doug Lamborn (R-Colo.)

To be sure, the subcommittee bill does increase funding for some other missile defense programs, and that is a wise move, according to Franks.

But the cuts in GMD can’t be countenanced, because they fail to effectively counter the missile threat confronting the United States.

"The equation is simple," Franks explained. "The threat to the United States from ballistic missiles is increasing, and due to this Administration, our ballistic missile defenses are decreasing.

"Mr. Obama’s Missile Defense budget cuts are forcing a false choice on our military and our nation: Should the federal government offer protection for our forward deployed troops and our allies from short range ballistic missiles OR should the federal government offer protection to the American people from North Korean or Iranian missiles?"

To protect itself, the United States can’t be satisfied with doing just one or the other, he said. "We must do both."

"I fully support robustly funding theater ballistic missile defense, but this must not occur at the expense of homeland missile defense," Franks said.

He expressed incredulity that the administration can toss out trillions of dollars going to Wall Street brokerages, big banks, and insurance companies and sub-prime mortgage lenders that helped to plunge the U.S. economy — largest on Earth — into its worst slump in decades, yet can’t find the funds to protect Americans fully from an attack by enemy missiles.

"It confounds me that this administration can find $787 billion in projects for a ‘stimulus bill’ but cannot find $500 million for ballistic missile defense to protect the homeland when Iran and North Korea are making tremendous advancements in their long range ballistic missile and nuclear technology," Franks said.

Therefore, the bipartisan group of lawmakers is pressing for HASC adoption of corrective legislation. The "Protect the Homeland from North Korean and Iranian Ballistic Missiles Act" known as H.R. 2845 contains several elements:

• It includes a statement of policy that Congress acknowledges that North Korea’s and Iran’s long-range ballistic missile technology is improving and could be used to deliver chemical, biological, or nuclear weapons.
• The measure expresses concern that North Korea’s and Iran’s long-range ballistic missile technology poses a real threat to the United States homeland
• Language also says Congress realizes missile delivery technology and warheads could be passed along to state and non-state actors
• The bill has Congress on record saying it supports ballistic missile protection of the United States, its allies and forward deployed forces but believes it should not come at the expense of the protection of the United States homeland.

Then the measure gets down to specifics as to how the DOD should spend the restored GMD funds.

The DOD should deploy:

• Not less than 40 ground-based interceptors at Fort Greely, Alaska.
• Not less than 4 ground-based interceptors at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.
• Such number of ground-based interceptors at such other locations as the President determines appropriate.

As for the money, the measure authorizes a $500 million appropriation for fiscal year 2010 in GMD funds for the Missile Defense Agency.