Star Wars

Congressional Record, June - 4, 1996
DEFEND AMERICA ACT OF 1996 - MOTION TO PROCEED
(Senate - June 04, 1996)

[Page: S5716]

In short, our actions, if we go for and vote for the Dole star wars bill, should not be considered in a vacuum. Intended or not, implementation of the Dole star wars bill would have a far-reaching, chilling effect on the future of arms control.

Often forgotten in the debate on the national missile defense is the question of whether technology is sufficiently mature enough to mandate the year 2003 as the deployment date. The record of missile interceptor testing to date and in the foreseeable future is one of more failure than success. In the rush to deploy a prototype system using highly advanced and sophisticated technology by the year 2003, we will be forsaking, Mr. President, the-fly-before-you-buy principle that has served us well in recent years.

Not only will we be limiting the testing and evaluation of the system in a push to field a system at an earlier and unnecessary date, we will be locking ourselves into certain technologies which may become obsolete by the year 2003.

[Page: S5717]

America 's Editors Oppose New Star Wars Plans

One of the most wasteful items (in the House defense budget) is the $4 billion earmarked to construct a missile defense system by 2003. This dubious `Son of Star Wars' could wind up costing as much as $54 billion before it finally could be deployed: 'Fort Pork Gets Reinforced,' the Miami Herald, Miami, FL, May 20, 1996.

Quote from Democratic Reform News

This system normally sells for sixty billion, but we're going to let you have it for five because we like you. ... The bill would order work to start on an anti-missile system (much less grandiose than the trillion-dollar Star Wars "invisible shield" President Reagan favored) that could theoretically shoot down an intercontinental missile or two launched at our territory by a small rogue country like Libya, North Korea, Iran, Iraq, or for that matter Denmark (hey, you never know) by the year 2003.