For Immediate Release

September 1, 2000

REACTION FROM U.S. REP. NORM DICKS [D-Wash.]
TO PRESIDENTIAL DECISION ON MISSILE DEFENSE

WASHINGTON, D.C. – A senior member of the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee today said President Clinton’s decision to defer initial construction of elements of a national missile defense system "represents an appropriate and judicious response to the technical uncertainty we’ve experienced in the program to date."

        U.S. Rep. Norm Dicks added that the President’s decision "is the right move at this time because the program has not yet met the criteria that Congress and the Administration established to demonstrate the technical capability of a system to defend the U.S. against incoming long-range ballistic missiles."

        "At this point, it is entirely appropriate for us to postpone actual construction work on the initial elements of the system, and to allow the next President and his administration make a decision based on further development and testing," Dicks added.

        "Given the failure of two of the three intercept tests that have been conducted and the remaining concerns of our allies regarding the impact on the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, I believe the President made the right decision," the congressman said.

        At the same time Dicks was highly critical of the Republican Presidential candidate, Texas Gov. George Bush, who in recent months has proposed the aggressive development of a space-based global missile defense system which could cost more than $100 billion and initiate a news arms race in space.

        "This issue clearly belongs in our presidential debate this year because the American people should know how both candidates would handle important defense and foreign policy issues. One candidate, George Bush, favors a global system that would drain billions of dollars away from virtually every other defense priority including readiness. The other, Al Gore, favors a more limited system that could protect our country against the accidental missile launch or a missile from a rogue state, while not bankrupting our budget or breaching important arms reduction treaties," said Rep. Dicks.

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