Jon Kyl: “I begin by simply describing first of all the essence of this amendment and why it must be opposed. It would cut $515.5…”

“I begin by simply describing first of all the essence of this amendment and why it must be opposed. It would cut $515.5 million from the Missile Defense Program. That is over $1/2 billion. It adds that funding to a variety of other programs, all of which are adequately funded. We have added funding to some of them, and in some cases we could not even spend the money that would be allocated. Let me begin by discussing the harm that would be done to the Missile Defense Program--which we have all committed to pursuing under the Clinton administration--as a result of the adoption of the Levin amendment. Specifically, as he described it, the amendment cuts funding for additional ground-based interceptors. These are missiles that go into the ground, primarily into the State of the Presiding Officer. This is the heart of our ground-based missile defense system.”