Mike Levin: “the pending amendment would prevent deployment of the missile defense system before that missile defense system is shown…”

“the pending amendment would prevent deployment of the missile defense system before that missile defense system is shown to be workable by operationally realistic testing. That is what we are supposed to do around here. This is nothing new. What is new is the deployment of a system before it has been realistically tested and operationally tested with no plans to ever test the system. There are a couple of examples where we have deployed systems, but we have never deployed a system without a plan to at least operationally test at some point. There are no such plans here. It violates the spirit and, in one case, the letter of the law relative to testing and relative to 'fly before you buy.' These laws are intended to prevent the purchase and deployment to the field of billions of dollars in military equipment prior to it being adequately tested. What we have heard on the floor is a giant rationalization for deploying a system which may or may not work. We have been told this morning that we have to deploy in Alaska because that is where the operational testing is going to take place. How can there be operational testing unless these missiles are put in the ground? The problem is, that is not accurate. There is not going to be flight testing of these missiles from Alaska. That is not just me saying that; this is what the Department of Defense has told us.”