Pete Stark: “I oppose H.R. 4205, the Defense Authorization for Fiscal Year 2001 bill for a number of reasons. This bill spends too…”

“I oppose H.R. 4205, the Defense Authorization for Fiscal Year 2001 bill for a number of reasons. This bill spends too much for a national missile defense system that the President hasn't even determined to deploy and it seeks to keep defense contractor coffers plentiful. H.R. 4205 authorizes $2.2 billion for national missile defense (NMD) systems when President Clinton hasn't made a decision on whether or not to deploy such a system. The President had indicated that he will make his decision later this year. But the longer he waits, the more evidence indicates that deployment is unwise. Last month, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) delivered a devastating blow to NMD proponents when they calculated the costs of building and operating the Administration's defenses system at almost $60 billion. For months now, the Pentagon has insisted that the cost of the Administration's system over the next six years was a modest $12.7 billion. The Pentagon was shocked once again when a recent poll was released that national missile defense is an extremely low priority for Americans. Improving education, protecting Social Security and Medicare, and improving health care coverage are all significantly higher priorities than defense-related matters. I would much rather spend $12 billion to cover 11 million uninsured children--the cost of my MediKids bill.”