Tony Thurmond: “Mr. President. I rise in opposition to the amendment offered by the Senator from New Mexico. A similar variation of the…”

“Mr. President. I rise in opposition to the amendment offered by the Senator from New Mexico. A similar variation of the amendment was offered in the committee during markup and it was not accepted. The Congress has authorized and/or appropriated funds for the kinetic energy antisatellite technology program since 1985. For the past 3 years the administration has not complied with the law and obligated the funds for the program. Every year, as a result, we have to take actions to force the Department to comply with legislation to compel them to obligate the funds for this particular program. Mr. President, the Under Secretary of Defense for Space, Bob Davis, has stated on many occasions that there is a need to develop systems to counter the space threat. The Congress has supported the kinetic energy antisatellite technologies for that purposes, as well as other technologies which are not ready for production or are years away from deployment. The KE-ASAT program is the only near-term program to meet a potential enemy satellite threat. The U.S military relies on space for surveillance, communications, navigation, and attack warning. It is important for the United States to ensure its freedom to use space.”