John W. Olver: “Mr. Speaker, this agreement, negotiated in a fair and bipartisan spirit under the leadership of subcommittee chairman…”

“Mr. Speaker, this agreement, negotiated in a fair and bipartisan spirit under the leadership of subcommittee chairman deserves our support. It was not an easy negotiation. The bills produced by the two parties were miles apart. Therefore, to reach agreement, there were worthy construction projects that had to be reduced or dropped. So not everyone is happy with the result in either branch or from either side of the aisle. I am not pleased with giving up the $20 million deferral of construction funding for national missile defense that the House-passed bill included. It is very clear to me that the appropriations in this bill for national missile defense represents a head-long rush toward a goal that exceeds our grasp. Supporting material for the budget request was thin and vague. Cost estimates were based on the most expensive options in every case. The prevalent presumption is that the site of the facility will be Alaska, which would break the ABM Treaty.”