Thad Cochran: “As I understand the amendment, it calls for a report on a wide variety of threats facing the United States. S. 257, the…”

“As I understand the amendment, it calls for a report on a wide variety of threats facing the United States. S. 257, the pending legislation, is intended to address one of these threats--a limited ballistic missile attack against us for which we have no defense. While these other threats are important, they are not the subject of this bill. We have tried to keep this bill focused on a specific policy question--whether the United States will defend itself against ballistic missile attack. We have tried not to entangle this question in the details of other defense issues, however important they may be. If a report on the many other threats from weapons of mass destruction would be useful, the defense authorization or appropriations bills would be appropriate vehicles for directing such reporting requirements. In conclusion, just because there are some threats that we cannot defend against perfectly doesn't mean we should not defend against others.”