On the recordDecember 19, 2010
I am not giving up any of mine. I want to finish this 1 minute on the subject of the President's letter. What it fails to acknowledge is that we were on the cusp of implanting a GBI in Europe by 2016, and that was completely given up in the course of these negotiations. This is the same missile we have in the ground in Alaska and California. That was given up, and we are now proceeding with a phase four theory that might be completed by 2020, if Congress appropriates the money for the next five Congresses and some President who is then in office--not President Obama 10 years from now--is still supportive and pushes it through and Congress passes it. So this is a big mistake. We made a major concession on national missile defense and even put words in the treaty that compromise our ability to do the new treaty. The statement from Putin that we will be obliged to take action in response did not say just GBI; it also referred to the capabilities of an SM-3 Block IIB, which would be what the President said is going to be deployed in 2020. I thank the Chair, I thank Senator Risch, and I yield the floor. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Wyoming.
