Rob Bishop: “Look, the Minuteman III has been a great deterrent and a great source of security for this country, but it is 46 years…”

“Look, the Minuteman III has been a great deterrent and a great source of security for this country, but it is 46 years old. It was put in the ground when I was in college, and I can't even remember what I was doing in college. It has already been extended three times. As Mr. Turner said, the testimony in our committee said that we have studied this, and the conclusion was more study and more delay was not cost-effective. Look at the reality of the situation. If we move into a new system, we have to have the infrastructure to make that move so the system can be seamless going from place to place. If we pause in that reconstruction of infrastructure, what we do is stop the construction. Then, we have to start up again, which is why the cost continues to increase. There are parts of Minuteman III that are no longer being produced in the private sector, so the engineers at the Air Force logistics centers have to rejigger from old parts a new part. In fact, the blueprints in some cases are so old, they are not readable anymore. We have to move forward. This amendment stops us from modernizing our efforts. The GBSD has to move forward. Let's face it: The only reason it is not moving forward right now is because it doesn't have a cute name like Minuteman III. But it is our future. If we want something in our future, we cannot tolerate more delays.…”