THIS SEARCH     THIS DOCUMENT     GO TO
Next Hit        Forward           New Bills Search
Prev Hit        Back              HomePage
Hit List        Best Sections     Help
                Contents Display   

GPO's PDF DisplayCongressional Record ReferencesBill Summary & StatusPrinter Friendly Display - 7,941 bytes.[Help]

National Missile Defense Act of 1997 (Introduced in Senate)

S 7 IS

105th CONGRESS

1st Session

S. 7

To establish a United States policy for the deployment of a national missile defense system, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

January 21, 1997

Mr. LOTT (for himself, Mr. THURMOND, Mr. SMITH of New Hampshire, Mr. WARNER, Mr. KYL, Mr. COCHRAN, Mr. ABRAHAM, Mr. ALLARD, Mr. ASHCROFT, Mr. COVERDELL, Mr. CRAIG, Mr. DEWINE, Mr. DOMENICI, Mr. ENZI, Mr. FAIRCLOTH, Mr. GRAMS, Mr. HAGEL, Mr. HATCH, Mr. HELMS, Mrs. HUTCHISON, Mr. HUTCHINSON, Mr. INHOFE, Mr. MURKOWSKI, Mr. NICKLES, Mr. SESSIONS, and Mr. KEMPTHORNE) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services


A BILL

To establish a United States policy for the deployment of a national missile defense system, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the `National Missile Defense Act of 1997'.

SEC. 2. NATIONAL MISSILE DEFENSE POLICY.

    (a) NATIONAL MISSILE DEFENSE- It is the policy of the United States to deploy by the end of 2003 a National Missile Defense system that--

      (1) is capable of defending the territory of the United States against limited ballistic missile attack (whether accidental, unauthorized, or deliberate); and

      (2) could be augmented over time to provide a layered defense against larger and more sophisticated ballistic missile threats if they emerge.

    (b) COOPERATIVE TRANSITION- It is the policy of the United States to seek a cooperative transition to a regime that does not feature an offense-only form of deterrence as the basis for strategic stability.

SEC. 3. NATIONAL MISSILE DEFENSE SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE.

    (a) REQUIREMENT FOR DEVELOPMENT OF SYSTEM- To implement the policy established in section 3(a), the Secretary of Defense shall develop for deployment a National Missile Defense (NMD) system which shall achieve an initial operational capability (IOC) by the end of 2003.

    (b) ELEMENTS OF THE NMD SYSTEM- The system to be developed for deployment shall include the following elements:

      (1) INTERCEPTORS- An interceptor system that optimizes defensive coverage of the continental United States, Alaska, and Hawaii against limited ballistic missile attack (whether accidental, unauthorized, or deliberate).

      (2) GROUND-BASED RADARS- Fixed ground-based radars.

      (3) SPACE-BASED SENSORS- Space-based sensors, including the Space and Missile Tracking System.

      (4) BM/C3- Battle management, command, control, and communications (BM/C3).

SEC. 4. IMPLEMENTATION OF NATIONAL MISSILE DEFENSE SYSTEM.

    The Secretary of Defense shall--

      (1) upon the enactment of this Act, promptly initiate required preparatory and planning actions that are necessary so as to be capable of meeting the initial operational capability (IOC) date specified in section 3(a);

      (2) not later than the end of fiscal year 1999, conduct an integrated systems test which uses elements (including BM/C3 elements) that are representative of, and traceable to, the national missile defense system architecture specified in section 3(b);

      (3) prescribe and use streamlined acquisition policies and procedures to reduce the cost and increase the efficiency of developing the system specified in section 3(a); and

      (4) develop a national missile defense follow-on program that--

        (A) leverages off of the national missile defense system specified in section 3(a); and

        (B) could augment that system, if necessary, to provide for a layered defense.

SEC. 5. REPORT ON PLAN FOR NATIONAL MISSILE DEFENSE SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT AND DEPLOYMENT.

    Not later than 120 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to Congress a report on the Secretary's plan for development and deployment of a national missile defense system pursuant to this Act. The report shall include the following matters:

      (1) The Secretary's plan for carrying out this Act, including--

        (A) a detailed description of the system architecture selected for development under section 3(b); and

        (B) a discussion of the justification for the selection of that particular architecture.

      (2) The Secretary's estimate of the amount of appropriations required for research, development, test, evaluation, and for procurement, for each of fiscal years 1998 through 2003 in order to achieve the initial operational capability date specified in section 3(a).

      (3) A determination of the point at which any activity that is required to be carried out under this Act would conflict with the terms of the ABM Treaty, together with a description of any such activity, the legal basis for the Secretary's determination, and an estimate of the time at which such point would be reached in order to meet the initial operational capability date specified in section 3(a).

SEC. 6. POLICY REGARDING THE ABM TREATY.

    (a) ABM TREATY NEGOTIATIONS- In light of the findings in section 232 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1996 (Public Law 102-106; 110 Stat. 228, 10 U.S.C. 2431 note) and the policy established in section 2, Congress urges the President to pursue, if necessary, high-level discussions with the Russian Federation to achieve an agreement to amend the ABM Treaty to allow deployment of the national missile defense system being developed for deployment under section 3.

    (b) REQUIREMENT FOR SENATE ADVICE AND CONSENT- If an agreement described in subsection (a) is achieved in discussions described in that subsection, the President shall present that agreement to the Senate for its advice and consent. No funds appropriated or otherwise available for any fiscal year may be obligated or expended to implement such an amendment to the ABM Treaty unless the amendment is made in the same manner as the manner by which a treaty is made.

    (c) ACTION UPON FAILURE TO ACHIEVE NEGOTIATED CHANGES WITHIN ONE YEAR- If an agreement described in subsection (a) is not achieved in discussions described in that subsection within one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the President and Congress, in consultation with each other, shall consider exercising the option of withdrawing the United States from the ABM Treaty in accordance with the provisions of Article XV of that treaty.

SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:

      (1) ABM TREATY- The term `ABM Treaty' means the Treaty Between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on the Limitation of Anti-Ballistic Missile Systems, and signed at Moscow on May 26, 1972, and includes the Protocols to that Treaty, signed at Moscow on July 3, 1974.

      (2) LIMITED BALLISTIC MISSILE ATTACK- The term `limited ballistic missile attack' refers to a limited ballistic missile attack as that term is used in the National Ballistic Defense Capstone Requirements Document, dated August 24, 1996, that was issued by the United States Space Command and validated by the Joint Requirements Oversight Council of the Department of Defense.



THIS SEARCH     THIS DOCUMENT     GO TO
Next Hit        Forward           New Bills Search
Prev Hit        Back              HomePage
Hit List        Best Sections     Help
                Contents Display