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Washington, Sept. 1 (CNA) US President Bill Clinton's Friday announcement that he will let the next US president decide whether to deploy the National Missile Defense (NMD) system has set off polarized reactions among congressmen.

At the Pentagon, Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen made a brief statement saying that Clinton made the announcement in order to allow the next US president to have a hand in the decision-making on the framing of the NMD. He affirmed that the test plan for NMD will go on.

Cohen said that "several threats" taking shape mean that the United States should deploy an effective missile defense system as soon as possible now that the necessary technology has been proved to be feasible.

He said the Defense Department would continue to proceed with the test plan for NMD and would continue to consult with the US Congress, US allies and Russia on the deployment of NMD.

A spokesman for Sen. Jesse A. Helms (R-NC) said the Clinton administration has delayed the decision for eight years on whether to deploy NMD, while in the same period, foreign ballistic missiles that threaten the United States have had their range and accuracy improved. Helms is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

The spokesman slammed the Clinton administration for being indifferent to the missile threat, leaving the US people unable to defend themselves against such a threat.

House Representative Floyd Spence (R-SC) said Clinton's announcement will heighten "the danger facing the American people" and will mean the people of the United States will have to wait another year to get protection.

Rep. Richard A. Gephardt (D-MO) supported Clinton, citing the recent failure of the missile interception tests, concerns from allied nations, the possible impact on the efforts of global weapons control, as well as the expense of the system. Gephardt is the House minority leader.

Rep. Tom Allen (D-ME) also supported Clinton, describing his decision as "wise and deliberate." Allen, a member of the House Arms Committee, has consistently opposed hasty NMD deployment.

He said Clinton perceives intuitively that if the United States hastily deploys a more advanced defense system that results in a new arms race and the sabotage of American global security relations, overall national security will in turn be decreased. (By Jay Chen and David Hsu)