[EXCERPTS]
COHEN TESTIMONY ON FY 1998 DEFENSE BUDGET
Strategic Context of U.S. Defense Decisions
While the threat of nuclear holocaust has been significantly reduced, the world remains a very unsettled and dangerous place. Hostile regimes and instability threaten U.S. interests in key regions. The proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and the ballistic missiles that deliver them continue to be a serious concern. The threats of terrorism, international organized crime, and drug trafficking remain unabated. And with the global economy increasingly interdependent, our future well-being can be threatened by conflicts within or between nations and by other disruptions to trade and stability. ... ... ...
Arms control also can be a high-payoff, low-cost means to advance U.S. security. For example, the Chemical Weapons Convention provides a major advancement for America's disarmament and nonproliferation goals. I therefore urge Senate advice and consent to ratification by April 29, 1997 of the Convention, which would commit other nations to the measures that the U.S. already is pursuing. ... ... ...
Another modernization requirement is to expand and ensure the battlespace information dominance of U.S. forces. The key goal here is to make combat leaders as aware as possible to the situation confronting them -- most notably with regard to the enemy's size, location, and activity. Major programs: Army digitization, UAVs, Global Broadcast System, Cooperative Engagement Capability, and the MU-STAR and Space-Based Infrared System (SBIRS) satellite programs. Also essential, the Advanced Concept Technology Demonstrations initiative is designed to accelerate the introduction of advanced technologies into the systems of our operating forces.
Finally, the Ballistic Missile Defense Program is an essential component of DoD modernization plans.
Ballistic Missile Defense Program
The proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and the ballistic missiles that deliver them pose a major threat and must remain a major focus of U.S. defense policy and budget allocations. America must pursue a robust Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) program as part of a broader counterproliferation strategy to reduce, deter, and defend against this threat.
As a Senator I worked hard to narrow the differences between the Congress and the Clinton Administration regarding missile defense. In my new position I am committed to advancing a missile defense program that is sound, executable, and provides an effective defense against the threat. This budget incorporates changes to ensure that the Department has a strong BMD program, is allocating substantial resources to advance essential BMD goals, and is proceeding as rapidly as is technologically sound. I will be closely monitoring all major aspects of the BMD program.
The BMD program's highest priority is neater Missile Defense (TMD), to meet the threat that exists now. The goal is to develop, procure, and deploy systems that can protect forward-deployed and expeditionary elements of U.S. forces. as well as allied and friendly nations, from theater-range ballistic missiles. In general, these programs are structured to proceed at the fastest pace that technology risks will allow. Key programs include the Patriot PAC-3, Navy Area TMD, Navy Theater Wide, Theater High Altitude Area Defense ), Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS), and Airborne Laser systems. Among its features, this budget accelerates by two years the THAAD program and the first launch of the SMTS satellite system, and adds funds to the Navy Theater Wide program to reduce risk.
The next highest BMD priority is development of a National Missile Defense (NMD) program that positions the United States to deploy the most effective possible system to defend U.S. territory when the threat war-rants such a deployment. The NMD program will develop all the elements of a system in a balanced manner, achieving the first test of an integrated system by FY 1999. If the FY 1999 test is successful, the U.S. would be in a position, beginning in FY 2000, to deploy this initial system within three years of a decision to do so, based upon the threat. After the FY 1999 test, until a decision to deploy is made, the NMD program would be geared to improving the performance of the designed system by advancing the technology of each element of it and by adding new elements -- all the while maintaining the capability to deploy the system within three years of a decision.
The third BMD priority is the continued development of a technology base that improves the capability of both the Theater and National defense programs to respond to emerging threats. These expenditures seek both to enhance the performance and reduce the cost of future BMD systems.
FY 1998 budget authority requested for BMD is $3.5 billion. For FY 1999 through FY 2003 an additional $17.9 billion is planned. This
$21.4 billion total for BMD programs in FY 1998- 2003 is $2.4 billion above what was projected by the Department last year.
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