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Raketenabwehrpolitik des Kongresses
Washington, D.C. – During House consideration of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008, U.S. Representative Bud Cramer (Ala.-05) led efforts to protect missile defense funding from significant cuts.
The FY 2008 Defense Authorization Act authorizes a total of $8.3 billion for the Missile Defense Agency. This total allows for full funding for the Ground Based Missile Defense (GMD) system at Vandenberg Air Force Base and at Fort Greely, as well as the Terminal High Altitude Aerial Defense (THAAD) system. Redstone Arsenal plays a key role in the development of these programs.
During consideration of this legislation, Massachusetts Representative John Tierney and New Jersey Representative Rush Holt offered an amendment that would have reduced MDA’s budget by nearly $1.1 billion, including specific cuts to the Redstone-managed GMD program.
Prior to the vote on the Tierney-Holt amendment, Representative Cramer sent a letter to each member of the House and urged opposition to these cuts. In his letter to colleagues, Rep. Cramer cited the current threat of ballistic missiles and the recent successes of our defense systems.
“If we reduce funding to the Missile Defense Agency, we will marginalize the many accomplishments achieved in 2006,” said Cramer in his letter. “Maintaining funding for missile defense is critical to our nation’s defense.”
The Tierney-Holt Amendment ultimately failed by a vote of 127 to 299.
