S.Amdt. 5562

1. Adds SEC. 1083. SENSE OF THE SENATE ON SUPPORT OF CZECH REPUBLIC AND POLAND FOR MISSILE DEFENSE EFFORTS on page 311, between lines 13 and 14

   Adds a sectionPrinted page

   Inserted: SEC. 1083. SENSE OF THE SENATE ON SUPPORT OF CZECH REPUBLIC AND POLAND FOR MISSILE DEFENSE EFFORTS.

   Inserted: (a) Findings.--The Senate makes the following findings:

   Inserted: (1) The Heads of State and Government of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) agreed at the Bucharest Summit on April 3, 2008, that "[b]allistic missile proliferation poses an increasing threat to Allies' forces, territory and populations".

   Inserted: (2) As part of a broad response to counter the ballistic missile threat, the Heads of State and Government of NATO "recognise the substantial contribution to the protection of Allies from long-range ballistic missiles to be provided by the planned deployment of European-based United States missile defence assets".

   Inserted: (3) At the Bucharest Summit, the NATO Heads of State and Government stated that, with respect to the planned deployment of United States missile defense capability, "[w]e are exploring ways to link this capability with current NATO missile defence efforts as a way to ensure that it would be an integral part of any future NATO wide missile defence architecture".

   Inserted: (4) At the Bucharest Summit, the NATO Heads of State and Government stated that, "[b]earing in mind the principle of the indivisibility of Allied security as well as NATO solidarity, we task the Council in Permanent Session to develop options for a comprehensive missile defence architecture to extend coverage to all Allied territory and populations not otherwise covered by the United States system for review at our 2009 Summit, to inform any future political decision".

   Inserted: (5) On July 8, 2008, the United States Government and the Government of the Czech Republic signed an agreement on the stationing of a United States radar facility in the Czech Republic to track ballistic missiles.

   Inserted: (6) On August 20, 2008, the United States Government and the Government of Poland signed an agreement on the stationing of 10 ground-based missile defense interceptors in Poland.

   Inserted: (7) Supplemental Status of Forces Agreements (SOFA) regarding the missile defense deployment agreements, not yet signed, are required elements of any final agreements to deploy the planned missile defense capabilities in the Czech Republic and Poland.

   Inserted: (8) In order to take legal effect, any final bilateral missile defense agreements must be submitted to and ratified by the parliaments of the Czech Republic and Poland, respectively.

   Inserted: (9) The deployment of the planned United States missile defense system in the Czech Republic and Poland would not provide protection to southeastern portions of NATO territory against missile attack. Additional missile defense capabilities would be required to protect these areas against missile attack, including against existing short- and medium-range missile threats.

   Inserted: (10) According to the Director of Operational Test and Evaluation, the ground-based interceptor planned to be deployed in Poland would require three flight tests to demonstrate whether it could accomplish its mission in an operationally effective manner. Such testing is not expected to begin before the fall of 2009, and is unlikely to be concluded before 2011.

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   Inserted: (11) The Government of Iran continues to defy international calls to cease its uranium enrichment program, has deployed hundreds of short- and medium-range ballistic missiles, and continues to develop and test ballistic missiles of increasing range, as well as a space launch vehicle.

   Inserted: (b) Sense of the Senate.--It is the sense of the Senate that--

   Inserted: (1) the decisions by the Governments of Poland and the Czech Republic to station elements of a missile defense system on their territory are a clear affirmation of the commitment of those governments to support the defense of NATO, including the United States, against the threat of long-range ballistic missiles;

   Inserted: (2) the Senate--

   Inserted: (A) recognizes the importance of these decisions taken by the Governments of Poland and the Czech Republic, as well as the statements made by NATO Heads of State and Government relative to missile defense at the Bucharest Summit in April 2008; and

   Inserted: (B) notes the care and seriousness with which the Governments of Poland and the Czech Republic have undertaken their evaluation and consideration of these issues; and

   Inserted: (3) these decisions will deepen the strategic relationship between the United States Government and the Governments of Poland and the Czech Republic and make a substantial contribution to the collective capability of NATO to counter future long-range ballistic missile threats.

   Inserted: (c) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section shall be construed to modify the requirements of section 226 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 (Public Law 110-181; 122 Stat. 41), or [section 232] of this Act.

   Original wording

   On page 311, between lines 13 and 14, insert the following:

Read automatically from the Congressional Record. Check the original before relying on it.

As printed