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Current Status Bill Number:View additional legislative information at the LPITS web site.262 Type of Legislation:Concurrent Resolution CR Introducing Body:Senate Introduced Date:19990112 Primary Sponsor:Wilson All Sponsors:Wilson, Hayes Drafted Document Number:l:\council\bills\kgh\15141dc99.doc Residing Body:Senate Current Committee:General Committee 08 SG Subject:Requests and Memorials, Congress, Federal Government, Missile attack; protection of member states History Body Date Action Description Com Leg Involved ______ ________ ______________________________________ _______ ____________ Senate 19990112 Introduced, read first time, 08 SG referred to Committee Senate 19981216 Prefiled, referred to Committee 08 SG Versions of This Bill
TO MEMORIALIZE THE PRESIDENT, THE CONGRESS, AND THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES TO TAKE ALL ACTIONS NECESSARY TO PROTECT ON AN EQUAL BASIS ALL PEOPLES AND RESOURCES OF ALL OF THE STATES OF THE UNITED STATES FROM THREAT OF MISSILE ATTACK REGARDLESS OF THE PHYSICAL LOCATION OF THE MEMBER STATE; THAT ALASKA AND HAWAII BE INCLUDED IN EVERY NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE ESTIMATE CONDUCTED BY THE UNITED STATES JOINT INTELLIGENCE AGENCIES; THAT ALASKA AND HAWAII, NOT JUST THE CONTIGUOUS FORTY-EIGHT STATES, BE INCLUDED IN EVERY NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE ESTIMATE OF MISSILE THREAT TO THE UNITED STATES; THAT THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT TAKES NECESSARY MEASURES TO ENSURE THAT ALASKA AND HAWAII, AS WELL AS THE CONTIGUOUS FORTY-EIGHT STATES, ARE PROTECTED AGAINST FORESEEABLE THREATS, NUCLEAR, BIOLOGICAL, CHEMICAL, AND OTHERWISE, OPPOSED BY FOREIGN AGGRESSORS AND TERRORISTS, INCLUDING DEPLOYMENT OF A BALLISTIC MISSILE DEFENSE SYSTEM TO PROTECT ALASKA, HAWAII, AND THE CONTIGUOUS FORTY-EIGHT STATES; THAT THE SAFETY AND SECURITY OF ALL OF THE STATES OF THE UNITED STATES, INCLUDING ALASKA AND HAWAII, TAKE PRIORITY OVER ANY INTERNATIONAL TREATY OR OBLIGATION AND THAT THE PRESIDENT TAKES WHATEVER ACTION IS NECESSARY TO ENSURE THAT ALASKA AND HAWAII CAN BE DEFENDED AGAINST LIMITED MISSILE ATTACKS WITH THE SAME DEGREE OF ASSURANCE AS PROVIDED TO ALL OTHER STATES; AND THAT THE APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES HOLD HEARINGS IN ALASKA AND HAWAII THAT INCLUDE DEFENSE EXPERTS AND ADMINISTRATION OFFICIALS TO ENABLE THE CITIZENS OF ALASKA, HAWAII, AND THE CONTIGUOUS FORTY-EIGHT STATES TO UNDERSTAND THEIR RISKS, THEIR LEVEL OF SECURITY, AND THE NATURE AND EXTENT OF THEIR VULNERABILITY.
Whereas, Alaska and Hawaii are the forty-ninth and fiftieth states to enter the federal union of the United States of America and are entitled to all of the rights, privileges, and obligations that the union affords and requires; and
Whereas, Alaska and Hawaii possess natural resources, including energy, mineral, and human resources, vital to the prosperity and national security of the United States; and
Whereas, the people of Alaska and Hawaii are conscious of the states' remote northern and central Pacific locations and proximities to northeast Asia and the Eurasian land mass, and of how their unique location places those states in a more vulnerable position than other states with regard to missiles that could be launched in Asia and Europe; and
Whereas, the people of the United States recognize the changing nature of the international political structure and the evolution and proliferation of missile delivery systems and weapons of mass destruction as foreign states seek the military means to deter the power of the United States in international affairs; and
Whereas, there is a growing threat to Alaska, Hawaii, and the forty-eight contiguous states by potential aggressors in these nations and in rogue nations that are seeking nuclear weapons capability and that have sponsored international terrorism; and
Whereas, a National Intelligence Estimate to assess missile threats to the United States left Alaska and Hawaii out of the assessment and estimate; and
Whereas, one of the primary reasons for joining the Union of the United States of America was to gain security for the people of Alaska and Hawaii and for the common regulation of foreign affairs on the basis of an equitable membership in the United States federation; and
Whereas, the United States plans to field a national missile defense, perhaps as early as 2003; this national missile defense plan will provide only a fragile defense for Alaska and Hawaii, the states most likely to be threatened by new missile powers that are emerging in northeast Asia. Now, therefore,
Be it resolved by the Senate, the House of Representatives concurring:
That the President, the Congress, and the government of the United States are hereby memorialized to take all actions necessary to protect on an equal basis all peoples and resources of all of the states of the United States from threat of missile attack regardless of the physical location of the member state, that Alaska and Hawaii be included in every National Intelligence Estimate conducted by the United States joint intelligence agencies, that Alaska and Hawaii, not just the contiguous forty-eight states, be included in every National Intelligence Estimate of missile threat to the United States, that the United States government takes necessary measures to ensure that Alaska and Hawaii, as well as the contiguous forty-eight states, are protected against foreseeable threats, nuclear, biological, chemical, and otherwise, posed by foreign aggressors and terrorists, including deployment of a ballistic missile defense system to protect Alaska, Hawaii, and the contiguous forty-eight states, that the safety and security of all of the states of the United States, including Alaska and Hawaii, take priority over any international treaty or obligation and that the President takes whatever action is necessary to ensure that Alaska and Hawaii can be defended against limited missile attacks with the same degree of assurance as provided to all other states, and that the appropriate Congressional committees hold hearings in Alaska and Hawaii that include defense experts and administration officials to enable the citizens of Alaska, Hawaii, and the contiguous forty-eight states to understand their risks, their level of security, and the nature and extent of their vulnerability.
Be it further resolved that copies of this resolution be forwarded to the Honorable Bill Clinton, President of the United States; the Honorable Al Gore, Jr., Vice-President of the United States and President of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Bob Livingston, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives; the Honorable Ted Stevens, Chair of the U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations; the Honorable Bill Young, Chair of the U.S. House of Representatives' Committee on Appropriations; the Honorable Strom Thurmond, Chair of the U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services; the Honorable Floyd Spence, Chair of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on National Security; and each member of the Alaska, Hawaii, and South Carolina Congressional Delegations.
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