BOOST PHASE BALLISTIC MISSILE DEFENSE.

SEC. 1685. BOOST PHASE BALLISTIC MISSILE DEFENSE.(a) Sense of Congress.—It is the sense of Congress that, if consistent with the direction or recommendations of the Ballistic Missile Defense Review that commenced in 2017—(1) the Secretary of Defense should rapidly develop and demonstrate a boost phase intercept capability for missile defense as soon as practicable;(2) existing technologies should be adapted to demonstrate this capability;(3) the concept of operation for this demonstration should be developed in cooperation with the United States Pacific Command to address emerging threats and heightened tensions in the Asia-Pacific region; and(4) the Secretary should prioritize funding allocations for the development of boost phase intercept capabilities and coordinate these efforts with the Missile Defense Agency as the Agency develops a space-based missile defense sensor layer.(b) Initial Operational Deployment.—The Secretary of Defense shall ensure that an effective interim kinetic or directed energy boost phase ballistic missile defense capability is available for initial operational deployment as soon as practicable.(c) Plan.—Together with the budget of the President submitted to Congress under section 1105(a) of title 31, United States Code, for fiscal year 2019, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the congressional defense committees a plan to achieve the requirement in subsection (b). Such plan shall include—(1) the budget requirements;(2) a robust test schedule; and(3) a plan to develop an enduring boost phase ballistic missile defense capability, including cost and test schedule.