SENSE OF CONGRESS ON STRATEGIC MISSILE MODERNIZATION PROGRAMS

SEC. 220. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON STRATEGIC MISSILE MODERNIZATION PROGRAMS (a) Findings.—The Congress makes the following findings: (1) It is essential that the nation’s defense priorities be carefully analyzed so as to properly fund the Armed Forces. (2) The capabilities of the conventional forces of the United States and its allies will become more important if an agreement with respect to intermediate-range nuclear forces (INF) is concluded between the United States and the Soviet Union. (3) It is both desirable and possible to reduce the reliance of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization on nuclear weapons for the defense of all members of the alliance if the member nations of the alliance assert the political will to reduce such reliance and establish sound defense priorities. (4) The United States is currently procuring and deploying one land-based intercontinental ballistic missile system (the MX system) at significant cost while developing another such system (the so-called Midgetman system) at significant additional cost. (5) Efforts to reduce the Federal budget deficit, which are imperative for the economic well being of the United States, will continue for the foreseeable future to require limits on all discretionary Federal spending, including defense spending. (b) Sense of Congress.—In light of the findings in subsection (a), it is the sense of Congress that the authorization of funds in this Act for research and development for both the new small mobile intercontinental ballistic missile (commonly known as the “Midgetman” missile) and the proposed rail-mobile basing mode for the MX missile does not constitute a commitment or express an intent by Congress to provide funds to procure and deploy the Midgetman missile or to deploy any MX missiles in a rail-mobile basing mode or both.