SENSE OF CONGRESS ON BALLISTIC MISSILE DEFENSE.

SEC. 221. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON BALLISTIC MISSILE DEFENSE.(a) Sense of Congress.—It is the sense of Congress—(1) that the phased, adaptive approach to missile defense in Europe is an appropriate response to the existing ballistic missile threat from Iran to the European territory of North Atlantic Treaty Organization countries, and to potential future ballistic missile capabilities of Iran;(2) that the phased, adaptive approach to missile defense in Europe is not intended to, and will not, provide a missile defense capability relative to the ballistic missile deterrent forces of the Russian Federation, or diminish strategic stability with the Russian Federation;(3) to support the efforts of the United States Government and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to pursue cooperation with the Russian Federation on ballistic missile defense relative to Iranian missile threats;(4) that the ground-based midcourse defense system deployed in Alaska and California currently provides adequate defensive capability for the United States against currently anticipated future long-range ballistic missile threats from Iran, and this capability will be enhanced as the system is improved, including by the planned deployment of an AN/TPY–2 radar in southern Europe in 2011;(5) that the ground-based midcourse defense system should be maintained, enhanced, and adequately tested to ensure its operational capability through its service life;(6) that the United States should, as stated in its unilateral statement accompanying the New START Treaty, “continue improving and deploying its missile defense systems in order to defend itself against limited attack and as part of our collaborative approach to strengthening stability in key regions”;(7) that, as part of this effort, the Department of Defense should pursue the development, testing, and deployment of operationally effective versions of all variants of the standard missile–3 for all four phases of the phased, adaptive approach to missile defense in Europe;(8) that the standard missile–3 block IIB interceptor missile planned for deployment in phase 4 of the phased, adaptive approach should be capable of addressing the potential future threat of intermediate-range and long-range ballistic missiles 124 STAT. 4168 from Iran, including intercontinental ballistic missiles that could be capable of reaching the United States;(9) that there are no constraints contained in the New START Treaty on the development or deployment by the United States of effective missile defenses, including all phases of the phased, adaptive approach to missile defense in Europe and further enhancements to the ground-based midcourse defense system, as well as future missile defenses; and(10) that the Department of Defense should continue the development, testing, and assessment of the two-stage ground-based interceptor in such a manner as to provide a hedge against potential technical challenges with the development of the standard missile–3 block IIB interceptor missile as a means of augmenting the defense of Europe and of the homeland against a limited ballistic missile attack from nations such as North Korea or Iran.(b) New START Treaty Defined.—In this section, the term “New START Treaty” means the Treaty between the United States of America and the Russian Federation on Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms, signed on April 8, 2010.