Duncan Hunter National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2009

S.3001
Introduced: 
May 12, 2008
110
Second
October 14, 2008
Became Public Law

No cosponsors

This is the annual bill that authorizes funding for the Dept. of Defense for the following year. With regard to Israel, it allocates for FY2009 a total of $177.2 m. for U.S.-Israeli cooperative development and procurement of missile defense systems, as follows: $44.9 m. (as requested by President Bush) to develop the Short Range Ballistic Missile Defense system (“David’s Sling”), $28 m. in additional funds to accelerate the system’s development, and $104.3 m. for the Arrow missile defense system. This last represents a $30-m. increase over the president’s original budget request for a “follow-on” to the Arrow system “more capable of protection against missiles with possible weapons of mass destruction warheads.” In its report (110-335), the Senate Committee on Armed Services specified that the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) use the additional $30 m. for a full evaluation of the potential of existing U.S. anti-ballistic missile systems for Israeli use as a follow-on to the Arrow—a reference to Israel’s stated desire to develop a new missile system, the Arrow-3, for this purpose. According to the report, developing the Arrow-3 “would be very expensive and would duplicate existing U.S. capabilities”; if Israel used existing U.S. technology, it stated, it “would be fully interoperable with deployed U.S. missile defense systems, which could reinforce and support the Israeli upper-tier system.” Nonetheless, the MDA decided—subsequent to the Senate report but before passage of the bill—to pursue development of the Arrow-3. The Joint Explanatory Statement, which reconciled differences between the House and Senate on the bill, stated that development of the Arrow-3 was “technically risky” and directed the Dept. of Defense to submit a report to Congress providing a plan for risk mitigation for the program. In the end, the additional $30 m. was authorized simply for the development of a follow-on system and not restricted to an MDA evaluation of alternative missile systems.

Relevant Senate amendments to S. 3001:

1)SA 5414, submitted 9/10/08, Jon Kyl (R-AZ), 5 cosponsors: Authorizes $89 m. for the “activation and deployment” of the AN/TPY-2 forward-based X-band radar (used in the U.S. ballistic missile defense system to detect, track, and counter incoming missiles) “to a classified location” not specified. Funding to be available only upon submission of a report by the secy. of defense detailing the location, operational parameters, and cost of the deployment. The report must also describe plans for protecting U.S. forces involved in the transfer and subsequent operation of the radar and the terms of the agreement between the U.S. and the host country. Approved in the Senate (9/10/08) by voice vote. Note: on 9/21/08 an AN/TPY-2 forward based X-band radar was delivered by the U.S. European Command to Nevatim Airbase in Israel (see “U.S. Deploys Radar, Troops to Israel” by Gayle S. Putrich in Defense News on 9/29/08 for details of the transfer).

2)SA 5451, submitted 11/9/08, Russell Feingold (D-WI), 1 cosponsor: Creates a 7-person commission, including two members representing the interests of Jewish refugees, to “review the United States Government's refusal to allow Jewish and other refugees fleeing persecution or genocide in Europe entry to the United States” in the period from 1/9/1939 to 12/31/1945. This measure was ordered tabled and was not considered by the Senate.

See also: companion measure H.R. 5658 of 3/31/08; related measures H.R. 1585 of 3/20/07 and H.R. 4986 of 1/16/08 for FY2008 defense authorizations.

Became public law 110-417 (9/27/08 passed in Senate by unanimous consent; 9/24/08 passed in House 392–39).

Sponsor/Cosponsors:

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