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WASHINGTON, MARCH 21, 1996 -- Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Senator Strom Thurmond (R-SC), today joined the Senate Republican leadership in calling for the deployment of a National Missile Defense (NMD) system by the year 2003 which is capable of defending the United States against a limited, accidental, or unauthorized ballistic missile attack.

"Our Nation today has a critical need for a National Missile Defense system. I am pleased that the overwhelming view of Congressional Republicans is that development and deployment of an NMD system should be funded and accelerated. Although the Fiscal Year 1996 Defense Authorization Act provided for such a system, President Clinton chose to veto the legislation, citing his ill founded belief that the citizens of our Nation do not require the protection provided by a National Missile Defense system. I find it ironic that most Americans already believe that we have such a system in place," said Chairman Thurmond.

"Shortly after the President's veto, the Department of Defense released findings of the 1996 Ballistic Missile Defense Update Review which continued the go-slow approach to NMD. I strongly disagree with both the President and the Department of Defense. I deeply believe that all Americans should be protected from the threat of long-range ballistic missiles. Despite the decline of the Soviet Union, that threat remains very real today. China's recent provocations against Taiwan highlight the need for the United States to deploy a national missile defense system as soon as possible. The legislation we are introducing today will fill this glaring void in United States national security policy," Thurmond added.

The Defend America Act of 1996, introduced today, would require that the entire United States be protected by the year 2003 against a limited, accidental, or unauthorized attack. It differs from the legislation vetoed by President Clinton in that it provides the Secretary of Defense a greater flexibility in determining the precise architecture for the system. In addition, the legislation urges the President to begin negotiations to amend the ABM Treaty in order to allow for deployment of an effective NMD system. It also recommends that, if these negotiations fail to produce acceptable amendments within one year, Congress and the President should consider withdrawing the United States from the ABM Treaty. Nothing in the legislation requires or advocates abrogation of the ABM Treaty.

Chairman Thurmond concluded, "Three months ago, the President of the United States chose to veto the entire Defense Authorization Bill because he opposed the provision mandating the deployment of a system to defend the American people against ballistic missile attack. The President's first obligation under the Constitution is to defend the territory of the United States. I am honored to join in an effort to send President Clinton a clear message - we will not stand idly by while the United States and its citizens remain undefended against a real and growing threat. The legislation we are introducing today will help President Clinton fulfill a constitutional, strategic, and moral duty that he has neglected for the past four years."