WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe, a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), this week introduced an amendment that would require Congressional approval before the President enters any international agreements to limit U.S. missile defense capabilities to the SASC markup of the Defense Authorization Bill of FY2011. This amendment was not included in the final markup, as the Democrats rejected this measure.
“This is just another example of politics at its best in Washington,” Inhofe said. “I’m surprised that the Democrats voted solely on party lines during a crucial time when President Obama possesses a record of disarming our nation’s missiles and continuing to defund our nation’s military. My amendment would prevent the Obama administration from taking drastic measures to defund or limit the research, development, testing or deployment of military space systems of the United States or that would limit the options of the United States military in operating such systems.
Inhofe continued, “Furthermore, I find this to be particularly alarming as countries like North Korea and Iran actively seek to develop their nuclear arsenal and are expected to possess full range ballistic missiles capable of hitting the United States by year 2015. Without the ability to research, develop, test or deploy military space systems, Americans will be left unprotected and naked from future attacks.”