May 11, 2007— Congressman Trent Franks (AZ-02) fought tenaciously on Wednesday in the all-day House Armed Services Committee annual mark-up of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to preserve vital funding for the Missile Defense Agency (MDA.)  The authorization provided increased funding for troop training and readiness levels, but slashed the MDA’s budget by $764 million.

Franks said, “The intelligence community believes that Iran will have missiles capable of reaching the U.S. in less than 8 years. North Korea tested long range missiles last Fourth of July and China recently shot down one of their own satellites in space. History will hold us to account if we fail in our most fundamental duty, and that is to protect the American people.  Rather than developing capabilities to address these looming threats, Democrats have done just the opposite by cutting some of the most crucial programs in the Missile Defense Agency budget.  Nevertheless we must continue to acknowledge that these crucial threats not only exist, but require us to fully support, fund, develop and implement these programs.”

Congressman Franks offered a series of three amendments during the committee mark-up that would have restored missile defense funding that was in the Missile Defense’s budget requests and the Democrats chose to cut.  The amendments presented were as follows:  

·        Restore the $10 million for Space Test Bed – to fund the development, testing, and evaluation of space-based interceptors, which promise the capability of boost-phase interception and would prevent the United States from being reliant on any one single component of our layered missile defense.  

·        Restore $100 million for the Dept. of Defense’s Airborne Laser (ABL) Program – to provide for continued development of the ABL program, the MDA’s most mature and promising direct energy program, and the only one with the potential of destroying an enemy missile in the “boost phase.”

·        Fully restore the budget of the Missile Defense Agency - In a final attempt to replenish depleted funds and fully support the MDA’s budget, Rep. Franks offered an amendment to fully restore the $764 million being cut through other Democratic amendments, using unneeded offsets from programs outside the Agency.

 Congressman Franks is serving his third term in the U.S. House of Representatives, and is a member of the Committee on Armed Services, Strategic Forces Subcommittee, Readiness Subcommittee, Committee on the Judiciary, and is Ranking Member on the Constitution Subcommittee.