Enrolled HJR 40: Relating to defending the state from electromagnetic pulse attacks.
00Enrolled HJR 40 01 Relating to defending the state from electromagnetic pulse attacks. 02 _______________ 03 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 04 WHEREAS the Constitution of the United States imposes on the national government 05 a duty to provide for the common defense, and the states and the national government work 06 together toward the security of each state; and 07 WHEREAS the Congressionally mandated Commission to Assess the Threat to the 08 United States from Electromagnetic Pulse Attack found, in its report delivered July 2004, that 09 an enemy using a low-yield nuclear weapon detonated at a high altitude above the United 10 States, delivered by even a relatively unsophisticated short-range or medium-range ballistic 11 missile, could make an electromagnetic pulse attack against the United States, and that an 12 electromagnetic pulse attack has the potential to place our society at risk and to defeat our 13 military forces; and 14 WHEREAS the Alaska State Legislature views with growing concern the 15 development of nuclear weapons technology worldwide and the proliferation of ballistic 16 missile delivery systems that are controlled by unstable and potentially hostile foreign 17 regimes; and
01 WHEREAS the threat from nuclear-armed ballistic missile attack has been reduced 02 but not eliminated by the initial limited deployments of ground-based interceptors in Alaska 03 and California; and 04 WHEREAS the Cold War doctrine of mutually assured destruction no longer 05 represents a plausible security strategy because of the proliferation of ballistic missiles around 06 the world; and 07 WHEREAS the testing of ballistic missiles launched from ships by enemies of the 08 United States could indicate the intention of those enemies to use a platform off the coast of 09 Alaska to employ short-range or medium-range missiles for a nuclear-generated 10 electromagnetic pulse attack on American citizens; and 11 WHEREAS, in 1997, the Alaska State Legislature was the first of many state 12 legislatures to petition the federal government to develop and deploy a robust and layered 13 missile defense system that includes the most effective combination of land-based, sea-based, 14 air-based, and space-based architectures; 15 BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges the United States to work 16 with the State of Alaska to ensure that the state is prepared to respond to and recover from an 17 electromagnetic pulse attack; and be it 18 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges the United States to 19 expand its ballistic missile defense system, and also to develop other methods, to defend 20 against electromagnetic pulse attacks delivered by ballistic missiles, including missiles 21 launched at American cities from ships off the coast of Alaska; and be it 22 FURTHER RESOLVED that it is the policy of the state to include in its 23 preparedness planning defense against electromagnetic pulse attacks, as those attacks intersect 24 with the full range of risks, threats, and hazards confronting the state; and be it 25 FURTHER RESOLVED that it is the policy of the state to educate Alaskans about 26 the threat of electromagnetic pulse attacks causing massive losses of electric power and 27 disruption to telecommunications and other vital services, including health, public safety, 28 food, and transportation services that depend on reliable electric power; and be it 29 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature encourages municipalities 30 and private industry in the state to examine critical vulnerabilities in their infrastructures and 31 to prepare for massive disruptions that could be caused by electromagnetic pulse attacks.
01 COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable George W. Bush, President 02 of the United States; the Honorable Richard B. Cheney, Vice-President of the United States 03 and President of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Harry Reid, Majority Leader of the U.S. 04 Senate; the Honorable Mitch McConnell, Minority Leader of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable 05 Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives; the Honorable Steny H. Hoyer, 06 Majority Leader of the U.S. House of Representatives; the Honorable John Boehner, Minority 07 Leader of the U.S. House of Representatives; the Honorable Robert M. Gates, United States 08 Secretary of Defense; the Honorable Samuel W. Bodman, United States Secretary of Energy; 09 the Honorable Michael O. Leavitt, United States Secretary of Health and Human Services; the 10 Honorable Michael Chertoff, United States Secretary of Homeland Security; the Honorable 11 Condoleezza Rice, United States Secretary of State; the Honorable Mary E. Peters, United 12 States Secretary of Transportation; the Honorable Henry M. Paulson, Jr., United States 13 Secretary of the Treasury; the Honorable Robert S. Mueller, Director of the Federal Bureau of 14 Investigation; the Honorable Mike Mullen, Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; the Honorable 15 Mike McConnell, Director of National Intelligence; and the Honorable Ted Stevens and the 16 Honorable Lisa Murkowski, U.S. Senators, and the Honorable Don Young, U.S. 17 Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in Congress.