00 HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 40                                                                                         
01 Relating to the defense of Alaska from ballistic missile attack.                                                        
02 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                              
03  WHEREAS Alaska, as one of the states of the United States of America, is provided                                    
04 the same constitutional safeguards, including provision for the common defense, that are                                
05 afforded to the other 49 states; and                                                                                    
06  WHEREAS Alaska possesses natural resources, both material and human, vital to the                                    
07 prosperity and national security of the United States; and                                                              
08  WHEREAS Alaska's location places it in a more vulnerable position than other states                                  
09 with regard to ballistic missiles that could be launched by aggressors in Asia and Russia; and                          
10  WHEREAS there is a growing threat to Alaska by potential aggressors in Asia and                                      
11 Russia and in rogue nations that may be gaining the capability to launch long-range missiles                            
12 armed with weapons of mass destruction; and                                                                             
13  WHEREAS ballistic missile defense technology exists to help defend Alaska from                                       
14 threats by potential aggressors; and                                                                                    
01  WHEREAS, despite the availability of Congressional authorization to fund deployment                                  
02 of this technology, the Executive Branch has decided not to use these defenses to provide                               
03 adequate defense for Alaska; and                                                                                        
04  WHEREAS the Executive Branch is relying on a National Intelligence Estimate that                                     
05 considered the ballistic missile threat to the contiguous United States, but did not consider the                       
06 threat to Alaska and Hawaii;                                                                                            
07  BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature strongly urges the President of                                     
08 the United States to include Alaska in every National Intelligence Estimate conducted by the                            
09 United States joint intelligence agencies that assess the capability of all nations to launch, or                       
10 threaten to launch, ballistic missiles capable of carrying weapons of mass destruction against                          
11 the United States; and be it                                                                                            
12  FURTHER RESOLVED that Alaska strongly urges the President of the United States                                       
13 and the United States Congress to take all necessary measures, including deployment of a                                
14 ballistic missile defense system, to ensure that Alaska is protected against all foreseeable                            
15 threats from ballistic missiles capable of carrying weapons of mass destruction that may be                             
16 posed by foreign governments; and be it                                                                                 
17  FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature respectfully requests that                                        
18 the appropriate Congressional committees hold hearings in Alaska that include defense experts                           
19 and administration officials to help Alaskans understand their risks, their level of security, and                      
20 Alaska's vulnerability.                                                                                                 
21  COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Bill Clinton, President of the                              
22 United States; the Honorable Al Gore, Jr., Vice-President of the United States and President                            
23 of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Strom Thurmond, President Pro Tempore of the U.S. Senate                              
24 and Chair of the U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services; the Honorable Newt Gingrich,                                  
25 Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives; the Honorable Ted Stevens, Chair of the U.S.                              
26 Senate Committee on Appropriations; the Honorable Floyd Spence, Chair of the U.S. House                                 
27 of Representatives Committee on National Security; the Honorable William Cohen, Secretary,                              
28 Department of Defense; and to the Honorable Frank Murkowski, U.S. Senator, and the                                      
29 Honorable Don Young, U.S. Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in Congress.