00 Enrolled HJR 12                                                                                                         
01 Relating to the Ground-based Midcourse Defense System.                                                                  
02                                         _______________                                                                 
03 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                             
04      WHEREAS the Ground-based Midcourse Defense System is the cornerstone of the                                      
05 nation's layered missile defense architecture against ballistic missile threats; and                                    
06      WHEREAS the Ground-based Midcourse Defense System is the nation's only                                           
07 deployed operational system for defending against long-range ballistic missile threats, and its                         
08 first interceptors were activated at Fort Greely, Alaska, in 2004; and                                                  
09      WHEREAS significant program development accomplishments during 2008 included                                     
10 a successful and operationally realistic flight test intercepting a target missile launched from                        
11 Kodiak, the deployment of additional long-range interceptor missiles at Fort Greely, and                                
12 superior weapon system readiness rates in support of the 49th Missile Defense Battalion; and                            
13      WHEREAS the Cobra Dane radar, located at Eareckson Air Station on Shemya                                         
14 Island, Alaska, is a key component in the Ground-based Midcourse Defense System and                                     
15 keeps America on alert by tracking ballistic missile threats; and                                                       
16      WHEREAS the 49th Missile Defense Battalion, which consists of 200 members of                                     
17 the Alaska National Guard, provides operational control over and security for ground-based                              
01 interceptors located in Alaska and provides security for over 300,000,000 American citizens;                            
02 and                                                                                                                     
03      WHEREAS the Missile Defense Agency of the United States Department of Defense                                    
04 has characterized the overall performance of the Ground-based Midcourse Defense System                                  
05 industry team as exceptional; and                                                                                       
06      WHEREAS, in a time of growing national economic uncertainty, the Ground-based                                    
07 Midcourse Defense System provides over 700 jobs in the state and has an economic effect of                              
08 nearly $250,000,000 in the state; and                                                                                   
09      WHEREAS now is not the time for the United States to change course from                                          
10 supporting the Ground-based Midcourse Defense System as the cornerstone of the nation's                                 
11 missile defense shield against ballistic missile threats; and                                                           
12      WHEREAS the Alaska State Legislature supports continued robust investment in the                                 
13 development, operation, and maintenance of the Ground-based Midcourse Defense System;                                   
14      BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature respectfully urges the United                                   
15 States Congress to provide the necessary funding for the ongoing development, operation, and                            
16 maintenance of the Ground-based Midcourse Defense System; and be it                                                     
17      FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature respectfully urges the                                        
18 United States Congress to direct the United States Department of Defense to continue the                                
19 development, operation, and maintenance of the Ground-based Midcourse Defense System                                    
20 and to require that any plan or initiative by the United States Department of Defense to reduce                         
21 funding for the core elements of the Ground-based Midcourse Defense System be certified by                              
22 the United States Secretary of Defense as not having an appreciable negative effect on                                  
23 national defense capability.                                                                                            
24      COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Barack Obama, President of                              
25 the United States; the Honorable Joseph R. Biden, Jr., Vice-President of the United States and                          
26 President of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Harry Reid, Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate;                             
27 the Honorable Mitch McConnell, Minority Leader of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Nancy                                  
28 Pelosi, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives; the Honorable John Boehner, Minority                              
29 Leader of the U.S. House of Representatives; the Honorable Robert M. Gates, United States                               
30 Secretary of Defense; Lieutenant General Patrick J. O'Reilly, Director of the Missile Defense                           
31 Agency, United States Department of Defense; and the Honorable Lisa Murkowski and the                                   
01 Honorable Mark Begich, U.S. Senators, and the Honorable Don Young, U.S. Representative,                                 
02 members of the Alaska delegation in Congress.