Pledge to Fully Fund Missile Defense

James Carafano / September 23, 2010

The legislative agenda of the House Republicans for the next Congress has been unveiled this week. “Pledge to America” is a policy statement encompassing a wide range of issues from economy to health care to the plan to keep the nation secure at home and abroad. The pledge highlights the importance of a strong national defense and the need to fully fund a robust ballistic missile defense program to protect the U.S. homeland against strategic attack.

The document rightfully acknowledges that today’s world of existing and emerging new independent nuclear weapons states requires steps to protect the U.S. homeland. To fully fund missile defense is not just a political imperative but a constitutional duty. The policy statement notes that “while the threat from Iranian intercontinental ballistic missiles could materialize as early as 2015, the government’s missile defense policy is not projected to cover the U.S. homeland until 2020.” Thus, “critical” funding must be restored to protect the U.S. homeland and U.S. allies from emerging missile threats from Iran and North Korea, or a potential future coalition of aggressors.

Leaving the U.S. strategically vulnerable not only projects weakness but creates opportunities for rogues to blackmail America and threaten its allies. Despite this risk and being a nation at war, U.S. defense spending is near historical lows and is less than one-fifth of the federal budget. Moreover, defense spending and key defense priorities are being crowded out by growing domestic entitlements. (more…)