2005
Federal Agenda Chamber of Commerce, Huntsville/Madison County Alabama
Chamber Agenda As we celebrate Huntsville’s bicentennial this year, we are especially mindful of our Congressional Delegation’s role in growing and protecting our community. With the help of our Congressmen, both past and present, our region has become a world leader in engineering, research and development. We hope to build on that reputation by overcoming new challenges facing our nation in space exploration and the development of new military systems. Many of the federal programs that will help our nation remain the leader of the free world are today based in Huntsville. Among the many programs that are well suited to our capabilities, Redstone is an ideal location for integration work on the Future Combat System (FCS) which is perhaps the Army’s most technically-challenging system currently in development. This is a critical year for our community with the military making plans to reduce property holdings and base infrastructure by as much as 25 percent through the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process. We encourage our delegation to remain vigilant in their defense of Redstone. The military value and synergy of the more than 60 resident federal activities make Redstone a logical choice for the consolidation of additional federal programs. One realignment that should occur either within BRAC or otherwise, is the reorganization of the U.S. Army Materiel Command’s research, development and engineering functions to the appropriate materiel subordinate commands and program executive offices. In this agenda, the Chamber outlines some of the most pressing issues facing our nation today. We again rely upon our Congressional delegation to help us realize this next chapter in our nation’s and our community’s growth.
Ground-Based Midcourse Defense (GMD) Missile Defense Program President Ronald Reagan’s vision of a missile system to defend our country from ballistic missile attack began to take shape this past fall with the installation of six ground-based interceptors (GBIs) at Ft. Greely, Alaska. This vision is becoming a reality because of the dedication and commitment of President George W. Bush, the steadfast support of the Alabama Congressional delegation, and the professionalism and expertise of industry and government workers in the Huntsville, Alabama area. The Chamber expresses its gratitude to President Bush and the Alabama Congressional delegation for their efforts to protect this country from missile attack. The first step toward protecting our homeland from the threat of ballistic missile attack has been made. Now, more than ever, the technological advances by rogue nations make this threat a reality. The Chamber respectfully suggests three mission-critical aspects for consideration: 1. Maintaining adequate GMD funding in the face of defense budget cuts 2. Expanding GMD capabilities, especially more interceptors, both here in the U.S. and abroad 3. Enhancing GMD capabilities The Chamber endorses full and long term funding for GMD, especially in FY2006, to sustain the system’s capability to defend against ballistic missile threats or attacks. Without adequate funding of GMD, our country will be vulnerable to attack. The GMD system must be expanded beyond the initial deployment to ensure that the United States and its allies are fully protected. The press reported last year that Pentagon war game exercises indicated a small inventory of interceptors that could quickly be depleted by an attack would be a dangerous weakness of any system. Continued production and installation of GBIs at Ft. Greely is essential to an effective GMD system. In addition, the Bush Administration’s plan to construct a third GMD site overseas with GBIs must be pursued vigorously this year. A third GMD site provides a strong deterrent to threats against both the U.S. and its allies. Our leaders must continue to aggressively pursue total deployment of the GMD system.
Missile Defense Technology Today, the Missile Defense Agency’s (MDA) has no funding for
applied research (6.2) and the advanced technology development (6.3) funding represents only 2 percent of the overall MDA budget. The vast majority of funds are dedicated to acquiring and fielding near term systems. The past director of MDA stated in testimony before Congress: “…At current funding levels, we are able to fund far fewer programs for next-generation weapon systems. Since most of our financial resources are focused on development, production and deployment of our family of systems, we need to invest in technology development if we are to keep pace with the emerging threat…” The lack of adequate funding for applied research by both MDA and the U.S. Army leaves a gap in critical technology development for the U.S. Army Air, Space and Missile Defense PEO. The lack of funding is manifesting itself in three important ways. First, the technologies needed to conduct “Capability Based” and “Spiral Development” to address advanced threats, increase performance against current threats, and enhance reliability cannot be vigorously pursued. Second, the best and brightest minds coming into the workplace are going elsewhere because applied research for ballistic missile defense (BMD) is nonexistent. Finally, since the early 1990s universities and small businesses have downsized or eliminated their applied research programs commensurate with the reduction in applied research funding. The U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command (USASMDC) in Huntsville and its predecessor organizations have been in the forefront of BMD technology development since the first feasibility studies of a defense against strategic ballistic missiles in 1955. USASMDC, established as the nation’s premier BMD research facility, invented and validated the critical technologies used to build the first non-nuclear BMD system currently under deployment. USASMDC is the only cost effective choice to re-establish a world-class BMD research facility to manage, direct, and coordinate in-house research with MDA and the services, as well as research conducted in colleges and universities. The Chamber supports U.S. Army funding consistent with establishing a credible program to address applied research in areas such as multi-spectral image change detection; guidance, navigation, and control for hypersonic vehicles; early launch detection sensors; next generation micro-electronics; and next generation materials unique to missile defense. These funds are critical for the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command Technical Center to conduct comprehensive applied research programs that keep pace with the advancing threat and maintain the nation’s technological superiority.