Dear Member and Friends,

U.S. Senate Appropriations Amendment 3003 is proposed today by Senator Ayotte, Senator Collins and Senator Lieberman. The amendment is enclosed below:

S.A. 3003. Ms. AYOTTE (for herself, Mr. Lieberman, and Ms. Collins) submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by her to the bill S. 3254, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2013 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

At the end of subtitle C of title II, add the following:

SEC. 238. MISSILE DEFENSE SITE ON THE EAST COAST OF THE UNITED STATES.

(a) Consideration of Location.–

(1) STUDY.–Not later than December 31, 2013, the Secretary of Defense shall conduct a study

evaluating three possible locations selected by the Director of the Missile Defense Agency for a covered missile defense site on the East Coast of the United States.

(2) EIS.–The Secretary shall prepare an environmental impact statement in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) for each location evaluated under paragraph (1).

(3) LOCATION.–In selecting the three possible locations for a covered missile defense site under paragraph (1), the Secretary should–

(A) take into consideration–

(i) the strategic location of the proposed site; and

(ii) the proximity of the proposed site to major population centers; and

(B) give priority to a proposed site that–

(i) is operated or supported by the Department of Defense;

(ii) lacks encroachment issues; and

(iii) has a controlled airspace.

(b) Plan.–

(1) IN GENERAL.–The Director of the Missile Defense Agency shall develop a plan to deploy an appropriate missile defense interceptor for a missile defense site on the East Coast.

(2) MATTERS INCLUDED.–In developing the plan under paragraph (1), the Director–

(A) shall evaluate the use of–

(i) two-stage or three-stage Ground-Based Interceptors (GBIs);

(ii) Standard Missile-3 interceptors, including block IA, block IB, and for a later deployment, block IIA or block IIB interceptors; and

(iii) any other system the Director determines to be better suited to defend against future long-range missile threats;

(B) should consider both land and sea-based options; and

(C) shall develop cost estimates for each option considered.

3) SUBMITTAL.–The plan shall be submitted to Congress together with the budget of the President for fiscal year 2014, as submitted to Congress under section 1105(a) of title 31, United States Code.

(c) Covered Missile Defense Site Defined.–In this section, the term “covered missile defense site” means a missile defense site that uses–

(1) Ground-Based Interceptors;

(2) Standard Missile-3 interceptors; or

(3) any other system the Director of the Missile Defense Agency determines to be better suited to defend against future long-range missile threats.