By Haggerty H.C.R. No. 133 76R8110 SMZ-D HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 1-1 WHEREAS, Future military threats to the United States and its 1-2 allies may come from technologically advanced rogue states that 1-3 for the first time are armed with long-range missiles capable of 1-4 delivering nuclear, chemical, or biological weapons to an 1-5 increasingly wider range of countries; and 1-6 WHEREAS, The U.S. military strategy requires flexible and 1-7 strong armed forces that are well-trained, well-equipped, and ready 1-8 to defend our nation's interests against these devastating weapons 1-9 of mass destruction; and 1-10 WHEREAS, Previous rounds of military base closures combined 1-11 with the realignment of the Department of the Army force structure 1-12 have established Fort Bliss as the Army's Air Defense Artillery 1-13 Center of Excellence, thus making McGregor Range, which is a part 1-14 of Fort Bliss, the nation's principal training facility for air 1-15 defense systems; and 1-16 WHEREAS, McGregor Range is inextricably linked to the 1-17 advanced missile defense testing network that includes Fort Bliss 1-18 and the White Sands Missile Range, providing, verifying, and 1-19 maintaining the highest level of missile defense testing for the 1-20 Patriot, Avenger, Stinger, and other advanced missile defense 1-21 systems; and 1-22 WHEREAS, The McGregor Range comprises more than half of the 1-23 Fort Bliss installation land area, and the range and its restricted 1-24 airspace in conjunction with the White Sands Missile Range, is 2-1 crucial to the development and testing of the Army Tactical Missile 2-2 System and the Theater High Altitude Area Defense System; and 2-3 WHEREAS, The high quality and unique training capabilities of 2-4 the McGregor Range allow the verification of our military readiness 2-5 in air-to-ground combat, including the Army's only opportunity to 2-6 test the Patriot missile in live fire, tactical scenarios, as well 2-7 as execute the "Roving Sands" joint training exercises held 2-8 annually at Fort Bliss; and 2-9 WHEREAS, The Military Lands Withdrawal Act of 1986 requires 2-10 that the withdrawal from public use of all military land governed 2-11 by the Army, including McGregor Range, must be terminated on 2-12 November 6, 2001, unless such withdrawal is renewed by an Act of 2-13 Congress; now, therefore, be it 2-14 RESOLVED, That the 76th Legislature of the State of Texas 2-15 hereby support the U.S. Congress in ensuring that the critical 2-16 infrastructure for the U.S. military defense strategy be 2-17 maintained through the renewal of the withdrawal from public use of 2-18 the McGregor Range land beyond 2001; and, be it further 2-19 RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official 2-20 copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to 2-21 the speaker of the house of representatives and the president of 2-22 the senate of the United States Congress, and to all the members of 2-23 the Texas delegation to the congress with the request that this 2-24 resolution be officially entered in the Congressional Record as a 2-25 memorial to the Congress of the United States of America.