1-1     By:  Haggerty (Senate Sponsor - Shapleigh)           H.C.R. No. 133
 1-2           (In the Senate - Received from the House April 23, 1999;
 1-3     April 26, 1999, read first time and referred to Committee on
 1-4     Veteran Affairs and Military Installations; May 5, 1999, reported
 1-5     favorably by the following vote:  Yeas 4, Nays 0; May 5, 1999, sent
 1-6     to printer.)
 1-7                         HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
 1-8           WHEREAS, Future military threats to the United States and its
 1-9     allies may  come from technologically advanced rogue states that
1-10     for the first time are armed with long-range missiles capable of
1-11     delivering nuclear, chemical, or biological weapons to an
1-12     increasingly wider range of countries; and
1-13           WHEREAS, The U.S. military strategy requires flexible and
1-14     strong armed forces that are well-trained, well-equipped, and ready
1-15     to defend our nation's interests against these devastating weapons
1-16     of mass destruction; and
1-17           WHEREAS, Previous rounds of military base closures combined
1-18     with the realignment of the Department of the Army force structure
1-19     have established Fort Bliss as the Army's Air Defense Artillery
1-20     Center of Excellence, thus making McGregor Range, which is a part
1-21     of Fort Bliss, the nation's principal training facility for air
1-22     defense systems; and
1-23           WHEREAS, McGregor Range is inextricably linked to the
1-24     advanced missile defense testing network that includes Fort Bliss
1-25     and the White Sands Missile Range, providing, verifying, and
1-26     maintaining the highest level of missile defense testing for the
1-27     Patriot, Avenger, Stinger, and other advanced missile defense
1-28     systems; and
1-29           WHEREAS, The McGregor Range comprises more than half of the
1-30     Fort Bliss installation land area, and the range and its restricted
1-31     airspace in conjunction with the White Sands Missile Range, is
1-32     crucial to the development and testing of the Army Tactical Missile
1-33     System and the Theater High Altitude Area Defense System; and
1-34           WHEREAS, The high quality and unique training capabilities of
1-35     the McGregor Range allow the verification of our military readiness
1-36     in air-to-ground combat, including the Army's only opportunity to
1-37     test the Patriot missile in live fire, tactical scenarios, as well
1-38     as execute the "Roving Sands" joint training exercises held
1-39     annually at Fort Bliss; and
1-40           WHEREAS, The Military Lands Withdrawal Act of 1986 requires
1-41     that the withdrawal from public use of all military land governed
1-42     by the Army, including  McGregor Range, must be terminated on
1-43     November 6, 2001, unless such withdrawal is renewed by an Act of
1-44     Congress; now, therefore, be it
1-45           RESOLVED, That the 76th Legislature of the State of Texas
1-46     hereby support the U.S. Congress in ensuring that the critical
1-47     infrastructure for the U.S.  military defense strategy be
1-48     maintained through the renewal of the withdrawal from public use of
1-49     the McGregor Range land beyond 2001; and, be it further
1-50           RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official
1-51     copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to
1-52     the speaker of the house of representatives and the president of
1-53     the senate of the United States Congress, and to all the members of
1-54     the Texas delegation to the congress with the request that this
1-55     resolution be officially entered in the Congressional Record as a
1-56     memorial to the Congress of the United States of America.
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