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. 1-57 * * * * *