SENATE 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 for
 1-3     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 maintained
2-17     through the renewal of the withdrawal from public use of the
2-18     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.
         _______________________________     _______________________________
             President of the Senate              Speaker of the House
               I hereby certify that S.C.R. No. 38 was adopted by the Senate
         on April 19, 1999.
                                             _______________________________
                                                 Secretary of the Senate
               I hereby certify that S.C.R. No. 38 was adopted by the House
         on May 25, 1999.
                                             _______________________________
                                                 Chief Clerk of the House
         Approved:
         _______________________________
                     Date
         _______________________________
                   Governor