[Page S6019]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 4300. Mr. KENNEDY submitted an amendment intended to be proposed 
by him to the bill S. 2766, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 
2007 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military 
construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, 
to prescribe personnel strengths for such fiscal year for the Armed 
Forces, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; 
as follows:

       At the end of subtitle D of title I, add the following:

     SEC. 147. MULTI-SPECTRAL IMAGING CAPABILITIES.

       (a) Findings.--The Senate makes the following findings:
       (1) The budget of the President for fiscal year 2007, as 
     submitted to Congress under section 1105(a) of title 31, 
     United States Code, and the current Future-Years Defense 
     Program adopts an Air Force plan to retire the remaining 
     fleet of U-2 aircraft by 2011.
       (2) This retirement would eliminate the multi-spectral 
     capability provided by the electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) 
     Senior Year Electro-optical Reconnaissance System (SYERS-2) 
     high-altitude imaging system.
       (3) The system referred to in paragraph (2) provides high-
     resolution, long-range, day-and-night image intelligence.
       (4) The infrared capabilities of the system referred to in 
     paragraph (2) can defeat enemy efforts to use camouflage or 
     concealment, as well as provide images through poor 
     visibility and smoke.
       (5) Although the Air Force has previously recognized the 
     military value of Senior Year Electro-optical Reconnaissance 
     System sensors, the Air Force has no plans to migrate this 
     capability to any platform remaining in the fleet.
       (6) The Air Force could integrate such capabilities onto 
     the Global Hawk platform to retain this capability for 
     combatant commanders.
       (7) The Nation risks a loss of an important intelligence 
     gathering capability if this capability is not transferred to 
     another platform.
       (b) Sense of Senate.--It is the sense of the Senate that 
     the Air Force should investigate ways to retain the multi-
     spectral imaging capabilities provided by the Senior Year 
     Electro-optical Reconnaissance System high-altitude imaging 
     system after the retirement of the U-2 aircraft fleet.
       (c) Report Requirement.--The Secretary of the Air Force 
     shall submit to the congressional defense committees, at the 
     same time the budget of the President for fiscal year 2008 is 
     submitted to Congress under section 1105(a) of title 31, 
     United States Code, a plan for migrating the capabilities 
     provided by the Senior Year Electro-optical Reconnaissance 
     System high-altitude imaging system from the U-2 aircraft to 
     the Global Hawk platform before the retirement of the U-2 
     aircraft fleet in 2011.

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