The House has defeated by voice vote a proposal to block funding for a new space-based missile defense system.

The proposed amendment to the fiscal year 2018 defense appropriations bill would have denied money needed to carry out a provision in the House-passed FY 2018 defense authorization bill that would direct the Missile Defense Agency to begin developing a space-based system for intercepting ballistic missiles.

Rep. Bill Foster (D-Ill.), who offered the amendment July 27, argued that a space-based system could cost hundreds of billions of dollars and still might not work.

The idea of a space-based system “has gone in and out of fashion for the last 30 years,” Foster said. “But every time this space-based concept has been looked at by technologically competent outside experts, it was deemed to be unworkable, impossibly expensive, vulnerable to countermeasures, easy for an opponent to destroy, easy to overwhelm with a small number of enemy missiles, or all of the above.”

But Rep. Trent Franks (R-Ariz.) countered that a space-based system represents the next logical step in U.S. missile defense development and would allow the United States to intercept hostile missiles early in their flight. He said opponents have overstated the expense of such a system and that a “regionally deployed system” would cost a relatively modest $20 billion over 30 years.

“We can build this system,” Franks insisted. “We will build it.”

Meanwhile, Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) sought to offer an amendment that would deny funding needed to implement an authorization-bill provision that would set up a space corps in the Air Force Department (Defense Daily, July 25). But his amendment was not among those that the House Rules Committee cleared for floor consideration.

The House went on to pass its overall defense appropriations bill late July 27 as part of a “minibus” that includes several other appropriations bills. The vote was 235 to 192.