[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 85 (Wednesday, June 29, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: June 29, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
      FOREIGN OPERATIONS, EXPORT FINANCING, AND RELATED AGENCIES 
                        APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 1995

  The Senate continued with the consideration of the bill.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Chair recognizes the Senator from Vermont.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I want Members to understand where we are.
  Mr. President, I yield to the Senator from Maine.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Chair recognizes the majority leader.
  Mr. MITCHELL. Mr. President, the Senate now finds itself in an all 
too familiar position. The bill now pending has been on the calendar 
since June 16, approximately 2 weeks. On last week, I announced my 
intention to proceed to the bill following the disposition of the 
product liability bill. I did so.
  We have been advised there are a number of amendments to be offered 
by Senators, and yet although we have been on the bill now for a few 
hours we have been unable to dispose of any amendment.
  I encourage Senators who have amendments to come to the Senate floor 
and offer them so we can begin debating and voting and making progress 
on this bill.
  I understand that earlier an amendment was offered with respect to 
Bosnia, and then withdrawn. As we all know a Bosnia amendment is 
pending on the Department of Defense authorization bill, which has been 
set aside to go to this bill.
  It is my intention to resume consideration of and complete action on 
the Department of Defense authorization bill this week, including the 
Bosnia amendment. However, if Senators wish to debate it on this bill, 
that is perfectly agreeable to me. We are prepared for debate, and vote 
on a Bosnia amendment today or tomorrow or Friday. We were prepared to 
vote on it last Friday when it was debated, but we were not able to 
gain agreement to proceed to a vote.
  So, I merely wish to state to Senators that because we were unable to 
transact any business last Friday, we created more pressure on the days 
remaining this week. The longer we go today without transacting any 
business, the more pressure it creates on the remainder of this week.
  I announced last week that we would complete action on five matters 
before we leave for the Fourth of July recess. Those were a certain 
nomination, the product liability bill, the foreign operations 
appropriations bill, the energy appropriations bill, and the Department 
of Defense authorization bill.
  We have now completed action on two of them. The nomination has been 
completed and the product liability is completed, and I commend 
Senators for their actions to enable us to complete those measures. Now 
there remain three, including the pending bill. I want to repeat, it is 
my intention to complete action on these measures before we go into 
recess, and the longer we delay, as we did last Friday, as we are 
unfortunately doing now, without any action, that means the later we 
have to stay in session this evening, tomorrow evening, Friday, or 
Saturday if necessary.
  So I encourage Senators who intend to offer amendments to come to the 
Senate floor to do so, to permit them to be debated and voted on.
  I want to say, with respect to Bosnia, that we are prepared to 
proceed to it today, tomorrow, or Friday, at any time, with a time 
agreement to get votes on the matter, as I have previously indicated I 
am prepared to do.
  Mr. President, I thank my colleague. I hope that he and the 
distinguished ranking member will soon be able to receive and debate 
and have amendments considered and voted on.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, if the Senator from Maine, the 
distinguished majority leader, will yield, I note also for the Record, 
so there will be no confusion--after the distinguished leader, having 
indicating our schedule, a schedule with which I agree and I hope to 
have completed before we go out--I have discussed with the 
distinguished ranking member and others this bill, which has been on 
the calendar for some time.
  As the Senator from Maine has already noted, and I repeated to him 
what I have been told, we would have, I forget the exact number now, 
either 38 or 48 possible amendments raised to it.
  I note that this is a bill, the foreign operations bill, which has 
over the years often attracted enormous numbers of amendments. We can 
do one or two things. We could say there is going to be amendments, and 
let us not go forward, never; or vote them up or vote them down. I am a 
strong believer in the Senate to work its will and vote things up or 
down.
  But I note that with this, DOD, and others, obviously we have, as 
Senators, the responsibility to move forward with this legislation, all 
of it, because we have a relatively short time after the Fourth of July 
break before we take the normal break that we do in an election year so 
Members are able to go back home and face the voters. And then we are 
into September and the end of the fiscal year. The appropriations bills 
have to go through and they have gone through the other body, or they 
would not be here. They have to then go through this body. Then they 
have to go through conference and come back. And, as the distinguished 
leader knows, the conference reports themselves sometimes become 
contested.
  I do not know how you would do it otherwise. I would love to be able 
to bring up this bill and an hour later have completed it. It has been 
made clear we cannot do that.
  But I urge Senators on both sides of the aisle, if they have 
amendments, to come forward. I am prepared to stay here. I am prepared 
to stay here all night, if that is what the desire of the majority 
leader is. I have done this on occasion in the past on bills, and I am 
happy to do it now.
  I also note, as I discussed with my colleagues on the floor earlier, 
that while I have made no plans to travel on Saturday, because I know, 
if this takes an inordinate amount of time, then we still have DOD and 
the other matters the leader has suggested, all of which has to be 
done--I think he is absolutely right in saying they have to be done. I 
do not want to forestall anybody's opportunity to bring forward an 
amendment, but I hope that we can get going relatively soon and move 
the amendments--we have yet to even adopt the committee amendment, as 
we normally do--and go forward.
  We have major issues in here. The Camp David countries--at a time 
when the Middle East peace agreement is at about its most critical--are 
held up in here. One of the reasons I want to get through this is, I 
know if we do not do it this week, we are running the risk, in the 
foreign operations bill, as we get into the press of the other things, 
to see it as part of the continuing resolution, which leaves it in 
doubt until sometime in October, at a time when at least the Middle 
East peace agreement is in a very tenuous situation, when we would be 
given a chance to say exactly what we are going to do.
  NIS, the Director of the FBI, Director Freeh, is there now or about 
to be there. One of the things I will offer, on behalf of myself and 
Senator McConnell, and Senator D'Amato will join with him on, would be 
an amendment for money for law enforcement aid in the former Soviet 
Union. Director Freeh should be able to be in a position to point this 
action out, because of the help we want to give the tenuous, almost 
disastrous law enforcement situation, especially in Russia.
  I could go on--I am not going to go on, but I could go on to hundreds 
of others--Camp David, Middle East peace accord, NIS, and others. So I 
hope that we could go forward so we could start conferencing this even 
possibly during the week's recess next week, and then go on so that in 
August we could get it passed and signed into law.
  So I thank the distinguished Senator from Maine, the majority leader, 
for stating the record.
  Let me say, Mr. President, I have noted that we have everything here, 
from humanitarian aid to matters of significant foreign policy issues, 
and we ought to be working on them.
  I do not think that most Senators of either party want to stop a 
major part of our foreign policy by holding up this bill. I doubt that 
Senators want, either intentionally or inadvertently, to interfere with 
the Middle East peace process. I doubt if Senators, intentionally or 
inadvertently, want to do anything to hamstring our efforts to bring 
about or to help bring about democracy and a market economy in Russia 
and other parts of the former Soviet Union.
  But I suggest to my colleagues on both sides of the aisle that 
delaying a bill, which ultimately has to pass, does all those things, 
because we ought to pass it. Either we pass it now or we run the very 
real risk of passing a continuing resolution in October.
  Now, a number of Senators have expressed interest in particular 
things--law enforcement, aid for Russia, specific aspects and specific 
earmarks in the Middle East, and specific countries mentioned in the 
former Soviet Union, environmental issues, population issues, and 
others.
  These are defined in this piece of legislation. In a continuing 
resolution, none of them will be defined. In fact, a number of these 
things that are new initiatives would not be reflected.
  If we do not go forward on this, we are going to be going by the 
House-passed bill which does not have the items asked for by individual 
Senators. And I can tell my colleagues that I would not feel inclined 
at all, if we were to lose our chance to move forward on this bill, to 
try to ask the House to put in a continuing resolution help for these 
specific items. In fact, I would be just happy to say, ``Well, look. We 
will just come back to it in January and see what we can put 
together.''
  So nobody should ignore the fact that the majority leader, with the 
minority leader, standing here on the floor last week laid out exactly 
what the program was going to be, which bills had to be passed. I do 
not recall any Senator, Republican or Democrat, standing up saying they 
objected to that program.

  Certainly the ranking member has been very forthright and very 
honest, as he always has been with me, in stating that if this came up 
this week there would be a large number of amendments. He did not have 
to tell me that. In his usual fashion, candor and honesty, he did tell 
me exactly what was going to happen there and that has been relayed to 
the leadership on this side, as I suspect it has been to the leadership 
on the other side.
  But the fact remains the distinguished Senator from Maine, the 
majority leader, said: We are going to bring this up and dispose of it; 
we are going to bring up, as we just have, the cloture motions on 
product liability; we are going to bring up DOD--I forget the list--but 
all of these things. Every single Member of this body, all 100 of us, 
knew they were going to be brought up, knew they were going to be 
disposed of one way or the other.
  If Senators do not like the foreign operations bill, that is very 
simple. At some point we go to third reading and then they can vote aye 
or nay. If they do not like the bill, they can vote it down. It is very 
simple to do. If there is any amendment in there they do not like, vote 
it down.
  On the other hand, if there is an amendment to be brought up on 
either the Republican side or Democratic side, if Senators like them, 
vote for them. If they do not like them, vote against them. Whatever it 
is, we will have a final bill with amendments that are either adopted 
or not adopted, and that is the bill I will bring to conference.
  So, as I said, I plan to be here late into the evening. It will give 
me a chance to get caught up on my mail. I have canceled all plans to 
travel on Saturday because I suspect we will probably be doing DOD on 
Saturday as a result of delays on this. I hope I can still travel on 
Sunday. But I just reread the Adjournment Resolution. I understand we 
can go through Sunday, too. I will not cancel Sunday yet, Mr. 
President. I will keep Sunday on hold. But Saturday I have canceled.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Wofford). The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, for those other Members of the Senate--I 
realize there is virtually nobody else on the floor--and the others who 
must be riveted--riveted--to their TV monitors to hear what is said, I 
urge Senators with amendments to this bill to come forth and bring 
their amendments in.
  I hope that we might finish this thing by midnight or so tonight, if 
at all possible. But, again, I will remind Senators that after this 
bill, there are a couple of other appropriations bills coming up, plus 
DOD. For some who would like to be home for the Fourth of July recess 
before the 4th, which is on Monday, the adjournment resolution allows 
us to stay here until midnight Sunday, as I recall.
  So I would not want this to be the reason we are still in Saturday. 
We have other bills to consider.
  I will also note, Mr. President, what this bill is and what it is 
not. This is not a foreign aid authorization bill. It is an 
appropriations bill, determining exactly how we spend about $14 billion 
of the American taxpayers' money.
  There are some who wish to have policy debates on Bosnia or Haiti, I 
suppose North Korea, or other places.
  Now, a good, strong, realistic debate in the Senate on Bosnia, on 
Haiti, on North Korea, I think, could do the country good. I would like 
to see a real debate on what our whole foreign policy, especially as it 
relates to foreign aid and as it relates to the use of our military 
forces, what that policy should be in a post-cold-war period. We have 
not really had that debate. We did not have it in the last 
administration after the end of the cold war, and we certainly have not 
had it in this administration.
  So I would like to see such a debate. I think that there would be 
some clear-cut results in such a debate that could be helpful to 
President Clinton and to his administration. Certainly it could be 
helpful to the country because I find as I travel in my own State of 
Vermont, as I do many times a month, or as I travel in other parts of 
the country, the people want to hear such a debate. They would like to 
know just what is going to be our foreign policy in the post-cold-war 
period.
  But having said that, this bill is designed to determine exactly how 
we spend certain amounts of our money in carrying out foreign policy 
objectives. The objectives are assumed to have been set. We have to 
determine how much money will be used in carrying them out.
  Now, we have in here, for example, money to aid the former Soviet 
Union. It is a very small amount of money considering what the needs 
are there. Nobody expects the United States to carry out a Marshall 
plan for the former Soviet Union. We do not have the resources and 
certainly we do not have the political will to do such even if the 
argument could be made that it would be wise for us to do it.
  What we can do is join with some of the other Western nations in 
helping--let me just take Russia as one example, as one of the parts of 
the former Soviet Union--in helping Russia put together a banking 
system, in helping them put together a commercial code.
  I have talked to business people in Moscow who worry about the 
inability to enter into contracts. And I say, you mean you want to be 
able to enter into a contract in Moscow that could be enforced in St. 
Petersburg? They said, no, we would like to be able to enter into a 
contract in Moscow that could be enforced in Moscow.
  Before they can make the kind of investments the West needs in the 
private enterprise system in Russia, they have got to be able to have a 
real banking system and a real commercial code. We have money in this 
bill to help with setting it up. We have exchange programs. We have 
ways to help some of our own experts go over, not to ask Russia to be a 
clone of the United States, which it never will be, nor do we want 
that, not to have Moscow be a clone of New York, but to say, here is 
what we found has worked and here is what we found has not worked, and 
now try it, because, as I mentioned to the Prime Minister of Russia and 
have said to others, if they do not put their economic house in order, 
their legal house in order, commercial code, banking system and all, 
there is no way they can expect the West, the United States, Germany, 
the European Community, and so on, to invest in Russia.
  Just think for a moment, Mr. President. Suppose you were the CEO of a 
large corporation in the United States, an international or 
multinational corporation, and you were looking where you might invest 
$100 million to $500 million in building a new plant, developing a new 
market, and you were faced with the question, would you invest it in 
Russia or would you invest it in South Africa?
  Now, assuming the stability that we have seen so far with the new 
South African Government continues, your safer bet is going to be South 
Africa. They have a banking system. They have a commercial code, a free 
enterprise system, a middle class. They have a huge hitherto 
disenfranchised majority which is now becoming enfranchised and which 
will, through education, work, and whatnot, have a chance to become a 
market themselves, with, of course, vast resources.
  Frankly, that CEO is going to look first to South Africa, and they 
are going to continue to look far more there or other parts of the 
world, they are going to look to Asia, the Pacific rim, and so on, 
before they would look to Russia or the Ukraine or Georgia or others 
because of what they see as an inability to carry out basic commercial 
transactions. For example, you start a company and fund it, it is 
actually starting to work, and somebody arbitrarily adds on a 25- or 
30-percent tax that they had not expected, or whatever it might be. 
Crime has got to come under it. Senator McConnell, Senator D'Amato, and 
I and others will put into this bill, if we are able to pass it, money 
to help fight crime.
  I remember 20 years ago walking around the streets of Moscow at 3 
o'clock in the morning feeling perfectly safe. I expect probably at 
that time of the cold war, being tailed by the KGB, that I would have 
to be. But you do not have that sense of safety there today.
  I believe it was one of our national newspapers that told the story 
of a car, an expensive car, expensive, imported car pulling up in front 
of a street-level office. Several gunmen jumped out of this car and 
started firing machine-guns into the lobby of the business until, 
according to the story, one of the secretaries opened a filing drawer, 
pulled out a hand grenade and rolled the hand grenade under the car, 
which changed the odds somewhat and, as in a sporting event, gave the 
advantage to the other side.
  Now, first off, just the idea of this taking place in a busy, main 
part of Moscow is mind-boggling, but then you have to stop to think 
what kind of business do they have that in the filing drawers they keep 
hand grenades. Do they file it under ``B'' for boom, ``D'' for defense, 
``O'' for offense, ``G'' for grenades, ``E'' for explosives? We may 
have a new secretarial school that is going to have to start there. But 
these are the things that we can help with.
  What is the advantage to us? The advantage to us, the United States 
and the West, are immeasurable. We are talking about a very small 
amount of investment if we can have it done right. We help the economy 
grow there. We then have new markets. That creates jobs in the United 
States. We can use our money to leverage it with the IMF, the World 
Bank, and others to help.
  But one of the biggest advantages, not only to our economic security, 
but think of a nation with thousands and thousands of nuclear warheads, 
a nation that has been totalitarian and our greatest potential enemy in 
the world becoming now a democratic nation, joining with us in NATO and 
other international organizations, with these warheads no longer aimed 
to us, is the ability on both sides, the United States and the former 
Soviet Union, to start dismantling these nuclear weapons. This is just 
one of the advantages.
  It is not all going to happen if we pass this bill. Of course not. 
But it allows the United States, as leader of the free world, as the 
greatest democracy in the world, the most powerful Nation on Earth, to 
give the kind of leadership that we need.
  It is my impression as I travel around the world from leader after 
leader, they want the United States to lead the post-cold war period. 
``We want the United States to give leadership with your history of 
democracy and your ability to give the example. We want you to lead.'' 
As a United States Senator, as an American, as someone from Vermont, I 
want us with our great history of democracy to be that leader in the 
rest of the world.
  So it is just one of the many things in here. Look at the tremendous 
risks, as I mentioned earlier this morning, taken in the Middle East, 
in Israel, and among leadership of the Palestinian people. These risks 
are going to be for naught unless we are able to step in and help. And 
I daresay that no country in the world is prepared to help to the 
extent the United States is. I think the United States should be proud 
of that. Because in an area that has festered with hatred, violence and 
murder, and turmoil for so long, the United States has the ability to 
help them finally be able to fulfill a promise to a new generation--to 
grow up without the animosities of parents and forebears--to grow up in 
peace.
  I see the distinguished Senator from New Jersey on the floor. If he 
is seeking recognition, I will be happy to yield.
  Mr. LAUTENBERG. I thank the manager of the bill. I agree with the 
points that he is making.
  Mr. President, if I may be recognized.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Jersey.
  Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, I agree with the distinguished Senator 
from Vermont, as he reviews the obligation that we have under our 
appropriations bill on foreign operations.
  He has been a leader in this area for many, many years, and has a 
unique ability to fashion a bill to take care of America's interests 
wherever they may be within ever-shrinking parameters. They call 
Senator Leahy a magician of sorts because he seems to be able to 
accomplish all that we need to do with ever more pressure.
  I commend him for his leadership in this regard, as well as in his 
other duties in the U.S. Senate.
  So I thank my colleague and friend from Vermont for yielding the 
floor.


     Amendment No. 2104 to Committee Amendment on page 21, line 12

 (Purpose: To urge the renegotiation of prisoner transfer treaties in 
      order to relieve overcrowding in Federal and State prisons)

  Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, I send an amendment to the desk in 
behalf of Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Graham, and myself, and ask for its 
immediate consideration.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Chair informs the Senator from New Jersey 
that the pending question is the first committee amendment. Is the 
Senator intending to amend that amendment?
  Mr. LAUTENBERG. I ask that we amend the committee amendment, and ask 
for its immediate consideration.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from New Jersey [Mr. Lautenberg], for himself, 
     Mrs. Feinstein, and Mr. Graham, proposes an amendment 
     numbered 2104.

  Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that reading 
of the amendment be dispensed with.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment is as follows:

       At the approriate place in the amendment, insert the 
     following:


                           prisoner transfers

       Sec.   . (a) Short Title.--This section may be cited as the 
     ``Prisoner Transfer Equity Act''.
       (b) Purpose.--The purpose of this section is to relieve 
     overcrowding in Federal and State prisons by providing for 
     the transfer of criminal aliens convicted of crimes in the 
     United States back to their native countries to serve the 
     balance of their sentences.
       (c) Findings.--The Congress makes the following findings:
       (1) The cost of incarcerating an illegal alien in a Federal 
     or State prison can cost as much as $25,000 per year.
       (2) There are approximately 46,000 convicted criminal 
     aliens serving in American prisons, including 25,000 
     convicted criminal aliens serving in State prisons and 21,000 
     convicted criminal aliens serving in Federal prisons.
       (3) Many of these convicted criminal aliens are also 
     illegal aliens, but the Immigration and Naturalization 
     Service does not have exact data on how many.
       (4) The combined cost to Federal and State governments for 
     the incarceration of convicted criminal aliens is 
     approximately $1,200,000--
       (5) There are approximately 2,500 American citizens serving 
     in prisons outside the United States.
       (6) The United States has entered into over 25 prisoner 
     exchange treaties. Since 1977, under these treaties, the 
     United States sent approximately 1,200 prisoners to other 
     counties but has received approximately 1,400 prisoners that 
     it had to imprison. This has added to United States prison 
     overcrowding.
       (d) Prisoner Transfer Treaties.--No later than 90 days 
     after the date of enactment of this Act, the President should 
     begin to negotiate prisoner transfer treaties, or renegotiate 
     existing prisoner transfer treaties, with countries that 
     currently have more prisoners in United States prisons than 
     there are United States citizen in their prisons, to carry 
     out the purpose of this Act. The focus of these negotiations 
     should be on the transfer of illegal aliens who are serving 
     in United States prisons.
       (e) Report; Withholding of Assistance.--
       (1) Reports.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, and not later than March 30 each year 
     thereafter, the President shall submit a report to Congress 
     on the progress of negotiations undertaken under subsection 
     (d) since the date of enactment of this Act or the date of 
     submission of the last report, as the case may be.
       (2) Withholding of Assistance.--Whenever--
       (A) a report submitted under paragraph (1) indicates that 
     no progress has been made in negotiations under subsection 
     (d) with a foreign country, and
       (B) the United States continues to maintain a surplus of 
     prisoners who are nationals of that country, then, for the 
     remainder of the fiscal year, and each fiscal year thereafter 
     until progress is reported under subsection (a), not less 
     than one percent or more than 10 percent of United States 
     bilateral assistance allocated for that country (but for this 
     provision) shall be withheld from obligation and expenditure 
     for the country.
       (3) Definition.--As used in this section, the term ``United 
     States bilateral assistance'' means--
       (A) assistance under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 
     other than assistance provided through international 
     organizations or other multilateral arrangements; and
       (B) sales and sales financing under the Arms Export Control 
     Act.
       (f) Waiver Authority.--The President may waive the 
     application of subsection (e)(2) if such an application would 
     jeopardize relationships between the United States and a 
     foreign country that the President determines to be in the 
     national interest. Whenever the President exercises the 
     waiver authority of this section, the President shall submit 
     a statement in writing to Congress setting forth the 
     justification for the exercise of the waiver.
       (g) Diplomatic Efforts.--For each country that does not 
     receive United States assistance for which the conditions of 
     subsections (e)(2)(A) and (e)(2)(B) apply, the President 
     should use such diplomatic offices and powers as may be 
     necessary to make progress in negotiating or renegotiating a 
     prisoner transfer treaty.
       (h) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section may be 
     construed to alter or affect the existing immigration, 
     refugee, political asylum laws of the United States nor any 
     Federal, State or local criminal laws.

  Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, one of the principal concerns of 
people throughout our country is how they deal with the ever-mounting 
problem of crime. How we deal with it depends very much on the 
facilities as well as the structure of our law enforcement process. By 
facilities, we are talking about courthouses, we are talking about 
jails, we are talking about equipment, police cars--all of the things 
that we need in a structure like ours to make certain that we catch the 
lawbreakers, and deal with them quickly and significantly.
  We have a crime bill that has been under consideration for some time 
now. It is being negotiated in its final form between the House and the 
Senate. We expect that one day, hopefully in the not-too-distant 
future, we will have a crime bill that we can move through, get to the 
President's desk because the President is resolved to deliver a crime 
bill. It is a pledge that he has made. It is one that he has fought 
very hard to get through the process.
  A significant part of that crime bill is to expand the number of jail 
cells, so that when someone is arrested for a crime they can be dealt 
with quickly, and have the sentences be realistic. I am a strong 
supporter of truth in sentencing, which means that if someone gets a 
jail sentence that they have to serve a significant portion of that. 
Eighty-five percent is kind of the rule on truth in sentencing.
  That will enable States to use Federal cells that will be built under 
the crime bill. We are talking about something in excess of $3 billion 
worth of jail cells to be built across this country. They are 
desperately needed so that those out there who are either criminals or 
would-be criminals know very well that if they commit a crime, they 
will get caught; and, if they get caught, they are going away.
  Right now, they do not go away. They get a sentence in many cases, 
and are turned back out in the street. I know in my own State we just 
do not have the capacity to house all of those who are convicted of 
crime.
  So that brings me to the amendment, Mr. President, that I am offering 
to the foreign operations bill. That is to make certain that the 
thousands of criminal, undocumented aliens who serve time in our State 
and Federal prisons, and contribute to prison overcrowding which costs 
the American taxpayers approximately $1.2 billion each and every year, 
are sent back, or at least we try to send them back to the countries 
from whence they came. These criminal, illegal aliens have committed 
two strikes against us.
  They have broken our immigration laws in coming here and, once here, 
have been convicted of crimes against people and institutions in our 
society. We ought to send back criminal illegal aliens in our prisons 
to their native countries to serve out their sentences. It is my hope 
that the amendment we are offering today will begin this process.
  This amendment is based on legislation I introduced earlier this year 
called the Prisoner Transfer Equity Act. I am pleased to be joined by 
Senator Feinstein and Senator Graham in this effort, and I am told 
Senator Feinstein will be including her remarks at a later time.
  This amendment will direct the President to renegotiate existing 
prisoner transfer treaties and enter into new treaties to have 
countries take back the greater numbers of criminal illegal aliens 
currently serving time in our Federal and State prisons. When I say 
``greater,'' I am talking about those who are in our prisons in excess 
of an exchange for the Americans who are prisoners in those countries. 
While we have treaties with over 25 countries to do this, they are, 
unfortunately, not working.
  This amendment gives the President and Secretary of State a stick to 
increase the flow of criminal illegal aliens back to their native 
countries. It requires the President to withhold up to 10 percent of a 
country's foreign aid if they do not make progress toward taking back 
more of their criminal illegal aliens. If the country does not receive 
foreign assistance and there is nothing therefore to withhold, the 
President is authorized to use other approaches like trade sanctions.
  I want to be clear about one thing. The problem that we are 
confronting is not legal immigration. Those people who come here with a 
visa and with various types of permits are more than welcome. That is 
what has built America. It is the merging of the various cultures and 
ethnicities that has built the strength and energy this country has and 
has made us the strongest Nation in the world. I am the son of 
immigrants, and I know first hand that immigrants have helped to make 
this country great. The problem is what to do with illegal aliens who 
have committed crimes in our country and are serving time in our 
Federal and State prisons.
  Once again, the first crime is that they are here illegally. Their 
second crime is that they have committed illegal acts, often violent 
acts. But punishing them costs us--the U.S. taxpayers--approximately 
$1.2 billion a year. Why should these people be jailed here rather than 
in their own country where their fellow citizens will be picking up the 
tab? Maybe it is easier to deal with being in prison in the United 
States than it is in their own country. In my own State, for instance, 
there is a fellow who is guarded constantly by two, three, or four 
guards because he is so violent that he has to be watched with every 
move he makes. If he goes out to the yard for recreation, the yard has 
to be cleared of other prisoners, and he has to have a couple of guards 
standing right alongside him all the time. But when we threaten to send 
him back to his country of origin, he quakes at the thought. Well, too 
bad. He should not have committed the crime here in the first place.
  Nationwide, there are 58,000 convicted criminal aliens in our 
prisons; 21,000 are in Federal prisons, and 37,000 in State prisons. 
Not all of these prisoners are here illegally. Those who are here 
legally are entitled to the same due process as anyone else. But many 
of these convicted criminal aliens are illegal and should have been 
deported in the first place, particularly if they have committed a 
crime here. However, we do not have precise data on exactly how many of 
these people are illegal. What we have to do is get that kind of 
information squarely in front of us and focus on sending criminal 
illegal aliens back to their native countries.
  While we look at this, we recognize that there are about 2,500 
Americans serving time in foreign prisons. This surplus of prisoners is 
not only a burden on the Federal system, but the State system as well. 
For example, in the State of New Jersey, where we have approximately 
500 convicts who are believed to be principally criminal aliens, it 
would cost us $35 million as a one-time cost to build a facility large 
enough to hold these people, and it would cost $12 million a year in 
operational costs to guard them and incarcerate them.
  Since 1977, the United States has entered into prison transfer 
treaties with over 25 countries. These treaties were designed not only 
to bring American citizens back here to serve out their time if they 
are criminals, but also to transfer criminal illegal aliens out of our 
prisons. These treaties have not solved our problems. Since 1977, the 
United States has transferred approximately 1,200 prisoners back to 
their native countries. But, at the same time, we took back 1,400 
Americans serving time in foreign prisons. So this has only added to 
our problem of prisoner overcrowding.
  Recently, Attorney General Reno announced that the Mexican Government 
has agreed to take back 53 of its citizens to serve out their 
sentences. I commend the Attorney General for her efforts, and the 
Mexican Government. However, this is just a drop in the bucket. The 
amendment that we are offering should increase the number of criminal 
illegal aliens going back to their native countries by using the power 
of the purse--foreign aid--as a negotiating tool. What we are saying is 
not that this foreign aid should be simply taken away, but rather put 
into reserve or an escrow fund, and when these countries comply then, 
of course, these funds will be released.
  It is not fair to ask the taxpayers to bear the total cost of jailing 
criminal illegal aliens who have twice broken our laws--once by 
entering or staying in our country illegally, and again by breaking our 
laws.
  Mr. President, if, in fact, the roughly 58,000 prisoners who are 
believed to be principally illegal aliens were to be sent back to their 
countries, it would release a lot of space available for use in 
pursuing our own course of justice; 58,000 jail cells and beds is an 
awful lot of beds, and we ought not to have to spend more money than we 
ordinarily would if we can free up those beds.
  So, Mr. President, I think this amendment is--to use the vernacular--
a win-win situation. I think it is appropriate to introduce it here at 
this time, and I know that the managers have reviewed the amendment.
  I hope they will support its adoption.
  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, Americans know about trade deficits, 
but what they do not know about is another deficit--a prisoner deficit. 
The United States imports more foreign prisoners than we export, 
creating a tremendous burden on the criminal justice system and on the 
taxpayers.
  To address this problem, on June 9, I joined Senators Lautenberg and 
Graham to introduce the Prisoner Transfer Equity Act. This bill, which 
we are submitting as an amendment to the foreign operations 
appropriations bill today, uses the power of the purse to engage 
foreign nations in balancing the prisoner equation.
  Currently, there are approximately 58,000 convicted criminal aliens 
in Federal and State prisons, a number of whom are illegal aliens. 
These prisoners can fill almost 20 San Quentins. At the same time, 
there are some 2,500 American prisoners in foreign prisons. The total 
cost to the taxpayer is approximately $1.2 billion.
  It is not certain how many of these prisoners are illegal aliens, 
however California estimates that there are currently 13,000 to 15,000 
criminal illegal aliens in State prisons and that there will be 18,000 
over the next year at a cost of over $375 million. These inmates have 
not only broken our laws by entering the United States illegally, they 
have also committed felonies while they are here.
  Since 1977, the United States has entered into prisoner transfer 
treaties with 30 nations which allow prisoners to return to their home 
country prisons to carry out the remainder of their prison terms. 
However, since that time, approximately 1,200 prisoners have been 
transferred from U.S. prisons to their home country prisons and 
approximately 1,400 American prisoners have been transferred back to 
U.S. prisons.
  Indeed, I would like to recognize the fact that, since last fall, the 
Attorney General has made concerted efforts to expedite prisoner 
transfers. As a result, a total of 222 Mexican prisoners have been 
transferred to Mexican prisons, just since last December.
  However, much more can be done.
  The bill which I introduced June 15, the Immigration Control and 
Enforcement Act of 1994, which builds on the legislation I introduced 
last fall, authorizes the Secretary of State and the Attorney General 
to enter into agreements with foreign nations for the involuntary 
transfer of the deportable criminal illegal aliens.
  The amendment to the foreign operations appropriations bill that I 
submit today with Senators Lautenberg and Graham takes a significant 
additional step to address the large number of criminal illegal aliens 
in U.S. prisons. This amendment directs the President to negotiate or 
renegotiate prisoner transfer treaties, and it gives the President a 
powerful tool to use when negotiating and renegotiating these treaties 
with other countries.
  If countries won't negotiate with the United States to improve the 
prisoner transfer treaties and increase the number of prisoner 
transfers, the President will have the option to withhold up to 10 
percent of a country's foreign aid we provide to them or to use other 
diplomatic powers--including trade sanctions--until a country does make 
progress in treaty negotiations.
  The broad principal on which the bill is based is very simple. The 
Prisoner Transfer Equity Act will help alleviate the burden placed on 
the United States to incarcerate persons who enter this country 
illegally and are subsequently convicted of crimes. The failure to pass 
legislation of this kind will only add to the financial and physical 
burdens placed on our Nation at a time when we can least afford it.
  Mr. SASSER. Mr. President, I am pleased to join with the Senator from 
New Jersey in offering this amendment to H.R. 4426, the foreign 
operations appropriations bill.
  It gives the President and the Secretary of State important new tools 
to encourage other countries to take back their citizens.
  This amendment contains the provisions of S. 2175, the Prisoner 
Transfer Equity Act. It requires the President to withhold up to 10 
percent of a country's foreign aid if they do not make progress towards 
taking back more of their citizens who are criminal illegal aliens in 
U.S. prisons.
  If a country does not receive foreign aid, the President may use 
certain other approaches, such as trade sanctions.
  The United States currently has prisoner transfer treaties with over 
25 countries. It is clear, however, that these treaties have not solved 
the problem.
  Since 1977, when we began negotiating these treaties, other countries 
have taken back only 1,200 of their own citizens. During that same 
time, however, the United States took back a larger number of our own 
citizens--some 1,400.
  There are estimated to be some 53,000 convicted illegal aliens in 
U.S. prisons being fed and housed at taxpayers' expense. They have 
already broken our laws twice--first by coming here illegally and then 
by committing a crime while here. They are eating up scarce tax dollars 
and they are taking up prison space that could be used to house our own 
criminals.
  When we passed the crime bill last year, we heard all sorts of 
proposals for increasing prison space. Many of them were good 
proposals. Well, here's a way to increase prison space without building 
a single new prison and at virtually no cost to the taxpayer.
  These illegal criminal aliens cost the American taxpayer some $723 
million a year. It's time to send these criminals back to their own 
country and let the taxpayers of those countries support them.
  Mr. President, I commend the Senator from New Jersey for offering 
this legislation and I join him in thanking the managers of the bill 
for accepting this amendment.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I understand the very serious problem that 
the Senator from New Jersey and the Senator from California raise in 
their amendment. As I have told them before, I have some problems about 
withholding U.S. bilateral assistance from countries that do not 
cooperate in prisoner exchange and treaty negotiations, and I think 
that their amendment is improved by the provision to hold this money 
basically in escrow for these countries.
  I worry that if you have some of these countries we are talking about 
when they are asked to take back these prisoners that we are now 
housing and paying for, or you forego money for child nutrition or AIDS 
prevention or whatever, some of them frankly are the most vulnerable in 
the society that we cut off first.
  I am perfectly willing to accept this amendment because I know the 
very serious problem that the Senator from New Jersey speaks of. As a 
matter of fact, I can easily understand the frustrations of the 
taxpayers in these various States that have to pay for the jailing and 
housing of these people when they should be going back to their own 
country.
  So I will not object to accepting this amendment. I would suggest 
that prior to now and the time in conference that the Senator from New 
Jersey and the Senator from California and I may want to look at the 
possibility of refining it even further.
  I cannot imagine a Senator in this body disagreeing with trying to 
find some way to get these countries to take these people back, as they 
should. So this is a step toward working that out. I am willing to 
accept the amendment, but I would note the reservations as I have, and 
this may be something we should continue to work on.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Kentucky.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I am informed there is one Senator on 
this side who would like to take a look at the amendment before we can 
clear it. Maybe the Senator from New Jersey would like to temporarily 
lay it aside or put in a quorum call or whatever.
  Mr. LEAHY. Could I ask this--waiting for that--if we might just 
temporarily set this aside and I will assure the Senator from New 
Jersey we will protect his rights on this so we can probably move on to 
some technical amendments that have been cleared.
  Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, I have no problem with doing that, and 
having the assurance of the manager that we will come back to it after 
there has been a review. I would be happy to answer any questions 
related to it.
  I thank the managers and will await word and hope we will be able to 
get it done sooner rather than later.
  Mr. LEAHY. I ask unanimous consent that the pending amendment by the 
Senator from New Jersey and the Senator from California be temporarily 
laid aside.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.


            Amendment No. 2105 to first committee amendment

(Purpose: To delete Malawi from the list of countries for which FMF is 
                              prohibited)


            Amendment No. 2106 to first committee amendment

         (Purpose: To make a technical correction to the bill)


            Amendment No. 2107 to first committee amendment

         (Purpose: To make a technical correction to the bill)


            Amendment No. 2108 to first committee amendment

(Purpose: To include military training in the drawdown to assist Bosnia 
                 authorized by section 546 of the bill)

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I ask that be in order to send to the desk 
a group of amendments en bloc as amendments to the pending committee 
amendment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the amendments.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Vermont [Mr. Leahy] proposes amendments en 
     bloc numbered 2105, 2106, 2107, and 2108 to the first 
     committee amendment.

  The amendments (Nos. 2105, 2106, 2107, and 2108) are as follows:

                           Amendment No. 2105

       On page 34, line 11 of the Committee reported bill, 
     linetype ``Peru, and Malawi'' and insert immediately 
     thereafter: ``and Peru''
                                  ____


                           Amendment No. 2106

       On page 6, line 13 of the Committee reported bill, linetype 
     ``during fiscal year'' through ``600'' on line 15 and insert 
     immediately thereafter: ``of the amount appropriated under 
     this heading not more than $7,002,000 may be expended for the 
     purchase of such stock in fiscal year 1995''
                                  ____


                           Amendment No. 2107

       On page 59, line 19 of the Committee reported bill, after 
     the word ``ceiling'' insert: ``established pursuant to any 
     provision of law or regulation''
                                  ____


                           Amendment No. 2108

       On page 79, line 13 of the Committee reported bill, after 
     the word ``Defense'' insert: ``and defense services of the 
     Department of Defense''
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Kentucky.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask the chairman, are these the 
technical amendments that we have cleared on both sides?
  Mr. LEAHY. Yes, they are.
  Mr. President, I ask further unanimous consent that these be in order 
en bloc to the bill.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendments are considered and agreed to en bloc if there is no 
objection.
  So the amendments (Nos. 2105, 2106, 2107, and 2108) were agreed to.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote.
  Mr. McCONNELL. I move to lay that motion on the table.
  The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.


                           Amendment No. 2109

     (Purpose: To extend the authority for the donation of surplus 
      agricultural commodities to Poland, and for other purposes)

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that it be in order 
to submit an amendment on behalf of the Senator from Maryland [Ms. 
Mikulski] to the bill.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the amendment.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Vermont [Mr. Leahy], for Ms. Mikulski, 
     proposes an amendment numbered 2109.

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that reading of the 
amendment be dispensed with.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment is as follows:

       At the appropriate place in the bill, insert the following 
     new section:

     SEC.   . DONATION OF SURPLUS AGRICULTURAL COMMODITIES TO 
                   POLAND.

       (a) Extension of Authorization.--Section 2223(a) of the 
     American Aid to Poland Act of 1988 (7 U.S.C. 1431 note) is 
     amended by striking ``1988 through 1992'' and inserting 
     ``1995 through 1999''.
       (b) Definition of Eligible Commodities.--Section 2223(b)(1) 
     of that Act is amended by inserting ``, soybeans, and soybean 
     products'' after ``feed grains''.
       (c) Eligible Activities.--Section 416(b)(7)(D)(ii) of the 
     Agricultural Act of 1949 (7 U.S.C. 1431(b)(7)(D)(ii) is 
     amended in the third sentence--
       (1) by striking ``and'' at the end of subclause (II);
       (2) by striking the period at the end and inserting ``; 
     and''; and
       (3) by adding at the end the following new subclause:
       ``(IV) the Polish Catholic Episcopate's Rural Water Supply 
     Foundation.''.
       (d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section 
     shall take effect October 1, 1994.

  Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I rise today to submit an amendment to 
reauthorize the donation of surplus agricultural commodities to Poland 
for an additional 5 years. The donated commodities are sold by the 
Joint Commission for Humanitarian Assistance to Poland, which then uses 
the proceeds to promote development in the Polish private sector and to 
help the people of Poland help themselves.
  Mr. President, I am very proud to say that I was one of the original 
sponsors of the legislation creating this program, and that I have 
strongly supported the activities of the Joint Commission since its 
creation in 1988. Since that time, the Joint Commission has built an 
impressive record of fiscal responsibility, good will, and success in 
bringing about free market reforms in Poland.
  It is no accident that over the same period, Poland has outperformed 
all other Eastern European economies and has moved significantly toward 
becoming a truly free economy. Great credit for this achievement must 
go to the Polish people themselves, but let us also credit institutions 
such as the Joint Commission, which have provided the stimulus for free 
market reforms.
  Mr. President, the Joint Commission for Humanitarian Assistance to 
Poland is one of our great foreign aid success stories. Its record is 
one of purposeful, focused action. It functions as a means to build 
stable government, church, and nongovernmental agency partnerships. 
Under its initial authorization, the Commission contributed to improved 
Polish agricultural productivity. It has helped institute free-market 
reforms; established cultural and educational programs; and it has 
financed modern health care activities and orphanages in Poland. In 
short, Mr. President, the projects supported by the Joint Commission 
have improved the lives of hundreds of thousands of people in Poland 
and given them hope for a better life.

  The Joint Commission is serving as a model for successful grassroots 
international cooperation. Our American Embassy personnel in Warsaw, 
their counterparts in the Polish Ministries of Agriculture, Health, and 
Labor along with several nongovernmental agencies like Project Judaica, 
Project Hope, and the Catholic Church in Poland have all assisted in 
making this effort work so well. The Joint Commission's success is 
being used as the model for similar cooperative programs in Russia, 
Ukraine, Belarus, and the other emerging democracies of the region.
  Here are a few examples of projects the Joint Commission has funded:
  A research center on Jewish history and culture in Poland under the 
auspices of Project Judaica;
  A rehabilitation center for disabled children under the auspices of 
the Polish Catholic Episcopate;
  A clinic and shelter for HIV-infected children and their mothers;
  A privately owned drying house and storage plant to preserve produce 
for sale in the off-season market;
  Financing of startup costs for an agro-business magazine, which has 
since become self-sufficient through advertising revenue; and
  Privately owned packing plants, poultry processing plants, dairies, 
grain mills, feed mills, and honey and herb processing plants.
  Additionally, profitmaking recipients of Joint Commission grants must 
reinvest a portion of their profits in infrastructure, ecological, or 
humanitarian projects. In this way, the impact of Joint Commission 
funding is multiplied.
  In view of the past success of this program, I deeply believe that 
this worthy organization must be allowed to continue its important 
work. I am confident that when my Senate colleagues have considered the 
great benefits resulting from the innovative use of surplus American 
agricultural commodities, they will also support the reauthorization of 
this worthy program.
  I urge adoption of this amendment.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, this is an amendment reauthorizing donation 
of surplus agricultural commodities to Poland.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there debate?
  Without objection, the amendment is agreed to.
  So the amendment (No. 2109) was agreed to.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote.
  Mr. McCONNELL. I move to lay that motion on the table.
  The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.
  Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, will the Senator from Vermont yield?
  Mr. LEAHY. Yes, of course.
  Ms. MIKULSKI. I would like to thank the Senator from Vermont and the 
Senator from Kentucky for moving the legislation to reauthorize the 
Joint Commission on Poland.
  I believe it is a model on how we can promote self-help, initiative 
and reliance and use dollars that are converted, in as much as they 
could not leave the country anyway, to be able to put them to good use.
  I thank both Senators for their courtesy in seeing that this bill is 
reauthorized. I particularly know that those in children's hospitals 
and the Project Judaica, which stands as a great intellectual center 
for the Jewish heritage of Poland, all of them will be grateful.
  Mr. LEAHY. I thank the distinguished Senator from Maryland. I note 
she has been such a leader in this.
  In fact, I have gone to some of the areas in Poland helped by this. I 
can state firsthand this is one of our more successful programs.
  I would also note that its success is owed a great deal to the 
constant efforts by the Senator from Maryland.
  I thank her for her help.


                           Amendment No. 2110

 (Purpose: To authorize a drawdown on U.S. commodities and services to 
 assist war crime tribunals and other bodies of the United Nations to 
 deal with charges of violations of international law and to require a 
   report regarding the U.S. participation in the United Nations War 
                            Crimes Tribunal)

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that it be in order 
to submit an amendment to the bill on behalf of myself.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the amendment.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Vermont [Mr. Leahy] proposes an amendment 
     numbered 2110.

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that reading of the 
amendment be dispensed with.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment is as follows:

       On page 80 of the Committee reported bill, linetype from 
     ``(e)'' on line 7 through and including the period on line 
     17, and on page 112, after line 9, insert:


                         ``war crimes tribunals

       ``Sec. 577. If the President determines that doing so will 
     contribute to a just resolution of charges regarding genocide 
     or other violations of international humanitarian law, the 
     authority of section 552(c) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 
     1961, as amended, may be used to provide up to $25,000,000 of 
     commodities and services to the United Nations War Crimes 
     Tribunal established with regard to the former Yugoslavia by 
     the United Nations Council or such other tribunals or other 
     bodies as the Council may establish to deal with such 
     violations, without regard to the ceiling limitation 
     contained in paragraph (2) thereof: Provided, That the 
     determination required under this section shall be in lieu of 
     any determinations otherwise required under section 552(c): 
     Provided further, That 60 days after the date of enactment of 
     this Act, and every 180 days thereafter, the Secretary of 
     State shall submit a report to the Committees on 
     Appropriations describing the steps the United States 
     Government is taking to collect information regarding 
     allegations of genocide or other violations of international 
     law in the former Yugoslavia and to furnish that information 
     to the United Nations War Crimes Tribunal for the former 
     Yugoslavia.''

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, this amendment is to allow the use of 
excess commodities in relationship to war crime tribunals.
  I believe it has been cleared.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there any objection?
  Without objection, it is so ordered. The amendment is agreed to.
  So the amendment (No. 2110) was agreed to.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote.
  Mr. McCONNELL. I move to lay that motion on the table.
  The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, we are about to move forward to something 
else in a minute, but I ask unanimous consent for not to exceed 3 
minutes as in morning business.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

                          ____________________