[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 144 (Thursday, October 6, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: October 6, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
 THE FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEE'S ACTIVITIES IN THE 103D CONGRESS AND 
                   ITS AGENDA FOR THE 104TH CONGRESS

  Mr. PELL. Mr. President, the last 2 years have been a period of rapid 
change, marked by profound dislocation for millions as people and 
governments struggled to adapt to the post-cold-war era. The effort to 
achieve a framework for a new world order has proved more difficult 
than anticipated.
  Multilateral instructions constructed during the cold war have 
suffered their own crises of confidence as a result of accelerated 
demands on their resources. These demands have ranged from the 
proliferation of humanitarian disasters, such as in Rwanda and in the 
former Yugoslavia, to other crises affecting international stability, 
such as the development of nuclear weapons by North Korea. Rejuvenating 
these institutions and developing new means for coping with the world's 
problems, particularly in the environmental and social area, have 
proved onerous, their difficulty exacerbated by a dearth of financial 
resources and consensus among developed nations.
  Today, I would like to report on the significant activities of the 
Foreign Relations Committee during the past 2 years of the 103d 
Congress and outline some of my objectives as chairman for the next 
session.
  Foremost among the committee's concerns during this Congress were the 
need to ensure a stable framework for democracy in the successor states 
to the former Soviet Union and the need to contain direct threats to 
American security from the proliferation of weapons of mass 
destruction.


                Securing stability in Europe and the NIS

  During the previous Congress, many of the committee's activities 
focused on the immediate effects of the break-up of the Soviet Union 
and the end of the cold war. For example, the committee enacted the 
Freedom Support Act, the legislative framework for the entire U.S. 
assistance program to the former Soviet Union. The process of securing 
democracy in the successor states of the former Soviet Union and in 
Eastern Europe remains the greatest challenge for American diplomacy in 
the remainder of this century and has been the focus of much of the 
committee's attention during the 103d Congress.
  In the 103d Congress the committee, through hearings and legislation, 
took a longer-term view of the breakup of the Soviet Union. First, the 
committee supported the normalization of the U.S. relationship with the 
countries of the former Soviet Union by enacting the Friendship Act in 
November 1993. That act reflected the fact that the Soviet Union has 
dissolved and repealed provisions of cold war law that were no longer 
relevant. The committee was actively engaged in oversight of the 
assistance program created by the Freedom Support Act, issuing a staff 
report and conducting numerous hearings on the status of the aid 
program and the future of U.S. relations with the New Independent 
States.
  I am pleased that the Clinton administration has given a high 
priority to our relationship with the New Independent States. The 
Vancouver summit was a great success in reaching a meeting of minds on 
mutual economic and political goals and on security issues. In January 
1994, the presidents of the Ukraine, Russia, and the United States 
reached an agreement to destroy nuclear weapons and control the export 
of nuclear technology--a major achievement. The Washington summit 
between President Yeltsin and President Clinton which focused on trade 
and investment further solidified the American-Russian partnership.
  The task of building a lasting framework for peace in Europe, 
however, will not be complete unless questions concerning NATO's role 
and membership are resolved. The committee is involved in the ongoing 
discussion about NATO issues. In January 1994 the NATO summit adopted 
the Clinton administration's Partnership for Peace proposal, opening 
the way for all of our friends in Europe, and the New Independent 
States, to engage in a productive association with NATO. Soon after the 
summit, Senator Biden's Subcommittee on European Affairs held joint 
hearings with Senator Levin's Armed Services Subcommittee on Coalition 
Defense and Reinforcing Forces and the future of NATO that included a 
through examination of Partnership for Peace. In the next Congress, 
NATO, its future, and America's role in Europe will continue to be a 
priority issue for committee consideration.
  The importance of retaining an effective security framework in Europe 
is driven home each day by reports of intra- and inter-state conflict 
in Eastern Europe and the New Independent States. Tension is high in 
all the successor states to the Soviet Union and violence continues in 
Azerbaijan, Armenia, Tajikistan, and Georgia. The intractability of 
these conflicts and the potential for U.S. involvement is readily 
apparent in the former Yugoslavia where a contingent of American 
peacekeepers has taken up position in Macedonia.
  While activities in the rest of Europe focused on consolidating new 
post-cold-war relationships, in Bosnia the international community's 
goal has been to end the fighting and suffering and to bring to justice 
those responsible for war crimes. The Foreign Relations Committee has 
been actively involved in monitoring the Yugoslav situation through 
close contact with officials from former Yugoslavia, the United 
Nations, Europe, and the U.S. administration. Several member and staff 
trips to the troubled region, including inside Bosnia, helped to 
further inform the committee.
  In one of its more important efforts, the committee has been active 
in efforts to establish a War Crimes Tribunal for the former 
Yugoslavia. With the full support and urging of the committee, the 
Clinton administration played a leading role at the United Nations in 
the creation of the Tribunal, which is scheduled to issue its first 
indictments later this year. Eventually the Tribunal's jurisdiction may 
be extended to reviewing genocidal crimes in Rwanda, establishing a 
precedent and hopefully acting as a deterrent.


      controlling the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction

  The demise of the former Soviet Union has dramatically changed the 
strategic environment faced by the United States. Nevertheless, as the 
former Soviet Union has become less of a challenge in the arms control 
area, other challenges to our national interests have emerged. In 
particular, the proliferation of chemical, biological, and nuclear 
materials remains an acute problem central to our national security.
  Last year, on the basis of several reports and our own 
investigations, Senator Simon and I concluded that the Arms Control And 
Disarmament Agency was sorely in need of strengthening and 
revitalization if it were to be equal to the promise of 1961 when it 
was created.
  Fortunately, President Clinton and Secretary of State Christopher 
agreed and the administration came to support legislation we offered, 
the Arms Control and Nonproliferation Act of 1994, which was approved 
by the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Senate. It was enacted 
earlier this year and should serve to get the Arms Control and 
Disarmament Agency back on track and in the forefront of those seeking 
strong and effective arms control.
  Also in this Congress, with committee leadership, a major step 
forward in the area of nuclear nonproliferation was taken with 
enactment of the Omnibus Nuclear Proliferation Control Act. This 
legislation, authored by the Senator from Ohio [Mr. Glenn], 
incorporated an amendment which I developed, together with the Senator 
from North Carolina [Mr. Helms]. This legislation targets persons and 
firms that contribute to the efforts by any individual, group or any 
nonnuclear-weapons State to acquire unsafeguarded weapons-grade uranium 
or plutonium or to use, develop, produce, stockpile, or otherwise 
acquire a nuclear device. This legislation also sets forth new 
sanctions to be applied against any nation giving the wherewithal for a 
nuclear device to a nonnuclear-weapons State.
  This year, the committee held several hearings to explore the 
administration's proposal that the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty 
be changed to permit the development and deployment of a Theater High 
Altitude Air Defense System [THAAD]. The committee will be assessing 
this new concept further in the next session and reaching judgments as 
to the implications of the proposal for the ABM Treaty, the likely 
benefits and risks for U.S. national security and potential costs in a 
time of shrinking defense budgets.
  In addition, also this year, the committee held a series of hearings 
on the Chemical Weapons Convention, signed by the Bush administration 
in January 1993, and strongly endorsed by the Clinton administration. 
As this session of the Congress comes to a close, we anticipate receipt 
of a report on the intelligence aspects of the convention from the 
Select Committee on Intelligence and on the military implications from 
the Senate Armed Services Committee. We also will receive and assess a 
report from the executive branch on its efforts to ensure Russia's 
compliance with chemical weapons commitments, as well as obligations 
under the Biological Weapons Convention ratified in 1975.
  I wish that I could report to you that we would be able to complete 
action this year on the Chemical Weapons Convention, which has the most 
complex and intrusive verification provisions of any treaty yet agreed 
to in the arms control field. This convention requires the most careful 
study and assessment to make sure that the Senate's judgment is 
correct. I anticipate that we will develop a mutually acceptable 
resolution of ratification for consideration by the committee and the 
full Senate early next year. That resolution will take into account the 
advice of both the Intelligence and Armed Services Committees and the 
best judgment on certain key issues from the executive branch.
  Mr. President, next year could be a very exciting period in the field 
of arms control. In April, the nations of the world will meet to 
consider whether to extend the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty--a 
critically important undertaking which has been central to efforts to 
prevent the spread of nuclear weapons throughout the world. The Clinton 
administration is properly seeking an indefinite extension of this 
Treaty.
  The Clinton administration is attempting to negotiate a comprehensive 
ban on nuclear explosions. Success in this endeavor would be a fitting 
end to the long saga of efforts to curb and end nuclear explosions 
begun when President Kennedy negotiated with the Soviet Union and Great 
Britain the Limited Test Ban Treaty of 1963. I would hope that it is 
possible to achieve a complete ban on nuclear explosions, with no 
exceptions, that would be of indefinite duration. Now that the cold war 
is a receding memory, we have an unprecedented opportunity to step away 
from that unfortunate reliance on nuclear weapons that was a 
centerpiece of this protracted period of continued confrontation.


                      resolving regional conflicts

  While areas of continued tension deserve great attention, it is 
equally important to acknowledge movement toward resolving some of the 
world's conflicts.
  One of the most dramatic developments that occurred during the 103d 
Congress was the rapid advancement of the Middle East peace process. 
Within 4 days of the surprise announcement of the conclusion of an 
agreement between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization 
[PLO], Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO Chairman Yasir 
Arafat were shaking hands on the While House lawn. That ceremony--as 
moving as any I've ever witnessed--captivated the world and changed the 
entire political landscape in the Middle East.
  The Israel-PLO agreement broke the gridlock in the bilateral talks 
between Israel and its neighbors, as evidenced by the subsequent 
agreement by Prime Minister Rabin and King Hussein to end the formal 
state of war between Israel and Jordan, and by the indications of 
serious progress in Secretary Christopher's shuttle diplomacy between 
Tel Aviv and Damascus. It present trends in the peace process continue, 
the Middle East will be a priority issue for the Committee in the 
coming session of Congress.

  While harboring no illusions about the difficulty of the issues that 
remain to be resolved, the committee moved quickly to consolidate gains 
made in the peace process. Just a few short weeks after the signing of 
the Israel-PLO agreement, the committee approved the Middle East Peace 
Facilitation Act, which was enacted into law as a short-term measure to 
enable the administration to help both Israel and the PLO. In the 
following months, after committee-led consultations among a broad, 
bipartisan group of Senators, the Middle East Peace Facilitation Act 
was refined, extended, and enacted into law as a section of the 
biannual State Department authorizing legislation. The Act, authored by 
Senator Helms and myself, ensures that the PLO will abide by 
commitments to end terrorism and revise its charter, and provides the 
administration with sufficient flexibility to deal with the PLO well 
into the coming year. In doing so, the committee in my opinion has 
helped significantly to advance the prospects for the successful 
implementation of the Israel-PLO agreement.
  The Committee also built upon efforts begun in prior years to enhance 
the safety and security of Israel, a cornerstone of U.S. policy in the 
middle East. The committee strongly supported maintaining current 
levels of U.S. assistance to our Camp David partners, Egypt and Israel, 
and approved several legislative provisions drafted by committee 
members, subsequently enacted into law, to hasten the dismantlement of 
the Arab League boycott of Israel. While there has been substantial 
progress in reducing compliance by Arab states with the boycott, in the 
next session the committee will seek additional means to encourage 
outright termination of the boycott.
  Elsewhere in the Middle East, the committee remained active in the 
development of post-Persian Gulf War policy towards Iraq, including 
drafting a law to establish a blueprint for U.S. policy to counter a 
potentially resurgent Iraq. The committee also continued its efforts 
begun during the last Congress on the Iraqi Kurds, including sending 
two staff missions to Iraqi Kurdistan to retrieve Iraqi Secret Police 
files captured by the Kurds during their 1991 uprising against Saddam 
Hussein. The committee staff brought back an additional 5 tons of 
documents to add to the 14 tons already in the United States, all of 
which are now being prepared for use in a genocide case against the 
Iraqi government. The committee looks forward to working with the U.S. 
administration and other outside parties to initiate such a case in the 
coming year.
  In the South Asia region, the committee focused on promoting 
democratic development, improving the human rights situation, and 
halting the spread of nuclear weapons and delivery systems, addressing 
these issues in hearings, legislation, and in meetings with 
distinguished visitors from the region. As part of an ongoing effort to 
raise the profile of South Asia issues in U.S. foreign policy, the 
committee was pleased to oversee the first-ever Senate confirmation of 
an assistant Secretary of State for South Asian Affairs.
  From the newly democratic South Africa, the Foreign Relations 
Committee received both Nelson Mandela and former President de Klerk in 
1993 and was delighted to welcome President Mandela at the end of this 
session. After performing a crucial function in the 1986 initial 
passage of sanctions against South Africa, the Foreign Relations 
Committee was pleased these last 2 years to watch the fruition of its 
efforts. By passing S. 1493, the South African Democratic Transition 
Act, the committee acted swiftly last summer to lift sanctions at the 
behest of the newly empowered majority of the country. This rapid 
response allowed for the timely lifting of State and local sanctions 
against South Africa and pave the way for U.S. businesses to explore 
new business and investment opportunities in South Africa. In addition, 
the committee supported this spring's expanded foreign aid package for 
South Africa and plans to continue to assist the administration in 
ensuring that this program reaches the most needy while increasing 
economic opportunities internally and externally.
  In response to the crisis in Somalia and Rwanda, the Foreign 
Relations Committee played an active role, holding a series of hearings 
involving administration, United Nations and Non-Governmental 
Organization experts to look at how to keep the U.S. role in Somalia 
constructive. The committee played an important oversight role with the 
administration on Somalia and continued to inform the administration of 
its concerns as the United States phased its final mission out this 
fall.
  In early reaction to the horrific events in Rwanda, the committee 
severely condemned the mass killings, initiating and passing S. Res. 
207 in April 1994. This legislation urged that the international 
community consider immediate multilateral action to ensure the safety 
of innocent civilians. In May and July, experts in peacekeeping and 
humanitarian interventions were called to testify before the committee 
on workable solutions to the tragedy. When the Central African crisis 
evolved into a humanitarian disaster of unprecedented proportions, the 
committee supported the President's request for emergency funding for 
disaster assistance and refugee relief. The committee will continue to 
monitor the crisis in Central Africa very closely. Under the leadership 
of Senator Simon, chairman of the Subcommittee on African Affairs, the 
committee successfully complete action on the African Conflict 
Resolution Act, a bipartisan bill that will strengthen the capacities 
of African states to mediate their conflicts. Chapter VIII of the U.N. 
Charter envisioned a broad role for regional organizations in conflict 
resolution. Although the United States cannot be the world's policeman, 
we can strengthen the role of regional international organizations in 
resolving conflicts.

  Closer to home, the committee has been deeply engaged in efforts to 
restore the democratically elected government to power in Haiti. We 
held critical hearings and briefings on our policy earlier in the year 
that contributed to a change in American policy which will culminate 
later this month in the restoration of President Aristide's government. 
With the deployment of United States troops in Haiti, the committee 
will continue to closely monitor the United States mission and our 
efforts to facilitate the transition to the Aristide government, assist 
in the creation of a new police force, the professionalization of the 
military and the economic development of this impoverished nation. 
President Clinton is to be commended for successfully negotiating an 
agreement to restore President Aristide to power while minimizing the 
initial risks to U.S. forces.
  Also of great interest to the future of American relations in Latin 
America is the American trade embargo on Cuba. I believe that a 
comprehensive review of United States policy toward Cuba is long 
overdue. To that end I am holding hearings later this week and will 
work to broaden discussion of this topic in our next session. I believe 
that a gradual lifting of the embargo could give us leverage over a 
Cuban Government fearful of the openness brought by closer relations 
with the United States.
  In another region, the danger of an imminent conflagration was 
avoided after President Clinton enlisted former President Carter to 
negotiate directly with North Korean President Kim Il Sung. The 
committee has been deeply engaged in monitoring North Korean nuclear 
developments since the Bush administration. Open hearings and frequent 
closed door briefings have kept Members intimately apprised of the 
issue. A solution has not yet been found. I believe that negotiations 
with the North Koreans will be difficult and attenuated, particularly 
since Kim Il Sung's death. But clearly, negotiations by President 
Clinton's able Ambassador Robert Galucci, for the moment, prove the 
wisdom of Winston Churchill's adage that ``jaw, jaw'' is preferable to 
``war, war.'' A Cold War ``peace dividend'' can only be banked if there 
is peace.


                strengthening multilateral institutions

  The committee has been busy working to strengthen international 
institutions to advance peace and prosperity. Without a doubt, this has 
been the most contentious, yet most critical, subject of our 
deliberations. The legitimacy of multilateral approaches to resolving 
world problems has been brought into severe question as a result of the 
debacle in Somalia and the frustration over the ongoing conflict in the 
former Yugoslavia. On the eve of its 50th anniversary, the United 
Nations and its specialized agencies are being buffeted by intense 
criticism. One of the greatest challenges for the Congress and the 
administration in the next session is constructive reform of 
international institutions.

  A detailed staff report of U.N. peacekeeping operations was prepared 
earlier this session, containing recommendations similar to those later 
acted on in the administration's long awaited Presidential decision 
directive on peacekeeping. As a result of pressure from the committee, 
especially Senator Pressler, action was finally taken by the United 
Nations to establish an Inspector General. Additional reforms with U.S. 
support are now underway in the United Nations office responsible for 
peacekeeping. In cooperation with the Armed Services Committee, we have 
been working with the administration to develop an effective means to 
ensure congressional oversight of peacekeeping operations. In this 
regard, the Clinton administration has been extremely cooperative.


                strengthening international human rights

  Another challenge has been to strengthen international respect for 
human rights. I have already mentioned the War Crimes Tribunal for the 
former Yugoslavia. The committee also reported favorably to the full 
Senate the Convention Against Racial Discrimination and the Convention 
To Eliminate All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. The convention 
to eliminate race discrimination was ratified by the Senate earlier 
this year while the convention to eliminate discrimination against 
women should be ratified shortly. Both conventions are extremely 
important to ensuring universal guarantees of human rights protection. 
In addition, I am pleased that the Clinton administration has agreed to 
review the issue of ratification of two protocols to the 1949 Geneva 
Convention.
  Protocol I is the leading codification of the rules of international 
armed conflict for the protection of civilians. It addresses such 
important abuses as direct attacks on civilians, indiscriminate 
shelling, siege warfare, starvation of civilians as a weapon of war, 
and interference with the delivery of humanitarian assistance. Protocol 
II codifies fundamental provisions of the rules of war governing 
noninternational armed conflicts. Both of these protocols have taken on 
intense new importance as a result of the proliferation of ethnic 
conflict.
  American concern about human rights conditions in other countries has 
long been attacked by our foes as efforts to impose ``American 
values.'' International human rights treaties are extraordinarily 
important in demonstrating that the debate is not over imposing our 
values but whether or not States are living up to universally accepted 
values. I believe such agreements will in the future been seen as the 
firm cornerstone of the new world order.


                Strengthening the International Economy

  The economic basis for world order is being laid by the new 
international trading agreements. With the end of the cold war and the 
expansion of international trade and investment, international economic 
issues have taken on greater importance in U.S. foreign policy. The 
committee held hearings on the North American Free-Trade Agreement and 
the World Trade Organization reviewing the foreign policy implications 
of those important trade agreements. In the upcoming Congress, the 
committee will examine how the United States should proceed with future 
trade agreements working towards the long-term goal of creating a free-
trade area throughout the Western Hemisphere.
  The committee also held hearings on and reported favorably bilateral 
tax treaties with Russia, the Netherlands, Mexico, Barbados, Israel, 
the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic. These treaties will help 
Americans avoid double taxation and will facilitate international 
business. The committee and the Senate also approved bilateral 
investment treaties with Romania, Moldova, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, 
Ecuador, Bulgaria, Armenia, and Argentina. Next year the committee 
plans to take up seven new tax treaties and several new bilateral 
investment treaties.


           strengthening american foreign policy capabilities

  The committee also disposed of its regular legislative 
responsibilities. Under the leadership of Senator Kerry, we enacted 
authorizations for the State Department, USIA, and the Board for 
International Broadcasting. That legislation contained a number of 
important provisions that will benefit the operation of the U.S. 
Government and the taxpayer.
  First, the authorization provided the legislative basis for the 
administration's reorganization of the Department of State to meet the 
many new challenges that face our Nation in the post-cold war era. Most 
notably, the legislation established the new position of Under 
Secretary of State for Global Affairs with broad responsibility for 
transnational issues. It also contained a number of provisions of 
streamline the Department's bureaucracy.
  In addition, the legislation consolidated U.S. Government non-
military international broadcasting. The consolidated broadcasting will 
reduce duplication in programming and engineering services resulting in 
significant savings for U.S. taxpayers. Equally important, it should 
result in more efficient use of our scarce resources to provide 
broadcasting where it is most needed. A continuing critical issue for 
the committee is reorienting the instruments of American foreign policy 
to handle more effectively post-cold war crises.
  Of special note in the authorization legislation was the bipartisan 
initiative led by Senator Kerry to lift our trade embargo on Vietnam. 
The expression of support by the Senate, 62-38, I believe, was 
instrumental in convincing the administration to end this barrier to 
American business and to more productive relations with Vietnam. I 
believe that a more extensive American presence in Vietnam will 
ultimately resolve remaining issues concerning POW/MIA's and will also 
encourage Vietnam's democratization. I would hope that full diplomatic 
relations with Vietnam will be established during the next Congress.

  During this Congress, the committee began, under the leadership of 
Senator Sarbanes, the difficult process of rewriting the Foreign 
Assistance Act of 1961. Extensive hearings were held during 103d 
Congress and an original draft bill, the Peace, Prosperity and 
Democracy Act of 1994, was prepared. This draft restructures, 
streamlines, and reorients the foreign assistance program to 
necessities of the post-cold war world. Building on it, the committee 
intends to take up foreign aid reform early in the next Congress. In 
addition to rewriting the statutes that govern the bilateral aid 
program, the committee looks forward to reviewing the Bretton Woods 
institutions as they complete their 50-year anniversary.


              strengthening protection of the environment

  We also continued to strengthen and broaden the framework of 
international environmental law. In 1993, the Senate granted its advice 
and consent to ratification of the Copenhagen amendment to the Montreal 
Protocol. The amendment further strengthens international efforts to 
protect the ozone layer by adding new ozone-depleting substances to be 
controlled.
  The committee reported several treaties designed to strengthen 
international efforts to conserve and manage the world's fisheries. As 
recent articles have indicated, this is a major challenge facing the 
United States and other nations that rely on the ocean for its living 
resources.
  Last year, the committee and Senate approved the protocol to the 
International Convention for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas. The 
protocol will put the Convention on a more sound financial footing, and 
through that we hope strengthen the organization's ability to 
contribute to the sound management of Atlantic tunas.
  More recently, the committee approved the Agreement to Promote 
Compliance with International Conservation and Management Measures by 
Fishing Vessels on the High Seas. I am hopeful that this agreement will 
strengthen implementation of the many conservation and management 
agreements to which the United States is a party, including, for 
example, the Convention for the Conservation of Anadromous Stocks in 
the North Pacific Ocean, and the Convention for the Conservation of 
Salmon in the North Atlantic Ocean.
  Recently, the committee ordered reported the Convention on the 
Conservation and Management of Pollock Resources in the Central Bering 
Sea, commonly referred to as the Donut Hole Convention. The Convention 
addresses a very serious problem facing U.S. fishermen in the Pacific 
Northwest and Alaska: depletion of the central Bering Sea stock of 
Aleutian pollock. The convention also highlights the general problem of 
uncontrolled fishing on the high seas, particularly for stocks that 
straddle the high seas and our country's exclusive economic zone. The 
committee benefited from the intense interest and expertise of Senator 
Murkowski on these issues.

  I expect marine issues to be a major concern for the committee in the 
104th Congress as well. I would note that both the Reflagging 
Convention and the Donut Hole Convention build upon the foundation 
established by the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea. As my 
colleagues know, I have a very strong interest in the Law of the Sea 
Convention. I was extremely pleased when the United States recently 
signed an agreement in New York that resolves U.S. concerns with the 
Law of the Sea Convention. I expect that the convention and the 
agreement will be transmitted shortly to the Senate for its advice and 
consent. I intend to make action on the convention one of my highest 
priorities in the coming Congress.
  In addition, I anticipate that negotiations currently underway on the 
U.N. Convention on Highly Migratory and Straddling Fish Stocks will be 
transmitted to the Senate for its advice and consent next year. This 
convention is intended to provide a framework for the effective 
management of stocks that migrate the exclusive economic zones [EEZ] of 
two or more countries as well as fish stocks that straddle a country's 
EEZ and the high seas. As a coastal state with major fisheries the 
United States has a strong interest in the outcome of these 
negotiations.
  Finally, during the 103d Congress the committee approved the 
nominations of 268 ambassadors and executive branch officials, as well 
as 1,704 well deserved promotions in the Foreign Service.
  I wish to thank all members of the committee for their cooperation 
and commend their industry. Our successes are due to their hard work 
and assistance. I thank in particular Senator Helms, the ranking 
minority member, for his help during the course of this Congress. In 
the coming Congress I look forward to his kind support. Our agenda is 
already full.

                          ____________________