[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 9 (Wednesday, January 24, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E77]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  DOD AUTHORIZATION CONFERENCE REPORT

                                 ______


                             HON. VIC FAZIO

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, January 24, 1996

  Mr. FAZIO. Mr. Speaker, I rise reluctantly in support of the fiscal 
year 1996 Defense authorization conference report. I would like to 
begin by thanking the chairman and the ranking member of the National 
Security Committee who worked hard to bridge their differences and 
produce a bill that the President will sign into law.
  I would like to point out that I voted against this conference report 
back in December because of the objectionable language governing 
national missile defense policy and the restrictions on the President's 
constitutional prerogatives to make foreign policy. My vote against the 
initial conference report was the first time in my congressional career 
that I cast a ``no'' vote on a defense bill, be it authorization or 
appropriations. Moreover, the reservations and the objections to the 
original conference report by the respected Senator from Georgia, Mr. 
Nunn, cast serious doubt on the wisdom of enacting such restrictive and 
potentially harmful language.
  As President Clinton said it last night, ``since the dawn of the 
nuclear age, there is not a single Russian missile pointed at the 
United States and North Korea has frozen its dangerous nuclear weapons 
program.'' We have accomplished that because both Democratic and 
Republican administrations have worked tirelessly to ratify the START 
Treaty which significantly reduced the nuclear stockpile between the 
former Soviet Union and the United States. And now we are on the verge 
of further reducing weapons of mass destruction by embracing START II.
  We cannot and should not do anything to endanger the prospects for 
ratification of START II. I voted against the conference report in 
December precisely because it amounted to an anticipatory breach of the 
Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty. Further, the language contained in the 
bill would have had a significant impact on Russian consideration of 
the START II Treaty which will reduce Russian nuclear weapons by 25 
percent.
  I am pleased to see that the language regarding the deployment of a 
national missile defense system was struck from the bill as well as the 
language restricting the President's ability to utilize U.S. troops for 
peacekeeping missions. It is clear by now that for all of the dire 
predictions and the harsh rhetoric aimed at the President's proposal to 
send troops to enforce the peace in Bosnia, the President's plan has 
largely been a success thus far. We have stopped the bloodshed and have 
ushered in new hope for the future of all Serbs, Muslims, and 
Croatians.
  While I applaud the compromise that was made with respect to this 
conference report, I am dismayed that the conference committee 
neglected to delete the abortion language and the language that 
discharges those HIV-positive service members.
  I think it is important for the Congress to take note that this was 
the first time in decades, a defense appropriations bill was enacted 
without an authorization bill being enacted first.
  I support the compromise version of the conference report knowing 
that this bill authorizes more money than I would personally prefer. 
But given the realities of our current mission in Bosnia, the need to 
maintain military readiness and move forward with defense conversion 
efforts, I believe it is important that we pass this bill and have the 
President sign it into law.

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