[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 138 (Monday, September 30, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1877-E1878]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ACDA--35TH ANNIVERSARY

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. HOWARD L. BERMAN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, September 30, 1996

  Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, on September 26, the U.S. Arms Control and 
Disarmament Agency [ACDA], celebrated its 35th anniversary. I am proud 
to have been one of the architects of the Arms Control and Non-
Proliferation Act of 1994 which underscored the necessity of 
maintaining bipartisan support for a revitalized ACDA to address the 
immense arms control agenda facing the United States in the post-cold 
war world.
  The arms control agenda remains a vital issue, one which demands our 
continued vigilance and support. On September 24, President Clinton 
because the first world leader to sign the Comprehensive Test Ban 
Treaty [CTBT] at the United Nations--a commitment from virtually all 
the world's nations to end nuclear tests for all time.
  The greatest danger to our security is from a nexus of new threats--
rogue states, terrorism, international crime, drug trafficking, and 
weapons of mass destruction. We must seize

[[Page E1878]]

every opportunity for more people to enjoy peace, freedom, security, 
and prosperity, while at the same time, moving strongly and swiftly 
against the dangers they face.
  The CTBT is the shared work of hard negotiation. The signature of the 
world's declared nuclear power--the United States, China, France, 
Russia, and the United Kingdom--along with those of the vast majority 
of its nations, will immediately create an international norm against 
nuclear testing. In light of these global realities, proponent of 
ACDA's disappearance or absorption by the Department of State seem 
grossly out of step with reality.
  ACDA brings to the table an expert and independent arms control 
perspective, one which often differs from the viewpoint of the 
Department of State. That is why ACDA was created. For example, in the 
1960's, ACDA pressed for the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. The 
State Department initially opposed the original negotiation. ACDA's 
independent voice, then and now, serves to ensure a policy that is more 
fully informed and better framed to serve arms control and 
nonproliferation.
  ACDA has had a major impact. Allow me to enumerate some examples.
  ACEA insisted under the Salt I agreement that the Soviet Union be 
held to precise numerical limits on Backfires Bombers.
  In developing the INF Treaty, ACDA argued successfully for the 
development of irrefutable evidence of the nuclear capabilities of 
Soviet SS-23s in Eastern Europe.
  It was ACDA that provided the analysis that the Soviet Krasnoyarsk 
radar was in violation of the ABM Treaty, ultimately leading to its 
dismantlement.
  The same agency demanded the preservation of the Cobra Dane ground-
based phased array radar at Shemya, Alaska, an asset essential for 
verifying Russian compliance with the START Treaties. The U.S. needs 
this radar to determine independently whether or not the Russians are 
testing new or modified missile systems.
  ACDA provided the positions leading toward a comprehensive test ban, 
including opposition to a ``peaceful nuclear explosions'' loophole, a 
zero-yield threshold, and no-first-test policy.
  The agency successfully retained the proper interpretation of the 
Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) treaty, which was, in turn, instrumental 
in facilitating negotiation of the START treaties.
  ACDA is responsible for the present U.S. policy regarding landmines 
and their use.
  The decision to press for an effective, verifiable, and complete ban 
on chemical weapons, resulting in conclusion of the worldwide Chemical 
Weapons Convention in 1992, came about thanks to ACDA. Now, it remains 
for the Senate to ratify the convention. It should do so immediately.
  ACDA spearheaded U.S. Government efforts to conclude a ban on 
biological and toxin weapons in the early 1970's, followed in the 1990s 
by negotiations to enhance transparency and strengthen compliance with 
that ban.
  Since ACDA's initiation under President Eisenhower and its founding 
under President Kennedy, Republican and Democratic administrations have 
recognized that, to pursue arms control effectively, an independent, 
expert agency is essential.
  That consensus is now reflected in the number of arms control 
agreements painstakingly achieved by both Democratic and Republican 
administrations. For example:
  Start I--negotiated under President Reagan, ratified under President 
Bush, implemented by President Clinton; Start II, Nuclear Non-
Proliferation Treaty, Intermediate Nuclear Forces agreement, 
Conventional Forces in Europe agreement, and the Convention on 
Conventional Weapons. Let me add to that list the Chemical Weapons 
convention. This treaty has been ratified by 63 countries and, if the 
Senate does not move to ratify it, is likely to go into force without 
U.S. participation. The convention bans the production, sale and 
possession of poison gas weapons and requires signatory nations to 
destroy their existing stocks. It was negotiated under President Reagan 
and signed by President Bush. President Clinton has given the 
convention his full support. The remaining step is ratification by the 
Senate.

  Why is the convention so important? After the gulf war, we 
underestimated Saddam Hussein's ability to develop chemical weapons. It 
does not take a missile to bring about destruction. One person with a 
small vial can do that. Witness the impact of a small amount of Sarin 
gas in the Tokyo subway.
  We must not be lulled into thinking that arms control implementation 
and compliance can take care of itself or that the dangers of 
proliferation are overblown. We must continue to support a strong, 
independent, streamlined and effective Arms Control Disarmament Agency 
to pursue one of the Nation's most urgent missions in a transformed 
world.