[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 135 (Thursday, October 2, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1921]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          INTRODUCTION OF THE ARMS SURPLUS REFORM ACT OF 1997

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. FORTNEY PETE STARK

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, October 1, 1997

  Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce the Arms Surplus 
Reform Act of 1997. This legislation will bring much needed reform to 
the sale of military surplus materiel by the Department of Defense.
  If military surplus were simply a matter of combat boots, camouflage, 
and fatigues, this legislation would not be necessary. But for those in 
the know, Pentagon surplus can mean a cheap, nearly untraceable supply 
of weapons and weapons parts that cost the U.S. Government billions of 
dollars to purchase.
  According to the current system, each piece of equipment that the 
Pentagon designates as surplus is assigned a demilitarization code, or 
``demil'' code. Demilitarization represents the work necessary to make 
surplus materiel fit for sale to civilians: twisting of gun barrels, 
mutilation of helicopter frames, removal of explosives from bombs, 
erasing the memory and software from military application computers, et 
cetera. Equipment is graded on an alphabetical scale. An ``A'' code 
signifies benign materiel when no demilitarization is necessary. A 
``D'' code requires extensive demilitarization before surplus sale.
  The problem lies in the execution of the process. Equipment is coded 
incorrectly and almost always too easily. When Pentagon investigators 
did a random survey of surplus stock, they found missile simulators, 
bombs, guidance systems for cruise missiles, fully functional automatic 
weapons, as well as other potentially deadly materiels. Enforcement of 
procedure is so lax that an Air Force base in Georgia lost track of $39 
million worth of surplus materiel.
  This situation represents more than a fiscal threat to our country. 
Sophisticated weaponry is finding its way to foreign interests while 
criminals in the United States rely on military surplus to outfit their 
operations. A methamphetamine lab run by a national gang was raided by 
drug enforcement agents in Los Angeles, who found machine guns and 
flame throwers traceable to arms surplus. One military surplus supplier 
was outfitting Cobra attack helicopters for resale. According to a 
story filed in U.S. News and World Report, one such citizen, Ron 
Garlick of Montana, said, ``Mine was fully armed. I had rockets on it 
and machine guns. I was out there shooting coyotes with them.'' It's a 
good thing Mr. Garlick was not shooting at people, the Cobra attack 
helicopter is one of the deadliest helicopters in the world.
  The problem extends beyond domestic purchases. The Chinese are the 
biggest buyers of sensitive electronic surplus materiel. Among the 
items recovered from Chinese scrap dealers were encryption devices, 
submarine parts, radar systems, tubes for Patriot missiles, and parts 
of the Stealth F-117A fighter. Iran and Iraq are also reported to be 
large purchasers of military surplus.
  As former Secretary of Defense William Taft wrote during the Reagan 
administration, ``. . . a U.S. Customs investigation has confirmed that 
the defense surplus system is a source of supply for arms 
traffickers.'' The thought of the U.S. Government supplying arms to 
terrorists, drug runners, and foreign interests is a very disturbing 
one.
  It gets worse. Customs officials examined 240 tons of electronic 
scrap headed for Hong Kong which originated from the Pentagon Defense 
Reutilization Marketing Organization [DRMO] base in San Antonio, TX. 
The officials found massive amounts of sensitive communications and 
encryption equipment--none of which should have been available for 
civilian purchase. Thirty-seven internal guidance systems for the 
Stealth bomber--at an original cost of $22 million--were headed for 
Shanghai, without any demilitarization modifications whatsoever.
  At Robbins Air Force Base in Macon, GA, the DRMO had adopted a 
expedited processing program. To speed things up and obtain more sales, 
a surplus sales manager at Robbins told DRMO investigators she had 
falsified documents and demilitarization statements, registering 
weapons and other equipment as scrap that was then made available for 
sale fully intact.
  The Pentagon seems unwilling to correct this problem. Perhaps it is a 
case of misplaced priorities. An internal e-mail message at the 
Pentagon laid out the priorities of the surplus program as ``1. Profits 
2. Profits 3. Profits 4. Profits . . . 6. Accountability''--priority 
No. 7 was demilitarizing lethal weapons. With the Pentagon unwilling to 
face the problem, the system needs congressional intervention.
  This legislation does not outlaw surplus sales. This bill will not 
infringe on the rights of collectors or enthusiasts. This bill will 
absolutely be cost effective because we will no longer be selling 
Stealth fighter parts at 16   a pound. This legislation simply halts 
sales and gives the Defense Logistics Agency the time necessary to fix 
the problems in the program.
  The Arms Surplus Reform Act of 1997 will place a moratorium on all 
surplus arms sales until the Pentagon gets its house in order. To lift 
the moratorium, the director of the Defense Logistics Agency must 
certify to Congress that: the Department of Defense inspector general 
has completed a full inventory of military surplus stores and stock; 
the Defense Logistics Agency has reviewed and correctly classified all 
improper demilitarization codes; and the Comptroller General has 
reviewed the surplus sales process and made recommendations to the 
Director of the Defense Logistics Agency concerning improvements to the 
program.
  Currently each service Branch codes its own surplus. The legislation 
would establish a central coding office within the Defense Logistics 
Agency which would have oversight over all surplus coding. The central 
coding office would also oversee the demilitarization of equipment 
before civilian sale.
  To fight abuses of the surplus sale program, the legislation would 
create a record of sale for military surplus which contains the 
following: the Department of Defense source of the item, including the 
military base where it was demilitarized and sold; the degree of 
demilitarization required and performed; the name of the person 
purchasing the item and other such information as the Secretary of 
Defense deems appropriate.
  This legislation would also prohibit the Defense Logistics Agency 
from advertising its available surplus stock on the Internet until the 
conditions for lifting the moratorium have been met.
  I would like to thank my colleagues who have joined me as original 
cosponsors of this bill. I am grateful to them and share their vision 
of a more peaceful world. I thank Ms. Pelosi of California, Ms. 
Slaughter of New York, Mr. Lipinski of Illinois, Mr. Filner of 
California, Ms. Hooley of Oregon, Mrs. Maloney of New York, Mr. Yates 
of Illinois, Mr. McGovern of Massachusetts, Mr. Sanders of Vermont, Ms. 
Christian-Green of the Virgin Islands, Mrs. Lowey of New York, Mr. 
Kucinich of Illinois, Mr. McDermott of Washington, Mr. Miller of 
California, Mr. Markey of Massachusetts, Mr. Sabo of Minnesota, and Mr. 
Guiterrez of Illinois for joining me in this effort.
  There is no excuse for the fraud and abuse in this program--
especially when these problems lead to deadly consequences. To quote 
William Portanova, an Assistant U.S. Attorney in California, ``On its 
best day, the military surplus system is morally embarrassing to the 
government . . . and it never has a best day.'' Let's change that.
  I urge my colleagues to join me as cosponsors of this legislation.

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