[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 155 (Friday, November 7, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S12064-S12065]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   REGARDING PROLIFERATION OF MISSILE TECHNOLOGY FROM RUSSIA TO IRAN

  Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to the immediate consideration of calendar No. 250, Senate 
Concurrent Resolution 48.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 48) expressing the 
     sense of Congress regarding proliferation of missile 
     technology from Russia to Iran.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection to the immediate 
consideration of the concurrent resolution?
  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
concurrent resolution.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that 
the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motion to 
reconsider be laid upon the table, and that any statements relating to 
the resolution appear at this point in the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 48) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  The concurrent resolution, with its preamble, is as follows:

                            S. Con. Res. 48

       Whereas there is substantial evidence missile technology 
     and technical advice have been provided from Russia to Iran, 
     in violation of the Missile Technology Control Regime;
       Whereas these violations include providing assistance to 
     Iran in developing ballistic missiles, including the transfer 
     of wind tunnel and rocket engine testing equipment;
       Whereas these technologies give Iran the capability to 
     deploy a missile of sufficient range to threaten United 
     States military installations in the Middle East and Persian 
     Gulf, as well as the territory of Israel, and our North 
     Atlantic Treaty Organization ally Turkey; and
       Whereas President Clinton has raised with Russian President 
     Boris Yeltsin United States concerns about these activities 
     and the Russian response has to date been inadequate: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring), That it is the sense of the Congress that--
       (1) the President should demand that the Government of 
     Russia take concrete actions to stop governmental and 
     nongovernmental entities in the Russian Federation from 
     providing missile technology and technical advice to Iran, in 
     violation of the Missile Technology Control Regime;
       (2) if the Russian response is inadequate, the United 
     States should impose sanctions on the responsible Russian 
     entities in accordance with Executive Order 12938 on the 
     Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction, and reassess 
     cooperative activities with Russia;
       (3) the threshold under current law allowing for the waiver 
     of the prohibition on the release of foreign assistance to 
     Russia should be raised; and
       (4) our European allies should be encouraged to take steps 
     in accordance with their own laws to stop such proliferation.

  Mr. KLY Mr. President, I rise today to thank my colleagues for their 
support of Senate Concurrent Resolution 48, which was adopted by 
unanimous consent.
  This resolution is important because over the past few months a 
series of increasingly troubling reports have been published indicating 
Russian organizations are continuing to provide missile assistance to 
Iran. According to these reports, Russia has supplied blueprints and 
components for the 2,000 kilometer range SS-4 ballistic missile, as 
well as a wide variety of equipment and material useful in the design 
and manufacture of ballistic missiles, including special metals, a wind 
tunnel, and missile design software.
  These press accounts are corroborated by an unclassified CIA report 
to Congress released in June titled, ``The Acquisition of Technology 
Relating to Weapons of Mass Destruction and Advanced Conventional 
Munitions,'' which states that, ``Russia supplied a variety of 
ballistic missile-related goods to foreign countries [in late 1996], 
especially Iran.''
  These reports clearly make the point that the assistance provided by 
Russian organizations is the critical factor which has accelerated the 
pace of Iran's ballistic missile program and may enable Tehran to 
complete development of a missile, called the Shahab-3, that will have 
sufficient range to strike United States forces in the region and 
Israel in as little as 12 to 18 months. In addition, Iran is also 
receiving Russian assistance with the development of a second missile, 
called the Shahab-4, that would have enough range to reach Central 
Europe and could be deployed in as little as 3 years.
  The resolution adopted today expresses the sense of the Congress that 
the President should demand that the Russian Government take concrete 
actions to stop governmental and nongovernmental organizations from 
assisting Iran's missile program. If Russia fails to respond to United 
States concerns, the resolution calls on the President to impose 
sanctions on the responsible Russian entities.
  This legislation does not require new sanctions, but rather calls on 
the administration to enforce the substantial

[[Page S12065]]

amount of existing sanctions law. The fact that the resolution was 
adopted by unanimous consent in the Senate and passed by an 
overwhelming vote of 414 to 8 in the House of Representatives sends a 
clear signal to Russia and the administration that this dangerous trade 
must stop now.
  I am very pleased that from its inception, this resolution has 
enjoyed bipartisan support; 39 Senators, from both sides of the aisle, 
cosponsored the measure and I want to thank them for their support and 
also thank Representative Jane Harman who was the principal sponsor of 
the resolution in the House of Representatives and worked tirelessly on 
its behalf. It has been a pleasure working with Representative Harman 
over the past few months and I look forward to continuing to work 
closely with her to address the national security challenges facing our 
Nation.
  Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, the quorum call is 
rescinded.

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