[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 160 (Thursday, November 13, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S12527-S12530]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 FOREIGN OPERATIONS FISCAL YEAR 1998 APPROPRIATIONS--CONFERENCE REPORT

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, under the previous order, I submit a 
report of the committee of conference on the bill (H.R. 2159) making 
appropriations for foreign operations, export financing, and related 
programs for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1998, and for other 
purposes, and ask for its immediate consideration.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the conference report.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows.

       The committee of conference on the disagreeing votes of the 
     two Houses on the amendment of the Senate to the bill (H.R. 
     2159) have agreed to recommend and do recommend to their 
     respective Houses this report, signed by a majority of the 
     conferees.

  The Senate will proceeded to consider the conference report.
  (The conference report is printed in the House proceedings of the 
Record of November 12, 1997.)
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. There is now 30 minutes of debate equally 
divided. The Senator from Kentucky.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I am pleased the Senate is taking up 
this afternoon H.R. 2159, the foreign operations, export financing and 
related programs for fiscal year 1998. As is the case every year, it 
was not easy getting to this point partly because this bill is very 
different than the bills we passed in the last several years.
  First and foremost, we have increased our commitment to America's 
global leadership by nearly $1 billion. We have provided $12.8 billion 
for the 1998 foreign assistance programs and an additional $359 million 
in arrears we have owed to multilateral institutions, bringing the 
grand total to $13.1 billion, a shade under the administration's 
request.
  Let me review the important contributions this bill will make to 
stability and security around the world.
  First, Mr. President, we have substantially increased our commitment 
to the New Independent States of the former Soviet Union over last 
year's levels; $770 million for the region has been provided, including 
earmarks of $225 million for Ukraine, $92.5 million for Georgia, and 
$87.5 million for Armenia. Funds for Georgia and Armenia, along with 
resources to assist the victims of the Nagorno-Karabakh and Abkhaz 
conflicts are included within a new $250 million regional Caucasus 
fund. Congressman Callahan, my counterpart in the House, deserves 
credit for the idea to create this fund, believing it would provide 
incentive to achieve a peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
  In an effort to assure balance to our regional approach and promote 
American energy security interests, we have ended the confusion over 
the impact of section 907 and clearly authorized OPIC, Ex-Im, TDA, and 
the Foreign Commercial Service support for American businesses 
operating in Azerbaijan and the Caspian.
  I believe we have served our clear interest in securing stability and 
economic growth in the New Independent States with these earmarks and 
the overall level of funding for that area. I also think we have served 
both our principles and security interests with two Senate provisions 
which were included in the conference report.
  The first addresses the issue of Russian cooperation with Iran on its 
nuclear and ballistic missile program. I have repeatedly expressed my 
disappointment with the administration's reluctance to leverage U.S. 
assistance to secure an end to this lethal cooperation. Let me remind 
my colleagues that we have provided more than $4 billion in aid to 
Russia--more than any we have provided to any combination of other 
countries.
  For the past several years, the Senate has carried a provision 
suspending aid unless the Russians stopped their training, technology 
transfer and support for the Iranian nuclear program. Each year a 
waiver has been added in conference because of a threat of veto and the 
President has in fact exercised the waiver. Each time he has done so 
the Iranians have moved closer to acquiring and testing a ballistic 
missile. This year, instead of a blanket waiver, the President will 
have to prove the Russians have taken specific steps to curtail the 
nuclear cooperation. While it is not as tough as I would have liked, it 
is a vast improvement over the broad waiver we have given him in the 
past.
  I also want to draw attention to the efforts of Senator Bennett and 
Senator Gordon Smith who worked hard to assure inclusion of a provision 
conditioning assistance on Russia's protection of religious freedom. 
There is no freedom more fundamental than the right to worship in a 
church of one's choice. The legislation President Yeltsin signed into 
law appears to have a chilling effect on religious freedom, a problem 
we have addressed by requiring the President to certify that the 
government has not enforced or implemented laws which would 
discriminate against religious groups or religious communities.
  Now, Mr. President, beyond the NIS, I think the bill clearly serves 
our national security interests in the Middle East by sustaining our 
past earmarks for Israel and Egypt and expanding and earmarking support 
to Jordan. At a time when the foreign aid request increased by nearly 
$1 billion, I was disappointed the administration only asked for $70 
million for Jordan.
  An increase was a very high priority for me, and I am pleased to 
report the conference agreement provides $225 million in economic and 
security assistance as recognition for King Hussein's contribution and 
determination to achieve a durable peace and regional stability.
  Let me once again note my concern about Egypt's role in the peace 
process. For more than a decade, the bill has consistently stated that 
resources are provided as a measure of the recipient's commitment and 
support for peace. For the past 18 months, there is no question that 
Cairo has not faithfully served that key interest. Just this week, Mr. 
President, Egyptian officials announced they would not send 
representatives to an economic summit designed to restore relations and 
rebuild confidence. This is not an isolated example of problems in our 
relations with Egypt. In particular, Cairo's international campaign to 
remove sanctions against Libya is inexcusable. I expect that the bill's 
provision to withhold 5 percent of the aid to any country failing to 
enforce the sanctions may affect Egypt's assistance, notwithstanding 
the earmark. Let me put everyone on notice that if this persists, once 
again, next year as I did this year, I will not be including an earmark 
for Egypt in the chairman's mark as we begin the process of developing 
the appropriations bill for foreign operations for next year.
  Turning to other areas, the bill also reflects the Senate's 
commitment to strengthen our economic interests by increasing over the 
President's request our support for the Export-Import Bank. The Bank 
provides crucial support to U.S. exporters, creating jobs and income. I 
did not think the President's request was adequate to meet America's 
commercial interests. Consistent with the Senate's decision, we provide 
$51 million more than the request for a total of $683 million.
  This support comes with a word of caution for the board. I share my 
colleagues' concerns about the substantial funding that has been made 
available to Gazprom by the Bank, given Gazprom's announced plans to 
develop Iranian gas fields. The Bank must suspend support for Gazprom 
until the problem can be resolved. Complementing support for the Bank, 
we have provided the full request and authorization language for OPIC 
and $41.5 million for the Trade Development Agency. Both are consistent 
with Senate positions.
  Mr. President, in Asia, important priorities were sustained in the 
conference report. The Senate's position increasing aid to supporters 
of democracy in Burma, restricting assistance to the Hun Sen Government 
in Cambodia, and funding for the Korean Energy Development Organization 
was included. With regard to KEDO--that is the Korean Energy 
Development Organization--the conference agreed to our effort to reduce 
the costs of purchasing oil on the spot market by fully funding the 
1998 costs and providing $10 million in back debt if other donors 
contribute sufficient funds to clear the balance.

  After much negotiation and some modifications, we also preserved the

[[Page S12528]]

Senate's interests in conditioning aid to governments in the Balkans 
which refuse to cooperate in the extradition of war criminals. It is 
absolutely clear that inclusion of tough provisions in the original 
chairman's mark produced immediate results in U.S. efforts to secure 
cooperation. I intend to closely watch the situation to assure the 
administration continues to press for the transfer and prosecution of 
war criminals. There will be no long-term peace or stability in Bosnia 
or, for that matter, in the region if we fail in this effort to bring 
about a moral reconciliation.
  Finally, Mr. President, let me mention the multilateral financial 
institutions. We have fully funded the International Development 
Association and met our commitments at the other regional banks and 
made a substantial downpayment on clearing all outstanding arrears. 
Senator Domenici deserves recognition for establishing the guidelines 
allowing us to solve this vexing problem without compromising current 
programs.
  Unfortunately, in trying to resolve the matter of funding for family 
planning, the administration chose to pay a very high price and agreed 
to abandon efforts to fund the IMF's New Arrangements for Borrowing. 
Events in the Asian markets make clear the need for the NAB, a facility 
which would assure a multilateral effort to ease currency in economic 
crises. I support this burdensharing institution and will continue to 
work with the administration to find a vehicle to provide this vital 
line of credit.
  I thank my friend and colleague, Senator Leahy, for his good advice 
and exceptional cooperation in achieving passage of this bill. He 
played a key role in assuring full funding for the multilateral 
institutions and the development assistance programs. In particular, he 
deserves recognition for looking ahead to a major threat facing this 
country and successfully fighting to expand U.S. efforts to combat 
infectious diseases. Senator Leahy is ably assisted in this effort by 
Tim Reiser, who has been a patient and persistent staff director for 
the minority.
  I also wish to thank Chairman Stevens and his staff director, Steve 
Cortese, for their active engagement and support at key points as we 
worked to secure passage. Senator Stevens is the model of a good 
chairman. He is always there with good ideas when you need him. Let me 
also thank Jay Kimmitt for his invaluable assistance in putting 
together the bill and the report.
  I ask unanimous consent that Members be permitted to submit 
statements prior to passage and that staff be able to make technical 
corrections.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Further, Mr. President, let me thank my long-time 
foreign policy adviser, Robin Cleveland, who sits here to my right, for 
her invaluable assistance in developing this package and for her 
tenacity in sticking with it all the way to the end, which has been a 
tortuous path and difficult to predict from moment to moment over the 
last month. Robin's done that with intelligence and good humor when 
that was required and toughness when that was required. It is always a 
pleasure to work with her. I have immensely enjoyed doing that over the 
last 13 years. And to her right, Billy Piper, who also makes an 
important contribution to this debate every year. Billy has been a 
pleasure to work with over the course of this legislation . And also 
Robin's assistant on the committee, Will Smith. I appreciate the 
important contribution that he has made.
  Mr. President, with that, I see my friend and colleague is here, and 
I will yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Chair recognizes the Senator from Vermont.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I am pleased to say that we have finally 
completed action on the fiscal year 1998 foreign operations conference 
report. I want to thank the chairman of the Appropriations Committee, 
Senator Stevens, and the ranking member, Senator Byrd, for their 
support throughout this process, and the chairman of the Foreign 
Operations Subcommittee, Senator McConnell, for his leadership and 
bipartisanship. The Appropriations Committee is an extraordinary group 
of people who work together, Republicans and Democrats, like no other 
committee, and it is a privilege to be part of it.
  The conference report that we are adopting as part of this package 
today is the product of a year's work and many sleepless nights. 
Although we finished our conference on all but two issues several weeks 
ago, it would be an understatement to say that resolving those open 
issues, especially funding for international family planning, has not 
been easy.
  There were times when I did not think we would get here. As I have 
said before, I long for the time when we set aside a day or two each 
year to debate and vote on abortion--once, twice, 50 times if 
necessary. It would consume that day or two, but it would be worth it. 
Then we would not have to revisit the issue time and time again, as we 
do now for no apparent purpose, only to repeat what has already been 
said or voted on innumerable times before. It would save a great deal 
of time, it would give everyone ample opportunity to be counted, and we 
could spend the rest of the year on other pressing business. I offer 
that as a suggestion, for what it is worth.
  The agreement we have reached on family planning is not everything 
that I would like, but that is to be expected. An issue as divisive as 
this is not going to be resolved in a way that anyone is happy about. 
The agreement would freeze funding for these programs at last year's 
level, and limit disbursement to a rate of 8.34 percent per month over 
the 1998 fiscal year. I would have far preferred the Senate funding 
level of $435 million, but the cut was part of the price of keeping 
Mexico City language out of the bill and avoiding a veto.
  The American people should also be aware that the pro-Mexico City 
faction in the House exacted a heavy price on the administration for 
its refusal to accept the Mexico City language. The price was that the 
U.S. contribution to the IMF's New Arrangements to Borrow, the 
previously agreed upon down payment on U.S. arrears to the United 
Nations, and the authorization for the State Department reorganization, 
are no longer included. Although these last two are not foreign 
operations matters, it is outrageous that they were linked to the 
family planning issue in the first place. There are sound foreign 
policy reasons for paying our U.N. arrears especially when just 
yesterday we were petitioning the United Nations for support for 
sanctions against Iraq. This is the American people's loss, as much as 
it is the State Department's loss, and I find it incredible that the 
House leadership would permit this result. It is shortsighted, it is 
vindictive, and it severely undercuts U.S. leadership around the world. 
There should be no mistake about who bears responsibility. We have a 
Secretary of State who is deeply respected and admired around the 
world. She needs our support. It is tragic and inexplicable that 
because a few dozen House Members did not get their way on an unrelated 
issue, they have denied her the tools to do her job. I intend to do 
whatever I can to see that this is corrected at the earliest possible 
date next year.

  Mr. President, I hope we can avoid repeating again next year the 
tortuous process that got us here. As long as President Clinton is in 
the White House, the Mexico City policy is not going to become law. It 
is time that people in the House accepted that and saved us all the 
headache of refighting this pointless battle.
  Now that the conference report has been completed I want to take this 
opportunity to speak on a number of other provisions in it.
  I am very pleased that we have fully funded our commitments, 
including arrearages, to the World Bank. I will have a separate 
statement on that because I believe it so important that the World 
Bank's management and the Treasury Department understand the importance 
we give to U.S. leadership in the international financial institutions, 
and our intention that our influence be exerted to achieve significant 
reforms in a number of critical areas.
  One of the provisions I am especially proud of in the conference 
report is entitled ``Limitation on Assistance to Security Forces,'' 
which has also become known as the Leahy law. This provision expands on 
current law, which seeks to ensure that U.S. assistance does not go to 
individuals who abuse

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human rights. I want to thank Congressman Gilman for his support for 
this provision. Despite an initial misunderstanding about how the 
current provision was being applied, I am convinced that he too wants 
to do everything possible to ensure that in our efforts to support 
foreign security forces that respect human rights, we also prevent 
those who abuse human rights from receiving our assistance.
  In order to implement this provision, the State Department has 
required recipients of our assistance to enter into end-use monitoring 
agreements, and to ensure that if there is credible evidence that a 
security force unit that has received our assistance has abused human 
rights, effective measures are being taken to bring the responsible 
individuals to justice. These agreements should be routine whether or 
not the Leahy law were in effect. The kind of measures we expect a 
foreign government to take to bring those responsible to justice are 
discussed in the joint statement of the managers accompanying the 
conference report. We also make clear that we expect our own Government 
to do everything it can to assist in that effort.
  Mr. President, before I leave this subject I want to mention that 
while we have seen a decrease in abuses by the Colombian Army, there 
has been an alarming increase in atrocities attributed to paramilitary 
forces in that country. We have seen this pattern in other Latin 
American countries where the armed forces, either actively or 
passively, supported the clandestine activities of paramilitary forces. 
I want it to be known that as the author of the Leahy law, I believe it 
is incumbent on the Colombian Army to demonstrate that it is not acting 
in collusion with the paramilitary groups, or standing by idly as they 
do their dirty deeds.

  Mr. President, to turn to another subject, the international 
community rapidly responded with sanctions in the aftermath of the July 
1997 coup in Cambodia. According to reports, the suspension of foreign 
assistance, which constitutes nearly two-thirds of Cambodia's annual 
revenue, sent a strong message to Hun Sen and his supporters.
  The conference report prohibits most bilateral aid to the Cambodian 
Government and instructs United States executive directors of the 
international financial institutions to vote in opposition to loans to 
Cambodia. The joint statement of the managers also expresses the hope 
that Hun Sen's political opponents will be allowed to return to 
Cambodia and safely participate in free and fair elections.
  These measures and others like them have been instituted around the 
world against the perpetrators of the coup. They are a necessary and 
important response to those who stand in the way of democracy. 
Nevertheless, the sanctions directed against Hun Sen and his supporters 
have also fallen heavily on the shoulders of the Cambodian people. 
Therefore, the conference report permits humanitarian, demining, and 
electoral assistance to go forward. One item Congressman Callahan and I 
had agreed upon but because of an oversight neglected to include in the 
joint statement of the managers, was a statement that the prohibition 
on assistance to Cambodia is not intended to preclude basic education 
programs as long as they are conducted at the local level and not 
through the central government. During the Khmer Rouge regime most of 
the country's teachers were killed or forced into exile. A large 
percentage of the population is illiterate, and we want to continue 
basic education activities as part of our effort to help the Cambodian 
people overcome that tragic period.
  Finally, I want to make clear that while we do permit electoral 
assistance, I would not support significant expenditures in this area 
unless Hun Sen is demonstrating his commitment to free and fair 
elections, to the prosecution of individuals implicated in the U.N. 
human rights investigation of the July 1997 coup, and then only if Hun 
Sen has made an unequivocal statement that if defeated in a free and 
fair election he would relinquish power.
  Mr. President, another initiative I am very proud of seeks to enhance 
U.S. leadership in the global effort to combat the spread of infectious 
diseases, which also poses a direct threat to the health and welfare of 
Americans. We include in the conference report sufficient funds to 
provide an additional $50,000,000 for these activities. The Senate and 
House foreign operations reports, as well as the joint statement of the 
managers, describe the rationale for this initiative and the purposes 
for which we are making these additional funds available. I also intend 
to solicit the recommendations of AID, the World Health Organization, 
the Center for Disease Control, the National Institute of Health, and 
other agencies, organizations and distinguished individuals, regarding 
how we can most effectively use these funds to buttress existing 
efforts in surveillance and control of infectious diseases.
  The Leahy war victims fund has been assisting war victims in over a 
dozen countries since 1989. I am pleased that the joint statement of 
the managers recommends up to $7,500,000 for these programs in fiscal 
year 1998, a $2,500,000 increase over the current level. The fund has 
been primarily used to assist victims of landmine explosions, a problem 
that has attracted increasing world attention, but it is also available 
to support other types of assistance to disabled war victims. This is 
consistent with the President's September 17 announcement that the 
administration intends to devote considerably more resources to 
demining and to assist landmine victims.
  Over the years, the Congress has passed numerous resolutions on the 
situation in East Timor. Despite international pressure, the Indonesian 
Government has refused to withdraw its thousands of troops from the 
island. The situation has remained tense since the 1990 Dili massacre, 
the anniversary of which coincidentally was yesterday, and arbitrary 
arrests and disappearances of East Timorese are common.
  Indonesia is the world's fourth most populous country and enjoys 
close economic and security relations with the United States. I would 
like to see that relationship flourish. But we cannot ignore what 
happened this past June when supporters of democracy were arrested and 
killed by Indonesian soldiers, and the main political opponent of the 
Suharto regime was forced to withdraw from the election, 
notwithstanding that the election was rigged from the start. Nor can we 
ignore the abuses in East Timor. I had the honor of meeting East 
Timorese Bishop Bello earlier this year, and I believe that while we 
should encourage close relations with Indonesia, we should also do what 
we can to ensure that we are not contributing to the problems in East 
Timor. For that reason, a provision I authored was included in the 
conference report which is designed to prevent United States lethal 
equipment or helicopters from being used in East Timor. This provision 
is intended to expand on the administration's current policy of not 
providing small arms, crowd control items, or armored personnel 
carriers to Indonesia. It is also consistent with actions taken 
recently by the British Government.
  There is a provision in the conference report which makes funds 
available for reconstruction and remedial activities relating to the 
consequences of conflicts within the Caucasus region. These funds, 
which will be made available through nongovernmental and international 
organizations, are very important. Contrary to what some have 
suggested, we are not providing direct assistance to the authorities in 
the conflict areas because we do not want to become embroiled in the 
issues of sovereignty and control that remain unresolved there. 
However, there are needy people in Nagorno Karabakh and Abkhazia who we 
want to help recover from the ravages of war.
  Mr. President, I want to mention a couple of other items. The Senate 
report encourages AID to establish a program of physicians exchanges 
with the countries of the former Soviet Union, with a focus on the 
diseases that are major contributors to excess morbidity and mortality 
and where effective medical intervention is possible. I strongly 
support this idea and look forward to hearing AID's reactions.
  Also in the Senate report we discuss the alarming incidence of 
violence against women in Russia. The administration has taken some 
steps in this area in response to congressional concerns, but I am 
convinced that far

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more could be done to tap the experience and knowledge of U.S. police 
officers and prosecutors who have developed procedures for dealing with 
domestic violence here. We have requested the State Department, in 
consultation with the Justice Department, to submit a report on future 
plans in this area and I strongly encourage them to pursue training 
programs that bring U.S. and Russian police officers together, 
preferably in Russia, to address these issues.
  Finally, the conference report requires the Department of Defense, in 
consultation with the Department of State, to submit a report to the 
Appropriations Committees describing potential alternative technologies 
and tactics, and a plan for the development of such alternatives, to 
protect antitank landmines from tampering in a manner consistent with 
the Ottawa Treaty, which bans antipersonnel mines. This is very 
important because if we are ever going to join that treaty, as I 
believe we must, we need to solve this problem. I am convinced it can 
be solved. Informed people in the Pentagon say it boils down to 
preventing tampering with antitank mines that are aerially delivered at 
remote distances, and then only for a period of 30 minutes which is the 
difference in time it takes an enemy soldier to disarm or remove an 
anti-tank mine alone, and one that is protected with antipersonnel 
mines. Unfortunately, there is an institutional inertia at the Pentagon 
that stands in the way of solving it. There is little inclination to do 
so absent an order from above. This report, which we expect to be 
objective and thorough, is intended to set the stage for such an 
effort.
  Mr. President, I believe this is among the better foreign operations 
bills to have passed the Congress in several years. I am disappointed 
that the U.S. contribution to the IMF's New Arrangements to Borrow fell 
victim to the Mexico City issue, but I am confident that it will be 
passed on a supplemental appropriations bill next year. It does not 
score against the budget, and in fact would reduce the burden on the 
U.S. Treasury in the event the U.S. is needed to help prevent harm to 
the U.S. economy from an international financial crisis. Why the House 
did not want that is beyond me.

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