[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 67 (Friday, May 22, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E942]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   INTRODUCTION OF THE ASSISTING ACQUISITION OF RUSSIAN MATERIAL ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. TED STRICKLAND

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 21, 1998

  Mr. STRICKLAND. Mr. Speaker, today, I am introducing legislation, the 
Assisting Acquisition of Russian Material (AARM) Act, along with my 
colleague Ed Whitfield of Kentucky, which would provide the Department 
of Energy with ``standby'' authority to purchase Russian uranium under 
the U.S.-Russian-HEU Agreement signed in 1993. The Russian Federation 
and the United States entered into this agreement to ensure that highly 
enriched uranium (HEU) from dismantled nuclear warheads would be used 
for peaceful purposes only. In January 1994, President Clinton 
announced that the U.S. and Russia signed a contract to purchase $12 
billion of highly enriched uranium over a 20-year period. The U.S. 
purchase of 500 metric tons of this material is clearly a crucial 
national security initiative. This foreign policy measure provides an 
important incentive to the Russian Federation to continue dismantling 
its nuclear weapons and ultimately helps to safeguard the U.S. and the 
rest of the world from the threat of a nuclear incident.
  I strongly support this foreign policy objective which serves our 
national security interests and those interests of the entire world. 
However, under this U.S.-Russian Agreement, the United States 
Enrichment Corporation (USEC) will serve as the Executive Agent 
responsible for acquiring the downblended Russian uranium which it will 
then sell as commercial nuclear reactor fuel. The status of USEC as the 
Executive Agent under this agreement troubles me because, at this time, 
the government is privatizing the industry responsible for implementing 
the U.S.-Russian HEU Agreement. A private USEC acting as the Executive 
Agent will face conflicting obligations to maximize profits and to 
fulfill its requirements under both the U.S.-Russian Agreement and the 
statutory purposes guiding the privatization process of the 
corporation.
  Under the laws governing privatization of USEC, Congress specifically 
outlined eight statutory criteria, including a requirement that 
privatization lead to ``continued operation'' of the gaseous diffusion 
plants in Portsmouth, Ohio and Paducah, Kentucky. However, if USEC is 
forced to purchase significant quantities of Russian uranium under the 
HEU Agreement, the corporation may be forced to reduce work at the 
plants or to close one entirely. Clearly, the role of USEC as the 
Executive Agent under the Agreement could lead the newly privatized 
corporation to choose between the national security purpose of 
importing higher priced Russian material and its own desire to maximize 
profits. Furthermore, the public objective of purchasing specific 
quantities of Russian uranium directly conflicts with and adversely 
affects the statutory criteria calling for continued operation of the 
gaseous diffusion plants.
  In order to help resolve these potential conflicts and ensure that 
U.S. foreign and domestic policy objectives are met, the AARM Act 
states that the Department of Energy will have the authority to 
purchase, hold and resell the downblended HEU imported from Russia 
under the U.S.-Russian Agreement. This legislation helps to preserve 
the livelihoods of those in the communities surrounding the gaseous 
diffusion plants while ensuring that the U.S. continues to purchase 
Russian uranium to reduce the threat posed to the world by dismantled 
nuclear warheads. The bill represents a common-sense solution, ensuring 
that the government maintains responsibility over our national security 
interests and that the private sector can function without being 
saddled with unnecessary burdens.

                          ____________________