[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 112 (Tuesday, August 3, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1734]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     SILK ROAD STRATEGY ACT OF 1999

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                            HON. DAN BURTON

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, August 2, 1999

  Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, the House, today, considered H.R. 
1152, which seeks to promote free market policies in the new republics 
of Central Asia and the Caucasus and to encourage foreign investment, 
increased trade and other forms of commercial ties between the 
countries of these regions and the rest of the world.
  These are praiseworthy objectives, and legislation expressing U.S. 
support for the fledgling democracies of the Silk Road region deserves 
priority attention. Consequently, I support the goals of H.R. 1152, the 
Silk Road Strategy Act of 1999.
  At the same time, however, many companies from OECD countries, 
including the United States, have substantial direct investments in 
several of the Silk Road countries and are not being accorded fair 
treatment. Investment contracts are not being honored, export permits 
are not being issued and de facto nationalizations of foreign 
investment have occurred. In several instances, formal complaints have 
been lodged by investors through U.S. and other embassies in the 
region.
  In an effort to discourage this kind of mistreatment, the 
International Relations Committee amended the bill to include language 
conditioning U.S. assistance on the fair treatment of foreign 
investors. Specifically, the amendment requires recipient governments 
to demonstrate ``significant progress'' in resolving investment and 
other trade disputes that have been registered with the U.S. Embassy 
and raised by the U.S. Embassy with the host government.
  I was pleased to sponsor this amendment, because without it the Silk 
Road bill could have caused the beneficiary governments to conclude 
that they had a green light to renege on commitments to foreign 
investors, jeopardizing hundreds of millions of dollars of investments. 
In this regard, a number of pension plans have investments in companies 
doing business in countries such as Kazakhstan. The average worker 
participating in a pension is adversely affected as well, and this must 
stop.
  As amended, this bill should send a strong signal that countries 
should not expect to receive U.S. assistance if they mistreat companies 
that provide critical investment capital and employment opportunities.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 1152.

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