[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 121 (Tuesday, October 3, 2000)]
[House]
[Pages H8724-H8726]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
RUSSIAN ANTI-SHIP MISSILE NONPROLIFERATION ACT OF 2000
Mr. ROHRABACHER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass
the bill (H.R. 4022) regarding the sale and transfer of Moskit anti-
ship missiles by the Russian Federation.
The Clerk read as follows:
H.R. 4022
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Russian Anti-Ship Missile
Nonproliferation Act of 2000''.
SEC. 2. PURPOSE.
The purpose of this Act is to prohibit the forgiveness or
rescheduling of any bilateral debt owed by the Russian
Federation to the United States until the Russian Federation
has terminated all sales and transfers of Moskit anti-ship
missiles that endanger United States national security.
SEC. 3. FINDINGS.
The Congress makes the following findings:
(1) In February 2000, the first of two Russian-built
Sovremenny-class destroyers sold to the People's Republic of
China arrived in the Taiwan Strait, manned by a mixed Russian
and Chinese naval crew. Currently, the Russian and Chinese
Governments are discussing the sale of 2 additional
Sovremenny destroyers.
(2) Within weeks after the arrival of the destroyers, the
Russians are scheduled to transfer the first of several of
the ship's most lethal weapon, the radar-guided Moskit (also
known as Sunburn) anti-ship missile, which can carry either
conventional or nuclear warheads.
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(3) The supersonic Moskit missile, which can be mounted on
a naval or mobile land platform, was designed specifically to
destroy American aircraft carriers and other warships
equipped with advanced Aegis radar and battle management
systems. The United States Navy considers the missile to be
extremely difficult to defend against.
(4) The Moskit missile has an over-the-horizon range of 65
miles and can deliver a 200-kiloton warhead in under 2
minutes. One conventional Moskit missile can sink a warship
or disable an aircraft carrier, causing the deaths of
hundreds of American military personnel.
(5) The Russian Federation is helping the air force of the
People's Liberation Army to assemble Sukhoi Su-27 fighter
aircraft, which are capable of carrying an air-launched
version of the Moskit missile, which has a longer range than
the sea-launched version. The Russian Federation is
reportedly discussing the sale of air-launched Moskit
missiles to the People's Republic of China.
(6) Land-, sea-, or air-launched Moskit missiles raise the
potential for American casualties and could affect the
outcome in any future conflict in the Taiwan Strait or South
China Sea. The transfer of the missile by China to Iran or
other belligerent nations in the Persian Gulf region would
increase the potential for conflict and for American
casualties. A Moskit missile mounted on a mobile land
platform would be difficult to locate and could wreak havoc
on the coastline of the Straits of Hormuz.
SEC. 4. PROHIBITION OF DEBT FORGIVENESS.
(a) Prohibition.--Notwithstanding any other provision of
law, the President shall not reschedule or forgive any
outstanding bilateral debt owed to the United States by the
Russian Federation, until the President certifies to the
Congress that the Russian Federation has terminated all
transfers of Moskit anti-ship missiles that endanger United
States national security, particularly transfers to the
People's Republic of China.
(b) Waiver.--The President may waive the application of
subsection (a) if the President determines and certifies to
the Committee on International Relations of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the
Senate that such waiver is vital to the national security
interest of the United States.
SEC. 5. REPORTS ON THE TRANSFER BY RUSSIA OF MOSKIT MISSILES.
(a) In General.--Not later than 30 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act and every 6 months thereafter,
until the certification under section 4, the President shall
submit to the Committee on International relations of the
House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign
Relations of the Senate a report identifying the status of
any contract and the date of the transfer of any version of
the Moskit missile, particularly transfers to the People's
Republic of China, occurring on or after February 1, 2000.
(b) Submission in Classified Form.--Reports submitted under
subsection (a), or appropriate parts thereof, may be
submitted in classified form.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
California (Mr. Rohrabacher) and the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Brown)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California (Mr. Rohrabacher).
(Mr. ROHRABACHER asked and was given permission to revise and extend
his remarks.)
Mr. ROHRABACHER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, in February 2000, just the beginning of this year, a
Russian-built Sovremenny class destroyer sailed through the Taiwan
Strait with a mixed Russian and Communist Chinese crew, and the ship
sailed to its new home in southeast China.
The ship's most lethal weapon was the supersonic SSN-22 Moskit
missile, also known as the Sunburn missile, which was developed by
Russia during the Cold War to destroy U.S. aircraft carriers and Aegis
class warships.
On his recent visit to Beijing, leaders of the Chinese People's
Liberation Armed Forces told Admiral Dennis Blair, Chief of U.S.
Pacific Command, that if U.S. aircraft carriers once again sailed close
to the Taiwan Strait, just as they did during the cross-Strait tensions
of 1996, that the People's Liberation Army would fight a battle ``at
any cost.''
{time} 2045
The Moskit missiles now allow the Communist Chinese Navy to make such
threats against the U.S. Navy's most powerful platforms, and they allow
the Communist Chinese to endanger the lives of thousands of American
service personnel. The Moskit missiles, which can be mounted on ships
or on land-based mobile platforms, can carry either conventional or
nuclear warheads. A new version is being developed to be fired from jet
fighters. It is the most dangerous antiship missile, the Russians and
now the Communist Chinese have in their fleet.
Our Navy admittedly has limited ability to defend itself against this
20 kilo-ton nuclear-capable weapon, a payload, I might add, that
surpasses the bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima during World War II,
and they can hit an American target at a range of up to 65 nautical
miles.
Each destroyer that the Russians are transferring to the Communist
Chinese carries 8 Moskit missiles. This arsenal could destroy an entire
U.S. aircraft carrier battle group, killing thousands of American
service personnel.
China is scheduled to receive at least three more of these Sovremenny
destroyers at the end of 2001. The next delivery is scheduled during
the end of this year. Each ship will have a component of at least 18 of
these deadly missiles.
H.R. 4022 seeks to deter the Russians from transferring these
missiles to the Communist Chinese or any other nation or organization
that would endanger U.S. naval vessels. The resolution prohibits the
rescheduling of any outstanding bilateral debt owed to the United
States by Russia, until the President of the United States certifies
that the Russian Federation has terminated all transfers of these
deadly antiship missiles that would endanger not only U.S. national
security but the lives of thousands upon thousands of our naval
personnel.
Mr. Speaker, the resolution does not affect U.S. support for reform
and humanitarian aid to Russia. It does not affect U.S. assistance to
the Nunn-Lugar program. In fact, it gives Russian leaders the choice of
whether they prefer selling these deadly weapon systems to the
potential enemies of the United States, or whether they instead would
prefer us to have bilateral debt restructuring and forgiveness,
something that would help them out.
This choice makes sense, and it makes sense for us to offer the
Russian leadership this choice. Thousands of lives of our brave men and
women in uniform who are serving in the Asia-Pacific Theater depend on
our vote. And why should we be restructuring Russia's debt, giving them
the benefit of not having to pay the money that they owe, if they are
going to use that economic largesse on our part to provide deadly
weapons that are aimed at one purpose, and one purpose only, the
destruction of U.S. naval vessels and the killing of naval personnel,
of U.S. naval personnel. I urge my colleagues to support this
resolution.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. BROWN of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this legislation. Russian sales of
Moskit antiship missiles to the PRC pose a great threat to the security
of Taiwan and to our country. These missiles arrived in China at a time
when the mainland has enormously increased the number of other types of
missiles on China's coast facing Taiwan.
Taiwan is a vibrant democracy and a key economic player in the Asia-
Pacific region, and it is unacceptable that the PRC continues to boast
to the world about its missile threat to Taiwan and, by extension, of
the United States.
When this legislation was first marked up in our committee, we
expressed concerns that the bill did not give the President sufficient
flexibility to balance the national security implications of this
complicated situation.
On one hand, China's possession of these missiles poses a danger to
our Navy and the Taiwan Straits. On the other hand, Russia may need to
seek a comprehensive multilateral agreement to deal with its debt
burden in the future, without which it may face the prospect of default
to key western governments. A Russian default could even force the
Russians to sell more missiles to China and to other countries which
obviously are of a concern to the United States.
We must balance, Mr. Speaker, the national security implications
posed by Russia's missile sales to China with those posed by a further
destabilized economic situation in Russia.
For this reason, the committee agreed to an amendment giving the
President the national security interest waiver. This waiver allows the
President the flexibility to protect adequately U.S. national security
interests in this situation.
Mr. Speaker, it is hoped that the President will not need to use this
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waiver. Russia should take a careful look at the strong support for
this legislation in this House and decide the continued sales of Moskit
missiles to China are not in Russia's interests.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the bill.
Mr. Speaker, I have no other requests for time, and I yield back the
balance of my time.
Mr. ROHRABACHER. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Pease). The question is on the motion
offered by the gentleman from California (Mr. Rohrabacher) that the
House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 4022, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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