[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 61 (Tuesday, May 14, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E792]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   BOB STUMP NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2003

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                               speech of

                          HON. ADAM B. SCHIFF

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 9, 2002

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 4546) to 
     authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2003 for military 
     activities of the Department of Defense, and for military 
     construction, to prescribe military personnel strengths for 
     fiscal year 2003, and for other purposes:

  Mr. SCHIFF. Mr. Chairman, I rise today to speak on the Edwards 
amendment to the DOD Authorization bill, restoring $30 million to a 
nonproliferation program included in the President's Budget and 
designed to provide an alternative to Russian reactors that generate 
weapons-grade nuclear materials. This amendment was unfortunately ruled 
not to be in order.
  The Defense Authorization Act, as currently proposed, cuts by $30 
million this critical national security work. If this $30 million is 
not restored in full, it would mean at least a one year delay in 
shutting down these plutonium production reactors, which translates 
into 1.5 additional tons of weapons grade plutonium that will be 
produced by Russia, which is equivalent to nearly 200 nuclear weapons.
  Mr. Chairman, the demise of the Soviet empire ushered in a new post-
Cold War period with unclear and unidentifiable threats and a new and 
very real sense of urgency, instability and insecurity.
  During the Cold War, the enemy was clear and identifiable. 
Regrettably, that is not the case today. In addition to the traditional 
nuclear weapons proliferators such as North Korea, Pakistan, and China, 
countries such as Libya, Iran, Iraq, and stateless terrorist 
organizations such as Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda, are out there and are 
actively in search of their next deal on nuclear weapons technology and 
components. It is this latter type of threat--the unclear, mobile, and 
not easily identifiable source of threat--that compels us to continue 
and increase our efforts to secure Russia's nuclear weapons and 
materials.
  In the past 11 years, while much as been done to dismantle Russia's 
and the former Soviet Republics' nuclear weapons, the dangers persist, 
and in some cases have increased. In a January 2001 report to the DOE, 
former Senator Howard Baker and Lloyd Cutler called the proliferation 
risks created by nuclear materials in the former Soviet Union the 
``greatest unmet national security need'' for the United States.''
  In a speech at the National Press Club on March 29, 2001, former 
Senator Sam Nunn addressed the need to continue to build upon existing 
programs such as the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction program, 
when he said, ``As we enter the second decade of the post-Cold War 
world. . .the most significant, clear and present danger to the 
national security of the United States is the threat posed by nuclear 
and other weapons of mass destruction. Nothing else comes close. The 
public perception of the threat is low; the reality of the threat is 
high. There is a dangerous gap between the threat and our response. To 
close this gap, we must make a fundamental shift in the way we think 
about nuclear weapons, the spread of weapons of mass destruction, and 
our national security.
  The world has changed, and with it so too have the threats. We cannot 
afford to cut back on such worthwhile programs. We cannot ignore or 
minimize these very real threats.
  Significant progress has been made thus far through the Nunn-Lugar 
Cooperative Threat Reduction program and various State Department and 
DOE programs. There is still much work to be done. Efforts to defund or 
reduce these vital programs are detrimental to our ability to protect 
Americans against the very real threat from weapons of mass 
destruction. The President's request and Congressman Edward's amendment 
to fund a critical program in Russia was a step in the right direction.

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