[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 75 (Monday, June 10, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1006]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      GLOBAL SECURITY ACT OF 2002

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. ELLEN O. TAUSCHER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, June 10, 2002

  Mrs. TAUSCHER. Mr. Speaker, today I am proud to introduce the Global 
Nuclear Security Initiative Act of 2002 that was also recently offered 
in the Senate by Senator Jean Carnahan.
  The January 2001 report of the bipartisan task force chaired by 
former Senator Howard Baker and former White House Counsel Lloyd Cutler 
has often been quoted but one of its conclusions bears restating today: 
``the national security benefits to U.S. citizens from securing and/or 
neutralizing the equivalent of more than 80,000 nuclear weapons and 
potential nuclear weapons would constitute the highest return on 
investment in any current U.S. national security defense program.''
  As you know, Mr. Chairman, our nonproliferation programs with Russia 
have improved America's national security greatly by dismantling 
Russia's nuclear facilities, finding jobs for their unemployed weapons 
scientists, and improving the security of Russian weapons and material. 
But as our relationship with Russia takes on a more cooperative 
definition, first with the signing of the Treaty on Strategic Offensive 
Reductions in Moscow and with the signing on May 28 in Rome of an 
agreement between NATO and Russia on a new working relationship, 
security threats arising from other nations with inadequately stored 
nuclear materials are increasing. Indeed, India and Pakistan's conflict 
over Kashmir has been escalating over the past several months and while 
tensions between the two countries are not new, unlike during the cold 
war, neither side has a clear idea of what actions would trigger a 
nuclear response from the other.
  The challenges of translating some of our nonproliferation efforts to 
other countries of concern such as India, Pakistan, China or North 
Korea are significant but worth dealing with. While the 
nonproliferation programs of the Departments of Defense, Energy, and 
State are effective, they were not designed to meet the full range of 
terrorist threats now facing the United States. Expanding these 
programs to cover countries outside the former Soviet Union, to address 
the threat of radiological materials and to defend against the threat 
of terrorist sabotage of nuclear power plants abroad, is in the United 
States' national security interest.
  The bill I am introducing today is an important first step in 
expanding America's defense against the threat of weapons of mass 
destruction. It calls on the Secretary of Energy, in consultation with 
the Secretaries of Defense and State, to develop a comprehensive 
program of activities to encourage all countries to adhere to the 
highest security standards for their nuclear facilities and material.
  Second, the bill requires the Department of Energy to establish a 
systematic approach for securing radiological materials other than 
uranium and plutonium outside of the United States.
  Finally, the bill requires the Department of Energy to develop plans 
for preventing terrorist attacks on nuclear power plants outside the 
United States. These are simple but important steps and I encourage my 
colleagues to support this legislation.

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