[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 97 (Friday, June 27, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8848-S8849]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE THAT THE SENATE STRONGLY SUPPORTS
THE NONPROLIFERATION PROGRAMS OF THE UNITED STATES
The Senate proceeded to consider the resolution (S. Res. 90)
expressing the sense of the Senate that the Senate strongly supports
the nonproliferation programs of the United States, which had been
reported from the Committee on Foreign Relations with an amendment to
the preamble.
(Strike the part shown in black brackets and insert the part shown in
italic.)
S. Res. 90
Whereas on March 6, 2003, the Senate gave its advice and
consent to the Treaty Between the United States of America
and the Russian Federation on Strategic Offensive Reductions,
done at Moscow on May 24, 2002 (the Moscow Treaty), which
treaty will result in the [draw down] withdrawal from
operational deployment of thousands of strategic nuclear
weapons by December 31, 2012;
Whereas the lack of strict and effective control over and
security of all weapons of mass destruction by the
governments having jurisdiction over such weapons continues
to be of grave concern to all nations that are threatened by
terrorism, especially after the catastrophic terrorist
attacks of September 11, 2001; and
Whereas despite some recent improvements in cooperation at
the highest levels of the Russian Federation, various
officials and agencies of the Russian Federation have been
counter-productive in barring access and information to the
United States with respect to nonproliferation programs and
activities, thereby needlessly hindering the progress of such
programs and activities: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that--
(1) the Senate strongly supports the nonproliferation
programs of the Department of Defense, the Department of
Energy, and the Department of State, which programs are
intended to reduce the worldwide threat posed by nuclear,
chemical, and biological weapons that remain unsecured in the
Russian Federation and elsewhere;
(2) the Russian Federation should continue to improve the
access of the United States to key facilities, and the
sharing of information with the United States, so as to bring
a successful and timely conclusion to various
nonproliferation programs and activities; and
(3) the United States should redouble its efforts to
achieve full implementation of the nonproliferation programs
of the Department of Defense, the Department of Energy, and
the Department of State under effective management, and make
full use of all funds that Congress appropriates or otherwise
makes available for such programs.
The resolution (S. Res. 90) was agreed to.
The amendment to the preamble was agreed to.
The preamble, as amended, was agreed to.
The resolution, with its preamble, as amended, reads as follows:
(The resolution will be printed in a future edition of the Record.)
Mr. BYRD. Madam President, on March 6, 2003, the Senate gave its
advice and consent to ratification of the Moscow Treaty on strategic
nuclear arms reductions. The 97 to 0 vote belied significant weaknesses
in the treaty: it contains no verification procedures, it does not
require the destruction of any warheads or missiles, and it expires on
the same day that it goes into effect.
Those weaknesses should not be ignored. I joined with my colleagues
in voting to approve a formal treaty on U.S. and Russian arms
reductions in order to send a message that more work is needed to
reduce, control, and secure the most dangerous weapons that mankind has
created. The Moscow Treaty is a modest step away from the Cold War
threat of nuclear holocaust, but more steps need to be taken.
The resolution that I offer represents the Senate's next step in
pushing for more action in the control of nuclear, chemical, and
biological weapons. I am grateful to the chairman of the Foreign
Relations Committee, Senator Lugar, for his support of the resolution
as its principal cosponsor. The Byrd-Lugar resolution urges the
administration and the Russian Federation to do more to implement
nonproliferation programs.
The United States has a good record in working with the countries of
the former Soviet Union on nonproliferation programs. The Cooperative
Threat Reduction program, conceived by former Senator Sam Nunn and of
Senator Richard Lugar, has an astounding record of success. That
program has destroyed more than 6,000 Soviet-era nuclear weapons and
more than 800 ballistic missiles. The program helped to remove all
nuclear warheads from Belarus, Ukraine, and Kazakstan. It has made
significant progress in securing nuclear materials, chemical weapons,
and biological weapons.
The Byrd-Lugar resolution states the sense of the Senate on three
important issues relating to U.S. non-proliferation programs.
First, the resolution states clearly the strong support of the Senate
for non-proliferation programs that ``are intended to reduce the threat
posed by
[[Page S8849]]
nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons that remain unsecured in the
Russian Federation and elsewhere.''
Second, the resolution urges the Russian Federation to increase
access to key weapons facilities and to share more information about
its weapons programs. According to General Accounting Office testimony
delivered to the House Armed Services Committee on March 5:
Russia will not allow DOD [Department of Defense] and DOE
[Department of Energy] the level of access they require to
design security improvements [at weapons storage sites],
verify their installation, and ensure their proper operation.
As a result, agencies have been unable to help protect
substantial portions of Russia's nuclear weapons. . . In
addition, many Russian biological sites that store dangerous
biological pathogens remain off-limits. (GAO testimony, 3/5/
03, GAO-03-526T)
Third, the resolution urges our country to redouble efforts to
achieve full implementation of nonproliferation programs, under
effective management, and with full use of the funds that Congress may
appropriate for nonproliferation activities.
Critics have been active in pointing out that poor management of some
nonproliferation projects has resulted in wasted money and lost time.
Most recently, some have leveled criticism at two projects that were
intended to eliminate Russian rocket fuel. The United States spent $200
million to build two facilities to eliminate fuel that was left over
from destroyed Russian missiles, only to find that the fuel was
diverted into the Russian civil space program. As a result, these
facilities are left with no rocket fuel to destroy.
It is a very serious issue when such a great amount of money is
devoted to an unsuccessful program. There is no excuse for poor
planning and management. We should not lose sight of the importance of
nonproliferation programs, and to ensure their success we must not
ignore such examples of mismanagement. That is why the Byrd-Lugar
resolution makes a point about the need for effective management in our
nonproliferation programs.
But just as management improvements are needed, the Executive Branch
has been slow to implement nonproliferation programs. There has been
delay after delay in spending funds that Congress appropriates for
these projects.
According to the administration's fiscal year 2004 budget, $543
million in DOD nonproliferation funds will remain unexpended this year.
To put that figure in perspective, the White House has requested $439
million for these programs in its fiscal year 2004 budget. I support
that request, but that money--like the half a billion dollars that
remains in our coffers--will do nothing to improve our security unless
it is spent by the administration. Whatever funds that Congress
appropriates to nonproliferation programs should be used in a timely
manner that recognizes the serious nature of the threat posed by loose
nuclear weapons in Russia.
The Byrd-Lugar resolution underscores the important nonproliferation
tasks ahead of us by spotlighting problems that need to be addressed by
the United States and Russia. Just as this resolution follows up on the
Moscow Treaty, there is much more work to do after this resolution.
These are matters on which the Armed Services Committee, of which I am
a member, and the Foreign Relations Committee, of which Senator Lugar
is chairman, should continue to work together.
One issue that is particularly deserving of increased attention is
expansion of non-proliferation programs to countries outside of the
former Soviet Union. The supplemental appropriations bill passed by the
Senate on April 3, 2003, included temporary authority for the President
to spend up to $50 million in nonproliferation funds outside of the
former Soviet Union during this fiscal year. Unfortunately, this
provision was not included in the final version of that bill that was
signed into law by the President on April 16, 2003.
The Director of the Central Intelligence Agency warned the Armed
Services Committee on February 11 of a new nuclear arms race among
smaller countries. Let us look beyond the borders of the former Soviet
Union to address the heart of the growing menace of nuclear
proliferation, and start thinking about how to leverage the success in
Russia of the Nunn-Lugar programs into results in other countries.
The Nunn-Lugar programs have greatly reduced the chance that a poorly
secured Russian military facility may serve as a one-stop shop for
terrorists seeking a nuclear, chemical, or biological weapon. I count
myself as a consistent and strong supporter of these programs.
But there is much more work to do. The Moscow Treaty, which requires
that thousands of nuclear warheads be removed from deployment, but not
necessarily destroyed, renews the need for a cooperative program to
keep these weapons out of the hands of terrorists. The Byrd-Lugar
resolution sends a message to the White House and to the Kremlin that
we need to fix the problems that have surfaced in the nonproliferation
programs between our countries and accelerate our work to secure and
destroy unneeded and unwanted weapons of mass destruction.
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