[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 12 (Tuesday, February 8, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Page S1125]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. LUGAR (for himself, Mr. Domenici, Mr. Hagel, Mr. Reed, Mr. 
        Biden, Mr. Levin, Ms. Collins, Mr. McCain, and Mr. Obama):
  S. 313. A bill to improve authorities to address urgent 
nonproliferation crises and United States nonproliferation operations; 
to the Committee on Armed Services.
  Mr. LUGAR. Mr. President, I rise to again introduce a bill that will 
strengthen U.S. nonproliferation efforts. It is supported by the 
Administration and several of my colleagues. This bill represents the 
fourth installment of Nunn-Lugar legislation that I have offered since 
1991.
  In that year, Sam Nunn and I authored the Nunn-Lugar Act, which 
established the Cooperative Threat Reduction Program. That program has 
provided U.S. funding and expertise to help the former Soviet Union 
safeguard and dismantle their enormous stockpiles of nuclear, chemical 
and biological weapons, means of delivery and related materials. In 
1997, Senator Nunn and I were joined by Senator Domenici in introducing 
the Defense Against Weapons of Mass Destruction Act, which expanded 
Nunn-Lugar authorities in the former Soviet Union and provided WMD 
expertise to first responders in American cities. In 2003, Congress 
adopted the Nunn-Lugar Expansion Act, which authorized the Nunn-Lugar 
program to operate outside the former Soviet Union to address 
proliferation threats. The bill that I am introducing today would 
strengthen the Nunn-Lugar program and provide it with greater 
flexibility to address emerging threats.
  To date, the Nunn-Lugar program has deactivated or destroyed: 6,564 
nuclear warheads; 568 ICBMs; 477 ICBM silos; 17 ICBM mobile missile 
launchers; 142 bombers; 761 nuclear air-to-surface missiles; 420 
submarine missile launchers; 543 submarine launched missiles; 28 
nuclear submarines; and 194 nuclear test tunnels.
  The Nunn-Lugar program also facilitated the removal of all nuclear 
weapons from Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan. After the fall of the 
Soviet Union, these three nations emerged as the third, fourth, and 
eighth largest nuclear powers in the world. Today, all three are 
nuclear weapons free as a result of cooperative efforts under the Nunn-
Lugar program. In addition, Nunn-Lugar is the primary tool through 
which the United States is working with Russian authorities to 
identify, safeguard and destroy Russia's massive chemical and 
biological warfare capacity.
  These successes were never a foregone conclusion. Today, even after 
more than 12 years, creativity and constant vigilance are required to 
ensure that the Nunn-Lugar program is not encumbered by bureaucratic 
obstacles or undercut by political disagreements.
  During Secretary Rice's confirmation hearing with the Senate Foreign 
Relations Committee on January 18, 2005, I asked Dr. Rice if she and 
the Administration supported this legislation, to which she responded 
``Yes we do.'' Secretary Rice and President Bush have long argued that 
there needs to be maximum flexibility granted to the Administration to 
execute a global, focused and timely effort to fight proliferation. In 
view of the Administration's strong support for this bill, I look 
forward to working with the Armed Services Committee to enact it.
  I have devoted much time and effort to overseeing and accelerating 
the Nunn-Lugar program. Uncounted individuals of great dedication 
serving on the ground in the former Soviet Union and in our government 
have made this program work. Nevertheless, from the beginning, we have 
encountered resistance to the Nunn-Lugar concept in both the United 
States and Russia. In our own country, opposition often has been 
motivated by false perceptions that Nunn-Lugar money is foreign 
assistance or by beliefs that Defense Department funds should only be 
spent on troops, weapons, or other war-fighting capabilities. Until 
recently, we also faced a general disinterest in non-proliferation that 
made gaining support for Nunn-Lugar funding and activities an annual 
struggle.
  The attacks of September 11 changed the political discourse on this 
subject. We have turned a corner--the public, the media, and political 
candidates are paying more attention now. In a remarkable moment in the 
first presidential debate last year, both President Bush and his 
opponent agreed that the number one national security threat facing the 
United States was the prospect that weapons of mass destruction would 
fall into the hands of terrorists.
  While the Administration has noted its support for this bill, the 9/
11 Commission also weighed in last year with another important 
endorsement of the Nunn-Lugar program, saying that ``Preventing the 
proliferation of [weapons of mass destruction] warrants a maximum 
effort--by strengthening counter-proliferation efforts, expanding the 
Proliferation Security Initiative, and supporting the Cooperative 
Threat Reduction Program.'' The Report went on to say that ``Nunn-Lugar 
. . . is now in need of expansion, improvement and resources.''
  My bill would underscore the bipartisan consensus on Nunn-Lugar by 
streamlining and accelerating Nunn-Lugar implementation. It would grant 
more flexibility to the President and the Secretary of Defense to 
undertake proliferation projects outside the former Soviet Union. It 
also would eliminate Congressionally-imposed conditions on Nunn-Lugar 
assistance that in the past have forced the suspension of time-
sensitive nonproliferation projects. The purpose of the bill is to 
reduce bureaucratic red tape and friction within our government that 
hinder effective responses to nonproliferation opportunities and 
emergencies.
  For example, recently Albania appealed for help in destroying 16 tons 
of chemical agent left over from the Cold War. Last August, I visited 
this remote storage facility. Nunn-Lugar officials are working closely 
with Albanian leaders to destroy this dangerous stockpile. But this 
experience also is illustrative of the need to reduce bureaucratic 
delays. The package of documents related to the mission took some 11 
weeks to be finalized and readied for President Bush. From beginning to 
end, the bureaucratic process to authorize dismantlement of chemical 
weapons in Albania took more than three months. Fortunately, the 
situation in Albania was not a crisis, but we may not be able to afford 
these timelines in future nonproliferation emergencies.
  As I said when I introduced this legislation during our November 
session last year, I wanted to have the benefit of the Administration's 
views and my colleagues' input. Since then, I am pleased that Senators 
Domenici, Hagel, Reed, Biden, Levin, Collins, McCain and Obama have all 
signed on as co-sponsors. The Administration has now stated that they 
support this bill. I look forward to working in Congress to enact it.
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