[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 94 (Tuesday, July 18, 2006)]
[House]
[Pages H5332-H5338]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  CONGRATULATING KAZAKHSTAN ON 15TH ANNIVERSARY OF CLOSURE OF WORLD'S 
                    SECOND LARGEST NUCLEAR TEST SITE

  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
agree to the resolution (H. Res. 905) congratulating Kazakhstan on the 
15th

[[Page H5333]]

anniversary of the closure of the world's second largest nuclear test 
site in the Semipalatinsk region of Kazakhstan and for its efforts on 
the nonproliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                              H. Res. 905

       Whereas on August 29, 1991, the Government of Kazakhstan 
     shut down the world's second largest nuclear test site in the 
     Semipalatinsk region of the Republic of Kazakhstan;
       Whereas between 1945 and 1991, more than 450 nuclear tests 
     were conducted at this site, exposing more than 1.5 million 
     innocent people to radiation and causing damage to the 
     environment;
       Whereas the damage to the environment and to the health of 
     the people of Kazakhstan from this terrible legacy of 
     hundreds of detonations of Soviet nuclear explosive devices 
     could be felt for decades to come;
       Whereas upon gaining independence, Kazakhstan inherited 
     from the former Soviet Union more than 1,000 nuclear 
     warheads, as well as a squadron of 40 TU-95 heavy bombers 
     armed with 370 nuclear warheads, comprising the world's 
     fourth largest nuclear arsenal;
       Whereas Kazakhstan renounced this massive nuclear arsenal, 
     unilaterally disarmed, and joined the Treaty on the Non-
     Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) as a non-nuclear 
     weapon state, the first time a state that had possessed such 
     a massive nuclear arsenal had done so;
       Whereas Kazakhstan's leadership and cooperation with the 
     United States on nonproliferation matters is a model for 
     other countries to follow;
       Whereas Kazakhstan also inherited from the former Soviet 
     Union the world's largest anthrax production and 
     weaponization facility, which had a capacity to produce more 
     than 300 metric tons of anthrax per year;
       Whereas Kazakhstan, in cooperation with the United States 
     Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR) program, dismantled the 
     military-related buildings and equipment associated with the 
     anthrax production and weaponization facility;
       Whereas the Government of Kazakhstan, in cooperation with 
     the United States, participated in a very successful secret 
     operation code-named ``Project Sapphire,'' in which 581 
     kilograms (1,278 pounds) of weapons-grade highly enriched 
     uranium, enough to produce 20 to 25 nuclear warheads, were 
     removed overnight from Kazakhstan;
       Whereas in December 2004 and May 2006, Kazakhstan and the 
     United States concluded amendments to a bilateral agreement 
     on the nonproliferation of weapons of mass destruction, which 
     have moved the two countries toward a new level of 
     cooperation in preventing the threat of bio-terrorism; and
       Whereas in February 2006, Kazakhstan and the Nuclear Threat 
     Initiative of Washington, D.C., with the support of the 
     United States Department of Energy, blended down 2,900 
     kilograms (6,600 pounds) of weapons-usable highly enriched 
     uranium, enough to produce up to 25 nuclear warheads, 
     converting the material for peaceful use and preventing it 
     from falling into the hands of terrorist organizations and 
     being used in weapons production: Now, therefore, be it
         Resolved,  That the House of Representatives--
         (1) congratulates the people and Government of the 
     Republic of Kazakhstan on the 15th anniversary of the closure 
     of the world's second largest nuclear test site in the 
     Semipalatinsk region of Kazakhstan;
         (2) commends Kazakhstan for greatly advancing the cause 
     of the nonproliferation of weapons of mass destruction as a 
     result of its dismantlement of its nuclear and biological 
     weapons and facilities; and
         (3) calls upon the Administration to establish a joint 
     working group with the Government of Kazakhstan to assist in 
     assessing the environmental damage and health effects caused 
     by nuclear testing in the Semipalatinsk region by the former 
     Soviet Union.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) and the gentleman from American Samoa (Mr. 
Faleomavaega) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Florida.


                             General Leave

  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks 
and include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from Florida?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  I rise in support of House Resolution 905, congratulating Kazakhstan 
on the 15th anniversary of the closure of the world's second largest 
nuclear test site, and for its efforts on nonproliferation of weapons 
of mass destruction.
  Kazakhstan was once home to the second largest nuclear test site in 
the world. From the years of 1945 to 1991, over 450 tests were carried 
out at that site.
  After becoming independent from the Soviet Union, Kazakhstan was left 
with more than 1,000 nuclear warheads and with 40 heavy bombers armed 
with 370 nuclear warheads and comprising the world's fourth largest 
nuclear arsenal.
  Immediately after achieving its independence, Kazakhstan successfully 
closed and secured its enormous nuclear test site.
  Kazakhstan accepted support from the U.S. Department of Energy and 
readily complied with the nuclear threat initiative, blending down over 
6,000 pounds of weapons grade highly enriched uranium.
  Given the threats that we are facing from rogue states such as Iran, 
which has blatantly violated its nuclear nonproliferation obligations 
and which refuses to immediately stop its nuclear-related and weapons-
related activities, we welcome the opportunity to stand here today 
commemorating Kazakhstan's landmark decision.
  In addition to inheriting a massive nuclear arsenal from the Soviet 
Union, Kazakhstan was also left with the world's largest anthrax 
production and weaponizing facility.
  Through cooperation with the United States Cooperative Threat 
Reduction program, CTR, Kazakhstan was able to successfully dismantle 
the military-related buildings and equipment related to such anthrax 
programs.
  I ask my colleagues to support this important resolution and, in so 
doing, join us in commending the people and the government of 
Kazakhstan on the 15th anniversary of the closure of the world's second 
largest nuclear test site and for greatly advancing global 
nonproliferation efforts by dismantling its nuclear and biological 
weapons and facilities.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I might 
consume.
  (Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA asked and was given permission to revise and extend 
his remarks.)
  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Madam Speaker, again I want to thank my good 
friend, the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen), especially in 
her capacity as chairperson of the Subcommittee on the Middle East and 
Eastern Europe, and especially my good friend, the gentleman from New 
York (Mr. Ackerman), who is our ranking member of the subcommittee. I 
certainly want to thank also Chairman Henry Hyde and Mr. Tom Lantos, 
our senior ranking member of the House International Relations 
Committee. Without their support, Madam Speaker, House Resolution 905 
would not be possible. And I really, really appreciate their help and 
assistance in providing this resolution now before the floor.
  Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of House Resolution 905, 
congratulating Kazakhstan on the 15th anniversary of the closure of the 
world's second largest nuclear test site in Semipalatinsk region of 
Kazakhstan, and for its efforts on the nonproliferation of weapons of 
mass destruction.
  House Resolution 905 is historic for these reasons, Madam Speaker. It 
is historic because this is the first time the U.S. House of 
Representatives has considered legislation in praise of Kazakhstan, a 
former Soviet republic that has proved to be a true ally of the United 
States.
  It is also historic because it is being considered on the 60th 
birthday of my dear friend and brother, I consider my brother, the 
Honorable Kanat Saudabayev, the Ambassador of the Republic of 
Kazakhstan to the United States. Ambassador Saudabayev has worked 
tirelessly to represent the interests of Kazakhstan in the United 
States and has served His Excellency, Mr. Sursultan Nazarbayev, the 
President of Kazakhstan, with distinction and honor.
  Ambassador Saudabayev and his wife and children and grandchildren are 
with us. It is my privilege to wish him a happy birthday and commend 
him for his service to his nation and certainly to the United States as 
well.
  Madam Speaker, House Resolution 905 recognizes Kazakhstan as a model 
for advancing the cause of nuclear nonproliferation. After the collapse 
of the Soviet Union in 1991, Kazakhstan inherited a ruined economy and 
became

[[Page H5334]]

overnight the world's fourth largest recipient and supplier of nuclear 
weapons.
  This arsenal of nuclear weapons could possibly have helped to resolve 
the financial problems of this young and struggling nation. However, 
under the leadership of President Nazarbayev, the people of Kazakhstan, 
knowing firsthand the horrible effects of nuclear tests, made a choice 
to renounce nuclear weapons all together. In fact, immediately after 
achieving independence, and in spite of threats from the Kremlin, 
President Nazarbayev closed and sealed the world's second largest 
nuclear test site at Semipalatinsk, where the Soviet Union conducted 
almost 500 nuclear tests from 1949 to 1991.
  Our Nation assisted President Nazarbayev to dismantle these nuclear 
weapons through the leadership of former Senator Sam Nunn and Chairman 
Richard Lugar, with the enactment of the Nunn-Lugar Act that provided 
the necessary funds to carry out the elimination of these nuclear 
weapons.
  Madam Speaker, today few know about President Nazarbayev's heroic 
decision which, in my humble opinion, changed the course of modern 
history. Few know that this story about Kazakhstan did not bargain and 
did not lobby to gain political or economic dividends from its choice. 
Rather, Kazakhstan, for the sake of global peace and security, 
consciously chose to ensure a brighter future for their children and 
for the rest of the world.
  Can you believe a Muslim country having in its possession all these 
nuclear weapons that President Nazarbayev could have easily doled out, 
sold them, and made it such that it could have been a very, very 
dangerous situation for the world.
  I believe we should speak out more often of Kazakhstan's example, 
Madam Speaker. While I am grateful that the world is aware of the 
Chernobyl disaster, where several thousands perished, I am saddened 
that the world knows so little about the tragedies of Semipalatinsk, 
the Marshall Islands and French Polynesia, where children and elderly 
have gone dying for decades as a result of Cold War policies and also 
being directly affected because of nuclear contamination.
  At Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan, the cumulative power of explosions from 
nuclear tests conducted by the former Soviet Union is believed to be 
equal to the power of 2,500 explosions of the type of bombs dropped in 
Hiroshima, Japan in 1945. More than 1.5 million people of Kazakhstan 
suffered from nuclear contamination as a result of these tests, and a 
horrifying array of diseases will continue to destroy the lives of 
these good people.
  Madam Speaker, as a Pacific Islander, I have a tremendous affinity to 
the people of Kazakhstan because the Marshallese and the Polynesian 
Tahitians also know firsthand the horrors of nuclear testing. Bikini is 
one of 29 atolls and five islands that compose the Marshall Islands. 
These atolls are located north of the equator and are scattered over 
some 357,000 square miles of the Pacific Ocean. Because of their 
location away from regular air and sea routes, these atolls were chosen 
by our government to be the nuclear proving grounds for the United 
States.
  From 1946 to 1958 the United States detonated 67 nuclear weapons at 
the Marshall Islands, which included the first hydrogen bomb explosion 
of what is known as the Bravo shot, a 15 megaton shot, which is 
equivalent to 1,000 times more powerful than the bombs we dropped on 
Nagasaki, Hiroshima. Acknowledged as the greatest nuclear explosion 
ever detonated by the United States, the Bravo shot vaporized six 
islands, and created a mushroom cloud 25 miles up in the atmosphere. It 
has been said that if one were to calculate the net yield of the tests 
conducted in the Marshall Islands, it would be equivalent to the 
detonation of 1.7 Hiroshima nuclear bombs every day for 12 years.
  The U.S. nuclear testing program exposed the people of the Marshall 
Islands to severe health problems and genetic abnormalities for 
generations. The U.S. nuclear testing program in the Marshall Islands 
also set a precedent for France to use the islands of the Pacific for 
its own testing program. For some 30 years the French Government 
detonated approximately 218 nuclear bombs on Moruroa and Fangataufa 
atolls near Tahiti.
  In 1995, while the world turned a blind eye, the newly elected 
President, Jacques Chirac, announced that France would violate the 1992 
world moratorium on nuclear testing and exploded eight more nuclear 
bombs on Moruroa and Fangataufa atolls beginning in September 1995.
  Chirac said the nuclear explosions would have no ecological 
consequences. Give me a break. They described his decision as 
irrevocable. And what is known about this is that we even told France, 
you don't need to explode any more nuclear bombs. You can do it 
electronically. Despite all of this, still couldn't do it.
  I also made an irrevocable decision to accompany Mr. Oscar Temaru, 
the current President of French Polynesia on the Greenpeace warrior 
vessel which took us to Moruroa as part of some 20,000 demonstrators 
who came from Europe, from Japan, from the United States, from New 
Zealand, Australia and elsewhere to protest President's Chirac's 
decision to break France's commitment to a moratorium not to conduct 
any more nuclear tests.

                              {time}  1545

  Later I personally visited Moruroa under the supervision of the 
French Government, and to this day portions of that atoll is still 
contaminated.
  Madam Speaker, in 2003, as a direct result of my friendship with the 
good Ambassador from Kazakhstan, I became aware of the magnitude of the 
problem of Semipalatinsk. In August, 2004, I felt a deep sense of 
obligation as a Member of Congress who had visited the nuclear test 
sites in the Marshall Islands and in French Polynesia and also now to 
the Semipalatinsk test site. During my visit and in later discussions 
with President Nazarbayev, I learned that I was the first American 
legislator to set foot on ground zero where the Soviet Union exploded 
its first nuclear device in 1949. And guess what, Madam Speaker? It is 
still contaminated to this day.
  Madam Speaker, considering the courageous decision made by President 
Nazarbayev to shut down the Semipalatinsk test site so that you and I 
and future generations may live in peace, I believe we have a moral 
responsibility to bear the burdens of our brothers and sisters in 
Semipalatinsk. This is why I am pleased that this House resolution 
calls upon the administration to establish a joint working group with 
the Government of Kazakhstan to assist in assessing the environmental 
damage and health effects caused by nuclear testing in the 
Semipalatinsk region by the former Soviet Union.
  As important as this resolution is, Madam Speaker, I also believe the 
international community should more fully acknowledge Kazakhstan's 
tremendous contribution to world peace. While I am pleased this year's 
Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the United Nations director general of 
the International Atomic Energy Agency, the IAEA, I believe President 
Nazarbayev, Senator Richard Lugar, and Senator Sam Nunn should also be 
seriously considered for the Nobel Peace Prize for reaffirming the 
worth and advancing the rights of human beings around the world and by 
dismantling the world's fourth largest nuclear arsenal, closing and 
sealing the Semipalatinsk test site, and most recently blending down 
6,600 pounds of weapons-usable highly enriched uranium, or enough to 
produce up to 25 nuclear warheads, converting the material for peaceful 
use and thereby preventing it from falling into the hands of terrorist 
organizations.
  I submit, Madam Speaker, these are some of the achievements that 
President Nazarbayev and Senator Lugar and Senator Nunn have made, and 
they certainly should be recognized by leaders of our world community.
  I want to share with my colleagues the substance of the paper that 
was delivered by my good friend, Ambassador Saudabayev, concerning what 
happened in Kazakhstan. And I quote:
  ``The people of Kazakhstan have experienced firsthand the devastating 
force of nuclear weapons. During four decades, the Soviet Union 
conducted 456 nuclear explosions at the world's largest nuclear test 
site at Semipalatinsk. The cumulative power output of these explosions 
equaled 2,500

[[Page H5335]]

Hiroshima-size bombs. More than 1.5 million Kazaks were exposed.
  ``That is, Kazakhstan made the unprecedented step in the history of 
the world and became the first country to shut down a nuclear test site 
and renounce the world's fourth largest nuclear arsenal. At that time 
this arsenal was larger than the nuclear weapons stockpiles of Great 
Britain, France, and China combined. Kazakhstan had 1,040 nuclear 
warheads for intercontinental ballistic missiles SS-18 and 370 nuclear 
warheads for cruise missiles and 40 strategic multipurpose bombers TU-
95 to deliver them.''
  The point I wanted to make about the Ambassador's statement, Madam 
Speaker, is that Kazakhstan is no longer involved in this madness of 
developing as well as holding on to nuclear weapons.
  With the recent announcement of our need to establish a global 
initiative to combat nuclear terrorism and on the occasion of the 15th 
anniversary of the closure of the world's second largest nuclear test 
site at Semipalatinsk, it is only fitting and fair that we should 
acknowledge Kazakhstan's commitment and leadership in nuclear 
disarmament and nonproliferation. For this reason I urge my colleagues 
to support the House Resolution 905.
  Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution. H. Res. 
905 congratulates Kazakhstan on the 15th anniversary of the closure of 
the world's second largest nuclear test site in the Semipalatinsk 
region of Kazakhstan and for its efforts on the nonproliferation of 
weapons of mass destruction.
  H. Res. 905 is non-controversial and historic. It is historic because 
this is the first time the U.S. House of Representatives has considered 
legislation in praise of Kazakhstan, a former Soviet Republic that has 
proved to be a true ally of the U.S.
  It is also historic because it is being considered on the 60th 
birthday of my friend and brother, His Excellency Kanat Saudabayev, 
Ambassador of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Ambassador Saudabayev has 
worked tirelessly to represent the interests of Kazakhstan in the U.S. 
and has served his President, Nursultan Nazarbayev, with distinction 
and honor and, today, it is my privilege to wish him a happy birthday 
and commend him for his service to his nation and ours.
  Also, at this time, I thank Chairman Henry Hyde and Ranking Member 
Tom Lantos of the International Relations Committee for their support 
in moving this important legislation forward. I also thank 
Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Congressman Gary Ackerman, Chair 
and Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on the Middle East and Central 
Asia, for cosponsoring this legislation. Without their support, H. Res. 
905 would not be possible.
  H. Res. 905 recognizes Kazakhstan as a model for advancing the cause 
of nuclear nonproliferation. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 
1991, Kazakhstan inherited a ruined economy and the World's fourth 
largest nuclear arsenal. This arsenal could possibly have helped to 
resolve the financial problems of this young and struggling nation.
  However, led by President Nazarbayev, the people of Kazakhstan, 
knowing firsthand the horrible effects of nuclear tests, made a choice 
to renounce nuclear weapons. In fact, immediately after achieving 
independence and in spite of threats from the Kremlin, President 
Nazarbayev closed and sealed the world's second largest nuclear test 
site at Semipalatinsk where the Soviet Union conducted more than 450 
nuclear tests from 1949 to 1991.
  Today, few know about President Nazarbayev's heroic decision which 
undoubtedly changed the course of modern history. Few know this story 
because Kazakhstan did not bargain and did not lobby to gain political 
or economic dividends from its choice. Rather, Kazakhstan, for the sake 
of global peace and security, consciously chose to ensure a brighter 
future for their children and ours.
  For this reason, I believe we should speak more often of Kazakhstan's 
example. While I am grateful that the world is aware of the Chernobyl 
disaster where thousands perished, I am saddened that the world knows 
so little about the tragedies of Semipalatinsk, the Marshall Islands 
and French Polynesia where children and the elderly have been dying for 
decades as a result of Cold War policies that to this day have never 
been set right.
  In Semipalatinsk, the cumulative power of explosions from nuclear 
tests conducted by the former Soviet Union is believed to be equal to 
the power of 2,500 explosions of the type of bomb dropped on Hiroshima, 
Japan in 1945. More than 1.5 million people in Kazakhstan suffered from 
nuclear contamination as a result of these tests and a horrifying array 
of disease will continue to destroy the lives of many more.
  As a Pacific Islander, I have a special affinity for the people of 
Kazakhstan because the Marshallese and Polynesian Tahitians also know 
firsthand the horrors of nuclear testing. Bikini is one of 29 atolls 
and five islands that compose the Marshall Islands. These atolls are 
located north of the equator and are scattered over 357,000 square 
miles of the Pacific Ocean. Because of their location away from regular 
air and sea routes, these atolls were chosen to be the nuclear proving 
ground for the United States.
  From 1946 to 1958, the United States detonated 66 nuclear weapons in 
the Marshall Islands including the first hydrogen bomb,or Bravo shot, 
which was 1,000 times more powerful than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima. 
Acknowledged as the greatest nuclear explosion ever detonated by the 
U.S., the Bravo shot vaporized 6 islands and created a mushroom cloud 
25 miles in diameter. It has been said that if one were to calculate 
the net yield of the tests conducted in the Marshall Islands, it would 
be equivalent to the detonation of 1.7 Hiroshima nuclear bombs every 
day for 12 years.
  The U.S. nuclear testing program exposed the people of the Marshall 
Islands to severe health problems and genetic anomalies for generations 
to come. The U.S. nuclear testing program in the Marshall Islands also 
set a precedent for France to use the islands of the Pacific for its 
own testing program. For some 30 years, the French Government detonated 
approximately 218 nuclear devices at Moruroa and Fangataufa atolls in 
Tahiti. In 1995, while the world turned a blind eye, the newly elected 
President of France, Jacques Chirac, announced that France would 
violate the 1992 world moratorium on nuclear testing and explode 8 more 
nuclear bombs at Moruroa and Fangataufa atolls beginning in September 
1995. Chirac said that the nuclear explosions would have no 
``ecological consequences'' and described his decision a 
``irrevocable.''
  I also made an irrevocable decision and, in August 1995, accompanied 
Mr. Oscar Temaru, who is now the President of French Polynesia, on the 
Green Peace Warrior which took us to Moruroa in protest of President 
Chirac's decision to break the world moratorium. Later, I personally 
visited Moruroa under the supervision of the French Government and I 
remember well the fact that on certain areas of the island, it was off-
limits and obviously contaminated and unfit for human occupation. After 
years of denial, the French Government has finally admitted there are 
leakages of radioactive materials from these atolls where the nuclear 
tests were conducted. As a result, some 10,000 Tahitians are believed 
to be severely exposed to nuclear radiation and the French Government 
has done little or nothing to properly diagnose or even give medical 
treatment to the Tahitian workers who were victims of this tragedy.

  In 2003, as a direct result of my friendship with Ambassador 
Saudabayev, I became aware of the magnitude of the problem of 
Semipalatinsk. In August 2004, I felt a deep sense of obligation as a 
Member of Congress who had visited the nuclear test sites in the 
Marshall Islands and Tahiti to also visit the Semipalatinsk test site. 
During my visit and in later discussions with President Nazarbayev, I 
learned that I was the first American legislator to set foot on ground 
zero in Kazakhstan.
  Considering the courageous decision made by President Nazarbayev to 
shut down the Semipalatinsk test site so that you and I and future 
generations may live in peace, I believe we have a moral responsibility 
to bear the burdens of our brothers and sisters in Semipalatinsk. This 
is why I am pleased that H. Res. 905 calls upon the Administration to 
establish a joint working group with the Government of Kazakhstan to 
assist in assessing the environmental damage and health effects caused 
by nuclear testing in the Semipalatinsk region by the former Soviet 
Union.
  As important as this resolution is, I also believe the international 
community should more fully acknowledge Kazakhstan's contribution to 
world peace. While I am pleased that this year's Nobel Peace Prize was 
awarded to the Director General of the International Atomic Energy 
Agency (IAEA), I believe President Nazarbayev should also receive the 
Nobel Peace Prize for reaffirming the worth and advancing the rights of 
the human person by dismantling the world's 4th largest nuclear 
arsenal, closing and sealing the Semipalatinsk test site, and most 
recently blending down 6,600 pounds of weapons-usable highly enriched 
uranium, or enough to produce up to 25 nuclear warheads, converting the 
material for peaceful use and thereby preventing it from falling into 
the hands of terrorist organizations.

[[Page H5336]]

  I also believe Senator Richard Lugar and former Senator Sam Nunn 
should likewise be honored for establishing the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative 
Threat Reduction (CTR) program which provides assistance to Russia and 
the former Soviet republics for securing and destroying their excess 
nuclear, biological and chemical weapons.
  With the recent announcement of our need to establish a global 
initiative to combat nuclear terrorism and on the occasion of the 15th 
anniversary of the closure of the world's second largest nuclear test 
site at Semipalatinsk, it is only fitting and fair that we should 
acknowledge Kazakhstan's commitment and leadership in nuclear 
disarmament and nonproliferation. For this reason, I urge my colleagues 
to support H. Res. 905 and I thank Minority Leader Pelosi and Majority 
Leader Boehner for bringing this timely resolution to the floor.
  Madam Speaker, I gladly yield 5 minutes to my dear friend and 
colleague from the great State of Nevada (Ms. Berkley).
  Ms. BERKLEY. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from American Samoa 
for yielding.
  I rise today to congratulate the people and the Government of the 
Republic of Kazakhstan on the 15th anniversary of the closure of the 
former Soviet nuclear test site within their borders. I am pleased to 
commend Kazakhstan on its tireless work for nonproliferation of weapons 
of mass destruction, and I call upon the administration and my 
colleagues here in Congress to assist Kazakhstan in assessing the 
environmental damage caused by Soviet testing.
  This is a very important and very personal issue to me. I represent 
southern Nevada, where the United States detonated over 900 nuclear 
bombs at the Nevada test site in the 1950s and 1960s. Nevadans and 
residents of surrounding States paid a very heavy price for this 
testing especially during the above-ground testing years. Environmental 
contamination and the devastating impact on the health of the people 
living in this area, living in the southwestern region of the United 
States of America, were unconscionable and unacceptable and can never 
be allowed to happen again.
  I remember as a kid growing up in Las Vegas, so many of my friends' 
mothers and fathers worked at the Nevada test site. They would be 
bussed into the test site during the week. They would be bussed home 
during the weekend. Little did any of us realize that they were being 
contaminated as they worked for our government in the attempt and in 
the thought that they were doing something good and important for 
national security.
  I recall, after being elected to Congress, going to a meeting of all 
the former Nevada test site workers, at least those that were still 
alive. There were 200 people in the room when I walked in. We asked 
that everybody in the room that had been a worker at the test site who 
had some form of cancer, if they would mind standing and acknowledging 
that fact. Every single person in that room, all 200 of them, stood up 
because they were all suffering from a form of cancer.
  Radioactive contamination from tests in both Nevada and in Kazakhstan 
indiscriminately spread across the globe, eventually causing world 
powers to recognize the terrible health risks, stop atmospheric 
testing, and finally end all testing. We must prevent a return to 
nuclear testing, and we must continue to redress the problems that have 
been caused by testing over the last 60 years and continue to cause 
environmental and health threats from the United States to the former 
Soviet Union, Kazakhstan, to the South Pacific, Marshall Islands, and 
many other places that have been harmed by nuclear testing.
  Today is the 60th birthday of my friend and partner in opposing 
nuclear proliferation, His Excellency Kanat Saudabayev, the Ambassador 
to the United States from the Republic of Kazakhstan. I do not think it 
is appropriate to acknowledge the fact that he is in the gallery, but I 
will be joining him in the gallery to congratulate him on reaching this 
milestone when I conclude my remarks.
  It was my great pleasure in June to cochair, at his suggestion, a 
public symposium in Las Vegas on the Legacy and Lessons of Nuclear 
Testing in Kazakhstan and Nevada. Over 100 of my constituents joined me 
and the Ambassador for this remarkable event, and it was with a strong 
sense of commitment that I submitted into the Congressional Record the 
Ambassador's and my joint statement of opposition to nuclear 
proliferation and our ongoing commitment to working for a safer world.
  I salute the Ambassador, his President, and the people of Kazakhstan 
and look forward to working with them on eliminating the threat of 
nuclear testing and nuclear weapons proliferation and congratulate them 
for their very courageous actions.
  I wholeheartedly support H. Res. 905. I commend my friend and 
colleague, the gentleman from American Samoa, for drafting this timely 
and important resolution, and I strongly urge its passage.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Madam Speaker, I would like to yield 5 minutes of 
our time to the gentleman from American Samoa (Mr. Faleomavaega).
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from American Samoa is 
recognized for 5 additional minutes.
  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Madam Speaker, how much more time do I have on this 
side?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman has 8\1/2\ minutes.
  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
  I want to commend the gentlewoman from Nevada for a most eloquent 
statement. And nothing pleases me more than to know that one of my 
colleagues has had personal experience in dealing with nuclear testing.
  I must say for the record I am probably one of the few Members who 
have ever visited the actual nuclear test sites. I have been to French 
Polynesia. I have been to Moruroa. It is not a very pleasant sight when 
you see a nuclear explosion like a flower, a beautiful array of colors, 
but very deadly. I have been to Semipalatinsk, ground zero, where the 
Soviet Union exploded its first nuclear weapon in 1949. That place is 
still contaminated. So with 10,000 French Tahitians who were exposed to 
nuclear contamination, 1.5 million people of Kazakhstan exposed to 
nuclear contamination, several hundred Marshallese people exposed to 
nuclear contamination, Madam Speaker, I submit we have a moral 
obligation to help these people, to assist them with their medical 
needs. And, unfortunately, I must say my own government has not done a 
very good job in helping the people of the Marshall Islands, providing 
the best medical treatment that we can give.
  When that 15-megaton hydrogen bomb was exploded, there was no warning 
given to the people living in Rongelap and Utirik. And guess what? That 
nuclear cloud that came over as result of the explosion of this 
hydrogen bomb literally caused some very serious problems. I have 
talked to some of the women in the Marshall Islands. Five times they 
have had to have cancer operations of the lymph nodes. And this is just 
an example of our failure as a government to fulfill our responsibility 
to what we have done to these people in the Marshall Islands.
  And I want to say that I commend also the Government of Kazakhstan 
and all the efforts that they are making. I visited the hospitals, seen 
the nuclear victims and, sad to say, the cancer, the results of women 
not giving birth in normal cycles.
  This is very bad, and I sincerely hope that my colleagues and we as a 
government could be more responsible, especially in our responsibility 
to the people of the Marshall Islands.
  Madam Speaker, I have several documents of a symposium that was 
conducted December 16, 2003, here in Washington, D.C., and I will 
include in the Record the statement of Ambassador Kanat Saudabayev and 
a table also indicating the various nuclear explosions that had taken 
place since we started this madness in 1945 up until 1998.
  A realistic comparison to make here: We exploded a 15-megaton bomb. 
The Soviet Union exploded a 50-megaton hydrogen bomb in 1961, which was 
3,333 times more powerful than the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atom bombs 
that we exploded in Japan. You can just imagine what this means to the 
1.5 million Kazaks who were exposed in this terrible, terrible time of 
our world's history, what the Soviet Union had done to these good 
people.

[[Page H5337]]

  Madam Speaker, again I want to thank my good friend, the gentlewoman 
from Florida for her support and management of this legislation.
  I urge my colleagues to support this resolution.

                 Symposium Remarks by Kanat Saudabayev

       Hon. Senator Nunn, Congressmen Faleomavaega, Your 
     Excellencies, Ladies and gentlemen, It is difficult to 
     overestimate the pressing urgency of today's symposium; 
     weapons of mass destruction and the desire by international 
     terrorists to use them have become the most dangerous threat 
     in the world.
       The people of Kazakhstan have experienced first-hand the 
     devastating force of nuclear weapons. During four decades, 
     the Soviet Union conducted 456 nuclear explosions at the 
     world's largest nuclear test site at Semipalatinsk. The 
     cumulative power output of these explosions equaled 2,500 
     Hiroshima-size bombs. More than 1.5 million people suffered 
     from these tests in Kazakhstan, and vast territories became 
     absolutely useless for life.
       That is why Kazakhstan made the unprecedented step in the 
     history of the world, and became the first country to shut 
     down a nuclear test site and renounce the world's fourth 
     largest nuclear arsenal. At that time this arsenal was larger 
     than the nuclear weapons stockpiles of Great Britain, France 
     and China combined. Kazakhstan had 1,040 nuclear warheads for 
     intercontinental. ballistic missiles (ICBMs) 55-18 and 370 
     nuclear warheads for cruise missiles, and 40 strategic 
     multipurpose bombers TU-95 to deliver them.
       Today, there are no nuclear weapons in Kazakhstan. The 
     infrastructure of the test site has been demolished. This was 
     possible due to close cooperation between our two countries 
     during the past decade under the Nunn-Lugar Program.
       It could have been very different. In the early days of 
     independence, there was no shortage of foreign emissaries 
     asking our President to keep the nuclear weapons, saying that 
     you are going to be the first and only Muslim nation with 
     nuclear weapons and that you are going to be respected by the 
     whole world. I must say that a significant portion of 
     Kazakhstan's elite of that time were also in favor of 
     keeping the nuclear arsenal. Today it would be fair to say 
     that our renunciation of nuclear weapons was a courageous 
     choice of historic significance by the President of 
     Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev.
       The President convincingly tells the story of what was 
     behind that choice in his book, Epicenter of Peace, which we 
     present to you today. I must say that the book's first 
     presentation in Washington was supposed to happen on 
     September 11, 2001. The time that has passed since that 
     tragic day has only confirmed and reinforced the urgent need 
     to tackle the problems discussed in the book. Yet another 
     argument against weapons of mass destruction and their 
     proliferation is the photo exhibit, Kazakhstan: From Nuclear 
     Nightmare to Epicenter of Peace, which you can see here.
       Today Kazakhstan strongly urges the world to follow our 
     example and further reduce and eliminate nuclear arsenals as 
     well as other weapons of mass destruction, and prevent them 
     from falling into the hands of terrorists.
       This is the reason Kazakhstan has become a strong partner 
     of the United States and the international coalition in the 
     fight against terrorism from the very first days after the 
     tragedy of September 11. We provide assistance to Operation 
     Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. Today our troops, the only 
     ones. from our region, are taking part in the postwar 
     stabilization and restoration of Iraq.
       I believe Kazakhstan's experience of cooperating with the 
     United States in nonproliferation of weapons of mass 
     destruction and eliminating the infrastructure that supports 
     them provide meaningful answers to modern challenges.
       We are eager to further strengthen our cooperation with the 
     United States and other nations who are interested in the 
     prevention of further proliferation of WMDs.
       Today's forum, taking place in the U.S. Congress, a 
     universally recognized citadel of democracy and freedom, is 
     vivid proof of strengthening cooperation between Kazakhstan 
     and the U.S. to ensure security in the world.
       There are people in this room today who by the call of duty 
     and the call of heart are committed to the ideal of 
     nonproliferation and are doing everything possible to free 
     the world of the threat of weapons of mass destruction. The 
     symposium has gained a special significance with the 
     participation of outstanding statesmen such as senators Sam 
     Nunn and Richard Lugar who established the famous Cooperative 
     Threat Reduction Program. I believe their enormous 
     contribution to global security has yet to be fully 
     appreciated by the world.
       The Presidents of our two countries, George W. Bush and 
     Nursultan Nazarbayev, support this symposium's goals and each 
     sent a message. It is with great pleasure that I would like 
     to carry out the honorable mission assigned to me by 
     President Nursultan Nazarbayev and read out his message to 
     the symposium.
                                  ____

       Ambassador Saudabayev, assigned to Washington since 
     December 2000, brings an important contribution strengthening 
     the growing strategic partnership between Kazakhstan and the 
     United States of America in the spheres of security, economy 
     and democratic development.
       Before his appointment to the U.S., Ambassador Saudabayev 
     had a long career in the fields of government, diplomacy and 
     the arts.
       In 1999 and 2000, he served as the head of the Prime 
     Minister's Office with the rank of Cabinet member.
       In the 1990s, he served as Kazakhstan's Ambassador to the 
     United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and to 
     Turkey.
       During 1994, as the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador 
     Saudabayev worked to implement the developing foreign policy 
     of his young independent state. He was Kazakhstan's signatory 
     to NATO's Partnership for Peace agreement.
       In the fall of 1991, he became the last Soviet Ambassador 
     ever appointed, to Turkey, by President Mikhail S. Gorbachev. 
     As he was planning to take up his post, the Soviet Union 
     ceased to exist. Within weeks he was on his way to Turkey 
     again, but as the first Ambassador ever from an independent 
     Kazakhstan to any nation.
       Working in Moscow from September 1991 through May 1992 as 
     the Plenipotentiary Representative of the Kazakh Soviet 
     Socialist Republic to the USSR, and then, after the Soviet 
     Union collapsed, to the new Russian republic, Kanat 
     Saudabayev was a direct participant in and a witness to many 
     crucial events of those historic days.
       Before entering the diplomatic service, Ambassador 
     Saudabayev had a distinguished cultural career serving as 
     Chairman of the State Committee of Culture with the rank of 
     Minister, Chairman of the State Film Committee, and Deputy 
     Culture Minister. He began his career as a theatrical 
     producer.
       Ambassador Saudabayev holds degrees from the Leningrad 
     Institute of Culture and the Academy of Public Sciences of 
     the Central Committee of Communist Party of the Soviet Union. 
     He has a Ph.D. in Philosophy from the Kazakh State University 
     and a Ph.D. in Political Science from Moscow State 
     University. His service has been recognized with the Order of 
     Kurmet (Distinguished Service).
       Kanat Saudabayev is married to Kullikhan with two sons and 
     a daughter, and three grandchildren. He was born in the 
     Almaty region in 1946.
                                  ____


                                          MILESTONE NUCLEAR EXPLOSIONS
   [The following list is of milestone nuclear explosions. In addition to the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and
     Nagasaki, the first nuclear test of a given weapon type for a country is included, and tests which were
  otherwise notable (such as the largest test ever). All yields (explosive power) are given in their estimated
                              energy equivalents in kilotons of TNT (see megaton).]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
              Date                      Name           Yield (kt)          Country             Significance
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jul 16 1945....................  Trinity...........              19  USA...............  First fission weapon
                                                                                          test
Aug 6 1945.....................  Little Boy........              15  USA...............  Bombing of Hiroshima,
                                                                                          Japan
Aug 9 1945.....................  Fat Man...........              21  USA...............  Bombing of Nagasaki,
                                                                                          Japan
Aug 29 1949....................  Joe 1.............              22  USSR..............  First fission weapon
                                                                                          test by the USSR
Oct 3 1952.....................  Hurricane.........              25  UK................  First fission weapon
                                                                                          test by the UK
Nov 1 1952.....................  Ivy Mike..........          10,200  USA...............  First ``staged''
                                                                                          thermonuclear weapon
                                                                                          test (not deployable)
Aug 12 1953....................  Joe 4.............             400  USSR..............  First fusion weapon
                                                                                          test by the USSR (not
                                                                                          ``staged'', but
                                                                                          deployable)
Mar 1 1954.....................  Castle Bravo......          15,000  USA...............  First deployable
                                                                                          ``staged''
                                                                                          thermonuclear weapon;
                                                                                          fallout accident
Nov 22 1955....................  RDS-37............           1,600  USSR..............  First ``staged''
                                                                                          thermonuclear weapon
                                                                                          test by the USSR
                                                                                          (deployable)
Nov 8 1957.....................  Grapple X.........           1,800  UK................  First (successful)
                                                                                          ``staged''
                                                                                          thermonuclear weapon
                                                                                          test by the UK
Feb 13 1960....................  Gerboise Bleue....              60  France............  First fission weapon
                                                                                          test by France
Oct 31 1961....................  Tsar Bomba........          50,000  USSR..............  Largest thermonuclear
                                                                                          weapon ever tested
Oct 16 1964....................  596...............              22  China.............  First fission weapon
                                                                                          test by China
June 17 1967...................  Test No. 6........           3,300  China.............  First ``staged''
                                                                                          thermonuclear weapon
                                                                                          test by China
Aug 24 1968....................  Canopus...........           2,600  France............  First ``staged''
                                                                                          thermonuclear test by
                                                                                          France
May 18 1974....................  Smiling Buddha....              12  India.............  First fission nuclear
                                                                                          explosive test by
                                                                                          India
May 11 1998....................  Shakti I..........              43  India.............  First potential fusion/
                                                                                          boosted weapon test by
                                                                                          India (exact yields
                                                                                          disputed, between 25kt
                                                                                          and 45kt)
May 13 1998....................  Shakti II.........              12  India.............  First fission
                                                                                          ``weapon'' test by
                                                                                          India
May 28 1998....................  Chagai-I..........               9  Pakistan..........  First fission weapon
                                                                                          test by Pakistan
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


[[Page H5338]]

  Mr. LANTOS. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of this 
resolution. I would first like to commend my good friend and colleague 
from American Samoa, Eni Faleomavaega, for introducing this important 
measure. He has been the leader in Congress on matters related to the 
legacy of nuclear testing, both in the former Soviet Union and in the 
Pacific, and we greatly appreciate his hard work.
  Madam Speaker, upon the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the newly-
minted independent nation of Kazakhstan found itself in possession of 
the fourth largest nuclear arsenal in the world. Kazakhstan inherited 
more than 1,000 nuclear weapons and a squadron of heavy bombers armed 
with 370 nuclear warheads from the Soviet Union.
  Rather than embrace their nuclear status, the people of Kazakhstan 
made a farsighted decision fifteen years ago. They closed their 
nation's nuclear test site, and yielded all of their inherited nuclear 
arsenal and weapons materials back to Russia.
  Kazakhstan, the victim for so long of Soviet domination, completely 
and voluntarily rescinded their membership in the nuclear club. The 
nation proudly joined the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear 
Weapons, or ``NPT'', as a non-nuclear weapon state, the first time a 
state that had possessed such a massive nuclear arsenal had done so.
  While Kazakhstan made a wise decision to rid itself of its nuclear 
arsenal, the damage to the environment and to the health of the people 
of Kazakhstan will be felt for decades to come. Between 1945 and 1991, 
more than 450 nuclear tests were conducted at the Semipalatink test 
site, exposing more than 1.5 million innocent people to radiation and 
causing massive damage to the environment.
  It is for that reason that the United States should work with 
Kazakhstan to establish a joint working group to help assess the 
environmental damage and health affects caused by the nuclear testing.
  Madam Speaker, Kazakhstan's commitment to nuclear non-proliferation, 
and to nuclear disarmament, is an inspiring one, and a shining example 
for others to follow. It has strengthened immeasurably the global 
nuclear nonproliferation regime, and we greatly appreciate these 
actions.
  Madam Speaker, I strongly support this resolution, and I urge all of 
my colleagues to join me in doing likewise.
  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Madam Speaker, I have no further requests for time, 
and I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) that the House suspend the 
rules and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 905.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the resolution was agreed to.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________