[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 151 (Tuesday, September 23, 2008)]
[House]
[Pages H8626-H8628]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




UNITED STATES-REPUBLIC OF KOREA DEFENSE COOPERATION IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 
                                  2008

  Mr. HIGGINS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 5443) to improve defense cooperation between the Republic of 
Korea and the United States.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 5443

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``United States-Republic of 
     Korea Defense Cooperation Improvement Act of 2008''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       Congress makes the following findings:
       (1) Close and continuing cooperation in defense between the 
     United States and the Republic of Korea continues to be in 
     the national security interest of the United States.
       (2) The Republic of Korea was designated a Major Non-NATO 
     Ally in 1987, the first such designation.
       (3) The Republic of Korea has been a major purchaser of 
     United States defense articles and services through the 
     Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program, totaling $6,900,000,000 
     in deliveries over the last 10 years.
       (4) Purchases of United States defense articles, services, 
     and major defense equipment facilitate and increase the 
     interoperability of Republic of Korea military forces with 
     United States military forces.
       (5) Congress has previously enacted important, special 
     defense cooperation arrangements for the Republic of Korea, 
     as in the Act entitled ``An Act to authorize the transfer of 
     items in the War Reserves Stockpile for Allies, Korea'', 
     approved December 30, 2005 (Public Law 109-159), which 
     authorized the President, notwithstanding section 514 of the 
     Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2321h), to transfer 
     to the Republic of Korea certain defense items to be included 
     in a war reserve stockpile for that country.
       (6) Such actions by Congress and sales to the Republic of 
     Korea enhance defense ties with that country and ensure 
     favorable consideration by the Government of the Republic of 
     Korea when it considers acquisitions of certain weapons 
     systems.
       (7) Enhanced support for defense cooperation with the 
     Republic of Korea is important to the national security of 
     the United States, including through creation of a status in 
     law for the Republic of Korea similar to the countries in the 
     North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Japan, Australia, and New 
     Zealand, with respect to consideration by Congress of foreign 
     military sales to the Republic of Korea.

     SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

       It is the sense of Congress that expeditious consideration 
     of certifications of letters of offer to sell defense 
     articles, defense services, design and construction services, 
     and major defense equipment to the Republic of Korea under 
     section 36(b) of the Arms Export

[[Page H8627]]

     Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2776(b)) is fully consistent with 
     United States security and foreign policy interests and the 
     objectives of world peace and security.

     SEC. 4. AMENDMENTS TO ARMS EXPORT CONTROL ACT.

       The Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2751 et seq.) is 
     amended--
       (1) in section 3 (22 U.S.C. 2753)--
       (A) in subsection (b)(2), by inserting ``the Government of 
     the Republic of Korea,'' before ``the Government of 
     Australia''; and
       (B) in subsection (d)--
       (i) in paragraph (2)(B), by inserting ``the Republic of 
     Korea,'' before ``Japan'';
       (ii) in paragraph (3)(A)(i), by inserting ``the Republic of 
     Korea,'' before ``Australia''; and
       (iii) in paragraph (5), by inserting ``the Republic of 
     Korea,'' before ``Australia'';
       (2) in section 21 (22 U.S.C. 2761)--
       (A) in subsection (e)(2)(A), by inserting ``the Republic of 
     Korea,'' before ``Japan''; and
       (B) in subsection (h)--
       (i) in paragraph (1)(A), by inserting ``the Republic of 
     Korea,'' before ``Australia''; and
       (ii) in paragraph (2), by striking ``or to any member 
     government of that Organization if that Organization or 
     member government'' and inserting ``, to any member 
     government of that Organization, or to the Governments of the 
     Republic of Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, or Israel 
     if that Organization, member government, or the Governments 
     of the Republic of Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, or 
     Israel'';
       (3) in section 36 (22 U.S.C. 2776)--
       (A) in subsection (b)--
       (i) in paragraph (1), by inserting ``the Republic of 
     Korea,'' before ``Japan'';
       (ii) in paragraph (2), by inserting ``the Republic of 
     Korea,'' before ``Japan''; and
       (iii) in paragraph (6), by inserting ``the Republic of 
     Korea,'' before ``Australia'';
       (B) in subsection (c), by inserting ``the Republic of 
     Korea,'' before ``Australia'' both places it appears; and
       (C) in subsection (d)(2)(A), by inserting ``the Republic of 
     Korea,'' before ``Australia'';
       (4) in section 62(c)(1) (22 U.S.C. 2796a(c)(1)), by 
     inserting ``the Republic of Korea,'' before ``Australia''; 
     and
       (5) in section 63(a)(2) (22 U.S.C. 2796b(a)(2)), by 
     inserting ``the Republic of Korea,'' before ``Australia''.

     SEC. 5. AMENDMENT TO FOREIGN ASSISTANCE ACT OF 1961.

       Section 656(a)(2) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 
     U.S.C. 2416(a)(2)) by inserting ``Republic of Korea,'' before 
     ``Australia''.

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


                             General Leave

  Mr. HIGGINS. Mr. 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 
gentleman from New York?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. HIGGINS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution 
and yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I would first like to thank our distinguished colleague, Mr. Royce 
from California, for introducing this important piece of legislation.
  For over 50 years, the United States and the Republic of Korea have 
enjoyed a strong security partnership and a close friendship. Our 
alliance helped check the spread of communism in Asia throughout the 
Cold War, and in the post-Cold War era, our relationship has continued 
to serve as a backbone of maintaining peace and security throughout the 
region.
  As hosts to 28,000 United States military personnel that work side-
by-side with the South Korean military, South Korea is a key element in 
the security presence of our Nation in Asia. We have continued to work 
closely with Seoul in Six Party Talks aimed at the denuclearization of 
the Korean Peninsula.
  The bill before us strengthens the vital security relationship with 
our close friend by adding South Korea to the list of countries in the 
Arms Export and Control Act that receive expedited congressional review 
of armed sales of 15 instead of 30 days.
  South Korea will now rightly be listed among our closest allies, 
including the NATO countries, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan, with 
respect to foreign military sales.
  This is a significant symbolic recognition of the critical importance 
of South Korea to the United States' national security and peace and 
stability throughout east Asia.
  I strongly support this legislation and urge my colleagues to do the 
same.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 5443, a bill to upgrade 
the status of South Korea's foreign military sales to that of the 
countries of NATO, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan.
  I would like to thank Chairman Howard Berman for helping to schedule 
consideration of this legislation before us today and to also recognize 
the important work of our Foreign Affairs colleague, Mr. Royce of 
California, in introducing this timely and important bill which I am 
pleased to cosponsor.
  Mr. Speaker, this bill appropriately accords South Korea the same 
treatment provided to other key partners of the United States in the 
foreign military sales process, such as higher dollar thresholds and 
expedited time frames for congressional notifications. This upgrade is 
a powerful symbol of a renewed and transformed U.S.-South Korea 
alliance. It forcefully reaffirms that South Korea has been and will 
continue to be a close and valued strategic ally of the United States--
a relationship that has long served as a bedrock of stability for 
northeast Asia.
  Mr. Speaker, this legislation is strongly supported by our 
Departments of State and Defense, and its passage will help advance a 
new strategic framework for the alliance but not only for the purpose 
of managing a range of increasingly complex contingencies related to 
North Korea, but also to cement a common Democratic partnership for the 
next century.
  I urge its adoption.
  With that, I reserve the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Without objection, the gentleman from 
Georgia will control the remaining time.
  There was no objection.
  Mr. SCOTT of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for 
time at this time, and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield such time as he 
may consume to the gentleman from California (Mr. Royce), the ranking 
member of the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade 
and the author of this important legislation.

                              {time}  1515

  Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, let me just start by thanking Ileana Ros-
Lehtinen, who's the ranking member, for her work and Chairman Berman's 
work in bringing this legislation to the floor.
  I am in support, of course, of this bill. I authored this bill. But I 
wanted to share with you that today the House really has an opportunity 
to strengthen the relationship that we have had historically between 
the United States and Korea. That alliance is a very important one to 
us and to our soldiers.
  The interoperability of U.S. and Korean soldiers in the Korean 
peninsula can be secured and, frankly, can be strengthened for years to 
come, and I think is important because our own Secretary of State, 
Condi Rice, wrote a letter recently to Chairman Berman, and she said in 
that letter that this ``will serve as an important symbol of the 
renewed strength of the U.S.-Korea alliance.''
  With this legislation in law, foreign military sales with Korea would 
be treated just as we treat those sales that we have today with NATO or 
what we call NATO+3, NATO plus Australia, New Zealand and Japan. So the 
NATO+3 list would become NATO+4. And the upgrade in South Korea's 
military procurement status would mean a streamlined process; the 
monetary thresholds that trigger congressional review would be raised 
and congressional review time would be reduced.
  Mr. Speaker, the Republic of Korea, as we all know, is a vital, 
strategic, and enduring ally to this country; 29,000 U.S. troops stand 
side by side with the Korean Army, and they've helped keep the peace 
there in northeast Asia for nearly 60 years.
  We had testimony to the United States Congress earlier this year. We 
had General Bell, a four-star general. He was commander of the U.S. 
Forces Korea, and he called it ``bizarre and strange'' that Korea did 
not have this status in U.S. law, and he urged the adoption of this 
very measure that we're discussing today.

[[Page H8628]]

  Furthermore, the U.S.-South Korean alliance is distinct. With a 
mutual defense treaty dating back to 1953, Korea and the U.S. form 
perhaps the most integrated alliance of interoperable forces I think 
that exist in the world. On the Korean peninsula, interoperability is 
not just a buzz word. It is a real-life practice that passage of this 
legislation would help cement. U.S. and Korean soldiers need to be 
operating, frankly, on American equipment.
  South Korea is a larger foreign military sales partner than any of 
the NATO+3 members. Last year, Seoul purchased $3.7 billion worth of 
American defense equipment, making it one of the largest partners in 
U.S. foreign military sales. And this has led South Korea to formally 
request this preferential status through its Foreign Ministry and its 
Defense Ministry. Indeed, South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak raised 
this legislation when he met with congressional leaders here last 
spring.
  As our alliance has matured, the Koreans are rightly on the path 
towards assuming the lead for their own defense. With that, Korea plans 
to invest $290 billion in military hardware over the next dozen years. 
Without updating our laws to reflect the strategic nature of our 
relationship, we run the risk of South Korea looking to other suppliers 
as it continues its defense transformation, perhaps jeopardizing 
interoperability of our U.S. forces that work with the Korean forces. 
So today, we can help prevent that from happening, while at the same 
time benefiting the strength of this alliance.
  I urge adoption of the legislation. I thank the chairman and ranking 
member for their support in bringing it to the floor.
  Mr. SCOTT of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers. I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, 
and I yield back the balance of our time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from New York (Mr. Higgins) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 5443.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________