[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 18 (Monday, February 7, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Pages S615-S616]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. LUGAR:
  S. 293. A bill to modify the authority to use Cooperative Threat 
Reduction funds for proliferation threat reduction projects and 
activities outside the states of the former Soviet Union; to the 
Committee on Armed Services.
  Mr. LUGAR. Mr. President, today I introduce the Nunn-Lugar Global 
Cooperative Threat Reduction Improvement Act of 2011.
  For many years, I have labored to ensure that the global Nunn-Lugar 
program has the flexibility it needs. Now that the global Nunn-Lugar 
program has begun to undertake important biological threat reduction 
campaigns in Africa and other regions, I believe the need has arisen to 
reexamine the authorities we have provided to the program to ensure 
that it can effectively implement projects around the globe. These 
projects protect the American people from nuclear, chemical and 
biological proliferation.
  The record of the global Nunn-Lugar program has been impressive. The 
results now total: 7,599 strategic nuclear warheads deactivated; 791 
intercontinental ballistic missiles, ICBMs, destroyed; 498 ICBM silos 
eliminated; 180

[[Page S616]]

ICBM mobile launchers destroyed; 669 submarine launched ballistic 
missiles, SLBMs, eliminated; 492 SLBM launchers eliminated; 32 nuclear 
submarines capable of launching ballistic missiles destroyed; 155 
bombers eliminated; 906 nuclear air-to-surface missiles, ASMs, 
destroyed; 194 nuclear test tunnels eliminated; and 507 nuclear weapons 
transport train shipments secured. We have also upgraded security at 24 
nuclear weapons storage sites; built and equipped 20 biological 
monitoring stations; and neutralized 1,742 metric tons of Russian and 
Albanian chemical weapons agent.
  In addition to authorities to operate worldwide, the global Nunn-
Lugar program has been granted much needed flexibility in carrying out 
its mission. The global Nunn-Lugar program has been granted 
notwithstanding authority to spend up to 10 percent of annual program 
funds notwithstanding any other provision of law. The Secretary of 
Defense has the authority to accept funds from foreign governments and 
other entities to contribute to activities carried out under the global 
Nunn-Lugar program.
  This flexibility came after more than a decade of work to eliminate 
annual certifications on global Nunn-Lugar assistance that hampered the 
ability of the United States to use the global Nunn-Lugar program 
quickly and effectively. The certification and waiver processes 
consumed hundreds of man-hours of work by the State Department, the 
Intelligence Community, the Pentagon, as well as other departments and 
agencies. I argued that this time could be better spent tackling the 
proliferation threats facing our country. Former Under Secretary of 
State Bob Joseph noted during his confirmation process that, at the 
time, more than a dozen individual steps were required in the State 
Department alone to complete these annual certifications and waivers. 
After a strong vote in the Senate, Congress eliminated these annual 
certifications.

  In 2003, I sought authority to use Nunn-Lugar funds outside states of 
the former Soviet Union. This was favored by the Bush administration. 
The National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2004, as amended 
by the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2008, 
provides that the Secretary of Defense may spend Nunn-Lugar/Cooperative 
Threat Reduction funds for a proliferation threat reduction project or 
activity outside the states of the former Soviet Union if the Secretary 
of Defense, with the concurrence of the Secretary of State, determines 
that such projects or activities will assist the United States in the 
resolution of a critical emerging proliferation threat or permit the 
United States to take advantage of opportunities to achieve long-
standing nonproliferation goals. The law specifies that the Secretary 
of Defense may not obligate funds for projects or activities until the 
Secretary of State concurs in a determination regarding these projects 
and activities and in notifying Congress. The Secretary of State is 
also involved in subsequent steps before the global Nunn-Lugar program 
can put boots on the ground.
  Unfortunately, the State Department has not been efficient in 
carrying out concurrences required by existing law. It is troubling 
that, after eliminating the lengthy certification processes of the 
1990s, equally burdensome and ultimately un-executable interagency 
concurrence, determination and notification processes for the global 
Nunn-Lugar program are limiting accomplishments.
  The bill I introduce today remedies this situation by providing that 
the Secretary of Defense be given sole authority regarding global Nunn-
Lugar funds--to include making all relevant determinations and 
notifications to Congress. Originally, this authority had been given to 
the President. I worked to delegate it to the Secretary of Defense. 
When it was given by Congress to the Secretary of Defense, State 
Department officials insisted they had a role in the process. We have 
now had time to observe how this works in practice, and the result is 
clear: it does not function in a manner consistent with the intent of 
law. Congress clearly intended that efficiency and immediacy accompany 
this authority.
  I do not believe that reserving this authority to the Secretary of 
Defense means that the State Department does not play a role in other 
efforts; however, in the reorganized non-proliferation and arms control 
bureaus who oversee these matters within the State Department, as well 
as in its regional bureaus, it is the case that simply adding 
bureaucratic boxes to check has had little positive result. Too often, 
bureaucratic politics and inertia have intervened to prevent timely 
success.
  We must work to ensure that our implementers have the tools and 
authorities they need to perform their missions in the Defense 
Department. It is to this end that I offer this simple bill. I look 
forward to working with Chairman Levin and Ranking Member McCain on the 
Armed Services Committee on this legislation.
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