[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 144 (Thursday, September 7, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5029-S5030]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
NORTH KOREA
Mr. DONNELLY. Madam President, I am here today to urge the White
House and the National Security Council to develop and deliver to
Congress a clear, comprehensive U.S. strategy to address the urgent
threat posed by North Korea's nuclear missile program.
I have submitted an amendment to the National Defense Authorization
Act--the annual national defense bill that we will consider soon--
requiring that strategy within 90 days, and I hope all of my colleagues
will support it when the time comes.
I am honored to colead two Senate panels that have been focused on
this threat for years: the Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic
Forces--where I work with my colleague Senator Fischer to oversee our
Nation's nuclear arsenal, missile defense systems, and nuclear
nonproliferation programs--and the Banking Subcommittee on National
Security and International Trade and Finance, where I work with Senator
Ben Sasse to oversee the development and enforcement of U.S. sanctions
laws.
In my role on these two panels, I have traveled to South Korea, the
DMZ, and China. I have met with U.S. forces and foreign leaders to
discuss our challenges and our options for overcoming them. I have
worked with colleagues--both Republican and Democratic--to shape
legislation to improve our homeland defenses, strengthen our military,
and expand our sanctions in response to Kim Jong Un's dangerous
behavior. I have sat in dozens of meetings, hearings, and classified
briefings on the subject of North Korea's nuclear program and what we
can do about it.
Just yesterday, every Member of the Senate had the opportunity to
attend one of these briefings and hear from the leaders of the
Pentagon, the State Department, and the Intelligence Community about
our various efforts against Kim Jong Un. I am sorry to say I walked
away from yesterday's briefing with the same concern I had after every
briefing on this subject in the past 8 months. We have operational
plans for our military and scattered talks among our diplomats, but we
need a substantive strategy.
With each passing week--at times, with each passing day--North Korea
is making its intentions clear and its progress toward a nuclear-
capable ICBM known to the entire world. We see missile tests with
growing ranges, warhead tests with growing yields, test shots that fly
over the territory of our allies, and threats that target U.S.
territories. Kim Jong Un says he wants to shoot a nuclear-armed missile
into the U.S. mainland. I take him at his word, as we all should.
In times like this, it is critical every move we make be a deliberate
one that moves the ball forward toward the outcome we want, the outcome
we need to achieve. We should be doing everything in our power to do
that in a way that will not put America's sons and daughters, moms and
dads, brothers and sisters who make up our Nation's military in harm's
way unnecessarily.
There are more than 20,000 U.S. servicemembers in South Korea. At
last count, more than 300 of them were from my home State of Indiana.
Another 40,000 U.S. troops are in Japan and nearly 4,000 on Guam, not
to mention the thousands of sailors and marines aboard our vessels at
sea in the region.
I have every confidence in the ability of these men and women to
defend our Nation, but we owe it to them to make every appropriate
effort to end this conflict in a way that doesn't unnecessarily put
their lives at risk.
We talk a lot about a whole-of-government effort. That is not what we
are seeing right now when it comes to our response to North Korea. I
see a Treasury Department that needs to dramatically step up its
sanctions enforcement to not just induce pain but to cripple North
Korea's ability to progress further on its nuclear program.
I see a diplomatic corps grappling with the top national security
priority in the Pacific--bar none--lacking the resources, the guidance,
and the backing from Washington to do their jobs. I see a U.S. Embassy
in Seoul with no Ambassador. I see a State Department without key
positions filled in various areas, including arms control,
nonproliferation, and Asian affairs. I see a Defense Department without
an Assistant Secretary for Strategy, Plans, and Capabilities--or, for
that matter, an Assistant Secretary for Asian and Pacific Security
Affairs.
We can do better, and we must do better. This is not a partisan
critique. It is not fearmongering. It is not a call to arms. This is my
effort to speak on this floor, before my colleagues and the country--a
request we have all made to the White House many times. Give us a
strategy on North Korea and let our country unite behind it.
The country is looking for leadership on this. The world is looking
for leadership. Let's define our objectives based on the best interest
and safety of our country and our allies and develop our strategy to
achieve it. Let us work together across departments and agencies,
across branches of government, and across party lines to get there.
This is way too important to not do that. No more mixed messages. No
more bluster. We have to act. We can't afford to waste our efforts in
chaos and disarray. We have to continue improving our missile defenses
and be prepared to use them to protect our territory, the territory of
our allies, and all of our people.
We have to sanction Chinese banks that do business with North Korea.
We have to cut off the lifelines of the Kim regime, including oil
supplies and foreign currency--not to topple the government but to
eliminate their ability to continue down this murderous path.
[[Page S5030]]
We have to be doing far more to get our partners in the region to do
more--allies and competitors alike--in service of a goal we all share.
There is ample support for all of these efforts in Congress.
Senator Fischer and I worked together to provide even more funding
for missile defense than the President requested because it is so
important. Senator Sasse and I have worked together to gather options
from some of the Nation's best and brightest minds on how to shape
sanctions that could actually impact North Korea's ability to continue
their nuclear program, whether Kim Jong Un agrees to it or not.
I believe there will be ample support among our allies--and even our
adversaries--around the world if we provide the kind of clear,
forceful, and effective leadership America has always been known for in
the past.
There is not a nation on Earth that is safer with the existence of
North Korea's nuclear weapons program, and that includes North Korea
itself. However hard the path forward may be, we can all agree that the
status quo is not enough. It is not even close and will not continue to
work.
We cannot fix that without a strategy. I am here today asking the
administration--once again, reaching out our hand to them--to take that
first essential step forward and asking my colleagues to support my
amendment to the national defense bill to require the administration to
submit a North Korea strategy to Congress within 90 days. We can do
this together.
I yield back.
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