[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 12]
[Senate]
[Pages 16729-16730]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                    NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR DEMOCRACY

 Mr. LUGAR. Mr. President, we will soon be debating the 
Commerce, Justice, State, and the Judiciary appropriations bill on the 
floor of the Senate. The State Department title of the bill includes no 
funding for the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) which I hope 
will be reversed by the Senate when we debate this appropriations bill.
  For the information of my colleagues, I ask that a letter from 
National Security Advisor Samuel R. Berger to Senator Bob Graham be 
printed in the Record.
  The letter follows:

                                              The White House,

                                        Washington, July 19, 1999.
     Hon. Bob Graham,
     U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
       Dear Bob: Thank you for writing concerning the Commerce-
     Justice-State Appropriations Bill and the lack of funding for 
     the National Endowment for Democracy (NED). I share your 
     concern over the inadequacies of the bill.
       The Senate appropriations bill as reported from Committee 
     is fraught with a range of serious problems. And, the 
     decision to eliminate funding for the NED is one of many 
     factors which render the legislation unacceptable. For this 
     reason,the President's senior

[[Page 16730]]

     advisors would recommend that the legislation be vetoed if it 
     were enacted in its current form.
       Our position on the NED is clear. The NED is at the core of 
     the vision we share for a world that is more free and more 
     democratic. Indeed, it was President Reagan's initiative to 
     establish the NED, a decision and a vision that has had a 
     powerful impact on our nation's efforts to expand democracy 
     and human rights. And to its credit, the NED conducts its 
     critically important activities with annual funding that 
     amounts to only a small fraction of our nation's 
     international affairs budget. From supporting election 
     monitoring in Indonesia, to promoting independent media in 
     the Balkans, the NED represents and promotes the most 
     fundamental of American values throughout the world.
       Thank you again for your letter on this important matter. 
     Please know that the President remains one of the strongest 
     champions of the Endowment, and appreciates your continuing 
     support of the NED.
           Sincerely,

                                             Samuel R. Berger,

                                    Assistant to the President for
                                National Security Affairs.
  Mr. LUGAR. The letter states the Administration's unequivocal support 
for the National Endowment for Democracy and articulates the strong 
positive contribution the NED makes to our national interest.

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