[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 4]
[House]
[Pages 4653-4655]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




    EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING ALEXANDER LITVINENKO

  Mr. BERMAN. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to 
the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 154) expressing the sense of 
Congress that the fatal radiation poisoning of Russian dissident and 
writer Alexander Litvinenko raises significant concerns about the 
potential involvement of elements of the Russian Government in Mr. 
Litvinenko's death and about the security and proliferation of 
radioactive materials, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the concurrent resolution.
  The text of the concurrent resolution is as follows:

                            H. Con. Res. 154

       Whereas Russian dissident and writer Alexander Litvinenko, 
     a citizen and resident of Great Britain, suddenly fell ill on 
     November 1, 2006, and died three weeks later in a London 
     hospital;
       Whereas British health officials concluded, following an 
     autopsy, that Mr. Litvinenko died of radiation poisoning 
     caused by ingestion of the radioactive element polonium-210, 
     and British law enforcement officials have announced that 
     they are treating Mr. Litvinenko's death as a murder;
       Whereas polonium-210, according to the Health Physics 
     Society, radiates alpha particles that cannot penetrate paper 
     or human skin but, if ingested through eating, drinking, or 
     breathing, are extremely toxic, with the ability to destroy 
     cells, damage vital organs such as the liver, kidneys, and 
     bone marrow, cause cancer, and result in human death;
       Whereas according to the Health Physics Society, just one 
     millionth of a gram of polonium-210 can be fatal, an amount 
     invisible to the naked eye;
       Whereas 97 percent of the world's legal production of 
     polonium-210 occurs at the

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     Avangard nuclear facility in Russia, and Russia is the 
     world's leading exporter of polonium-210 for commercial 
     purposes;
       Whereas polonium-210 is presently neither produced in nor 
     commercially exported to Great Britain;
       Whereas polonium-210, being especially dangerous to public 
     health and safety if improperly handled, may attract the 
     attention of terrorists because it can be easily and safely 
     concealed and transported and is not usually detectable by 
     radiation detectors;
       Whereas this instance of poisoning by use of polonium-210 
     could serve as a model for future use of the radioactive 
     element to assassinate individuals, poison and kill large 
     numbers of people, or spread general panic and hysteria 
     amongst the public;
       Whereas Mr. Litvinenko was a former agent and official in 
     the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation during 
     the period when present Russian President Vladimir Putin ran 
     that agency;
       Whereas in 1998 Mr. Litvinenko was fired from the Federal 
     Security Service and subsequently arrested and briefly 
     incarcerated without conviction for a criminal act after 
     publicly accusing high-level officials of the Federal 
     Security Service of crimes that included plotting 
     assassination attempts;
       Whereas Mr. Litvinenko fled Russia and successfully sought 
     asylum in Great Britain, becoming a naturalized British 
     citizen in October 2006;
       Whereas Mr. Litvinenko, after arriving in Britain, 
     repeatedly accused the Federal Security Service and many of 
     its officers, including now-President Putin, of involvement 
     in organized crime, assassinations, and other illegal 
     activity;
       Whereas on November 1, 2006, before falling ill, Mr. 
     Litvinenko reportedly met with three citizens of Russia, 
     including former Federal Security Service agent Andrei 
     Lugovoi;
       Whereas the manner in which the polonium-210 was obtained, 
     transported, and used must be fully investigated and revealed 
     in order to reveal any defects or inadequacies in the present 
     safeguard regime for that substance administered by the 
     Russian Government and in order to prevent the unlawful, 
     criminal, or terrorist acquisition or use of polonium-210 in 
     the future;
       Whereas the danger posed by polonium-210, as displayed by 
     the discovery, subsequent to Mr. Litvinenko's death, of 
     numerous cases of its exposure to objects and persons who had 
     contact with Mr. Litvinenko and his meal companions, 
     demonstrates the threat that the proliferation and use of 
     polonium-210 poses to the lives of innocents worldwide, as 
     well as to international security;
       Whereas on July 15, 2006, the United States and Russia 
     jointly announced the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear 
     Terrorism, which ``will enhance cooperation . . . to combat 
     the global threat of nuclear terrorism . . . [including] 
     determined and systematic efforts to improve accounting, 
     control, and physical protection of nuclear material and 
     radioactive substances, as well as security of nuclear 
     facilities; [and] detect and suppress illicit trafficking or 
     other illicit activities involving such materials, especially 
     measures to prevent their acquisition and use by 
     terrorists'';
       Whereas Mr. Lugovoi has won immunity from prosecution as a 
     member of the Russian Duma in December 2007 elections 
     allegedly influenced by government electoral manipulation, 
     which provides credence to claims that he has enjoyed 
     official support in obtaining that office and its associated 
     immunity; and
       Whereas the British investigation into Mr. Litvinenko's 
     murder continues in an atmosphere of deteriorating relations 
     between the United Kingdom and the Russian Federation due, in 
     part, to a lack of agreement on the further pursuit of that 
     investigation: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
     concurring), That it is the sense of Congress that--
       (1) the fatal radiation poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko 
     raises significant concerns about the potential involvement 
     of elements of the Russian Government in Mr. Litvinenko's 
     death, and about the security and proliferation of 
     radioactive materials;
       (2) the use of such radioactive materials in such cases 
     demonstrates a threat to the safety and security of the 
     people of the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom, the 
     United States, and other countries; and
       (3) the President of the United States and the Secretary of 
     State should urge Russian President Vladimir Putin and other 
     officials of the Russian Government to cooperate fully with 
     the British Government in its investigation into Mr. 
     Litvinenko's death and to ensure the security of the 
     production, storage, distribution, and export of polonium-210 
     as a material that may become dangerous to large numbers of 
     people if utilized by terrorists.

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


                             General Leave

  Mr. BERMAN. 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 
gentleman from California?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. BERMAN. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of this 
resolution and yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Madam Speaker, I am pleased to support this resolution that notes the 
tragic poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko, expresses concern about the 
potential involvement of elements of the Russian Government in his 
death, and highlights the need to ensure the security of radioactive 
materials.

                              {time}  1315

  And I'd like to thank my good friend and the ranking member of the 
Foreign Affairs Committee, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida, for 
introducing this important measure.
  In late November 2006, Americans joined with many around the world in 
watching with horror as a youthful, energetic Russian dissident and 
British citizen dramatically changed appearances within days. Who can 
forget the piercing blue eyes of the bald and gaunt man staring 
intently at the camera from a London hospital bed?
  After the completion of an autopsy, British health officials 
concluded that Alexander Litvinenko had died on November 23, 2006 of 
radiation poisoning caused by ingesting the radioactive element 
Polonium-210. British law enforcement officials classified his death as 
murder.
  Alexander Litvinenko was an agent in the Federal Security Service of 
the Russian Federation at the time when Vladimir Putin ran the agency. 
Mr. Litvinenko was fired from the service in 1998, then was arrested 
and briefly held without conviction after accusing senior Security 
Service officials of assassination plots.
  Mr. Litvinenko successfully sought asylum in Britain, from where he 
continued to accuse the Security Service of involvement in illegal 
activities.
  The night before falling ill, Mr. Litvinenko reportedly dined with 
three Russian citizens, including former Federal Security Service Agent 
Andrei Lugovoi.
  On May 22, 2007, British authorities announced their intent to 
prosecute Mr. Lugovoi for the murder of Mr. Litvinenko. After Russia 
refused to extradite Mr. Lugovoi to Britain, a political dispute ensued 
between the two countries that resulted in the mutual expulsion of 
diplomats.
  The murder of Alexander Litvinenko clearly raises disturbing 
questions about how elements of the Russian Government appear to deal 
with their enemies and perceived threats.
  It also raises worrying questions about the security and 
proliferation of radioactive material. 97 percent of the world's legal 
production of Polonium-210 occurs at the Avangard nuclear facility in 
Russia, the country that is also the world's leading exporter of this 
substance for commercial purposes.
  If the Russian government is not responsible for Litvinenko's death, 
as President Putin has stated, then it should be urgently investigating 
the security of the production, storage, distribution and export of 
Polonium-210 to prevent grave threats to international security.
  The resolution calls on President Bush and Secretary Rice to urge 
President Putin and President-elect Medvedev to cooperate with British 
authorities in finding answers to ensure the safety and security of all 
our citizens.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this resolution.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of House Concurrent Resolution 
154, which I introduced.
  The purposes of this measure, they're very straightforward. First, it 
is to put this Congress on record as being skeptical, to say the least, 
about the Russian Government's views and positions

[[Page 4655]]

regarding the murder of the Russian dissident and writer Alexander 
Litvinenko in November of 2006.
  We must keep in mind that Litvinenko, as a former agent of the 
Russian Security Service, was in a position to speak with credibility 
when he charged high level officials of the Russian Government with 
involvement in assassinations and organized crime and the use of state-
sponsored terrorism for political purposes in the 1999 bombings of 
several Russian apartment buildings.
  We note that Mr. Litvinenko's poisoning with the radioactive material 
known as Polonium-210 raises some interesting general facts. Polonium-
210 is not produced, nor commercially exported to Britain where Mr. 
Litvinenko was murdered. Indeed, as Mr. Berman pointed out, 97 percent 
of the world's production of Polonium-210 takes place in Russia. And 
indeed, after the poisoning of Litvinenko in London, British 
investigators were able to track traces of the material to passenger 
aircraft serving the London to Moscow route.
  Furthermore, the British investigation into the murder has found that 
Litvinenko had met with three visitors from Russia prior to the 
detection of the radioactive poison in his body. The British 
authorities are now, in fact, seeking to prosecute a Russian citizen 
who currently resides in Russia for his involvement in the murder.
  The second purpose of this measure, Madam Speaker, is to point out 
that Polonium-210 would prove to be a dangerous weapon that Islamic 
radicals could use seeking to inflict large numbers of civilian 
casualties, not just to murder an individual. Therefore, as the 
dominant producer of this material, it is incumbent upon the Russian 
Government to ensure the security from proliferation of the Polonium-
210, and this resolution indeed makes that case.
  Madam Speaker, in closing, I note that former Deputy Secretary of 
State Strobe Talbott appeared before our Foreign Affairs Committee last 
October and said the following when asked about this case, and I quote. 
``Many of the people running Russia today come from Security Services, 
the secret police. There has been a long and unbroken tradition of the 
use of murder as a means of controlling Russian society. And I can tell 
you that our British colleagues believe that they have at least a 
prosecutable case that goes very, very close to the seat of power in 
Moscow.''
  Madam Speaker, the perpetrators of the 1999 apartment building 
bombings in Russia probably hope that the passage of time would cover 
their tracks and that people would forget and move on. That appears to 
be the case in Moscow with this case as well, unfortunately.
  So the question before our President and this Congress is the 
following: Will that be allowed to happen in the Litvinenko case as 
well?
  I urge my colleagues to support this resolution to keep in mind that 
the people of Russia live with this kind of threat every day. Their 
government is aggressively working to take back control over the 
economy, over their livelihoods, their access to uncensored news and 
their personal freedoms.
  So, Madam Speaker, I hope that the House passes this resolution.
  Mr. PAUL. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to this ill-
conceived resolution. The U.S. House of Representatives has no business 
speculating on guilt or innocence in a crime that may have been 
committed thousands of miles outside United States territory. It is 
arrogant, to say the least, that we presume to pass judgment on crimes 
committed overseas about which we have seen no evidence.
  The resolution purports to express concern over the apparent murder 
in London of a shadowy former Russian intelligence agent, Alexander 
Litvinenko, but let us not kid ourselves. The real purpose is to attack 
the Russian government by suggesting that Russia is involved in the 
murder. There is little evidence of this beyond the feverish 
accusations of interested parties. In fact, we may ultimately discover 
that Litvinenko's death by radiation poisoning was the result of his 
involvement in an international nuclear smuggling operation, as some 
investigative reporters have claimed. The point is that we do not know. 
The House of Representatives has no business inserting itself in 
disputes about which we lack information and jurisdiction.
  At a time when we should be seeking good relations and expanded trade 
with Russia, what is the benefit in passing such provocative 
resolutions? There is none.
  Madam Speaker, I would like to draw your attention to a very thought-
provoking article by Edward Jay Epstein published recently in the New 
York Sun, which convincingly calls into question many of the 
assumptions and accusations made in this legislation. I would encourage 
my colleagues to read this article and carefully consider the wisdom of 
what we are doing.
  Ms. ROS LEHTINEN. I have no further requests for time, and I give 
back the balance of our time.
  Mr. BERMAN. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Berman) that the House suspend the rules 
and agree to the concurrent resolution, H. Con. Res. 154, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the concurrent resolution, as amended, was 
agreed to.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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