106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1477

AN ACT

To withhold voluntary proportional assistance for

plant in Iran, and for other purposes.and completion of the Bushehr nuclear poweric Energy Agency relating to the developmentprograms and projects of the International Atom-
106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1477

AN ACT

To withhold voluntary proportional assistance for programs

and projects of the International Atomic Energy Agency

relating to the development and completion of the

Bushehr nuclear power plant in Iran, and for other purposes.
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1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Iran Nuclear Prolifera5 tion Prevention Act of 1999’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 The Congress makes the following findings:

8 (1) Iran remains the world’s leading sponsor of

9 international terrorism and is on the Department of

10 State’s list of countries that provide support for acts

11 of international terrorism.

12 (2) Iran has repeatedly called for the destruc13 tion of Israel and Iran supports organizations, such

14 as Hizballah, Hamas, and the Palestine Islamic

15 Jihad, which are responsible for terrorist attacks

16 against Israel.

17 (3) Iranian officials have stated their intent to

18 complete at least three nuclear power plants by 2015

19 and are currently working to complete the Bushehr

20 nuclear power plant located on the Persian Gulf

21 coast.

22 (4) The United States has publicly opposed the

23 completion of reactors at the Bushehr nuclear power

24 plant because the transfer of civilian nuclear tech-
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1 nology and training could help to advance Iran’s nu2 clear weapons program.

3 (5) In an April 1997 hearing before the Sub4 committee on Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs

5 of the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Sen6 ate, the former Director of the Central Intelligence

7 Agency, James Woolsey, stated that through the op8 eration of the nuclear power reactor at the Bushehr

9 nuclear power plant, Iran will develop substantial ex10 pertise relevant to the development of nuclear weap11 ons.

12 (6) Construction of the Bushehr nuclear power

13 plant was halted following the 1979 revolution in

14 Iran because the former West Germany refused to

15 assist in the completion of the plant due to concerns

16 that completion of the plant could provide Iran with

17 expertise and technology which could advance Iran’s

18 nuclear weapons program.

19 (7) In January 1995 Iran signed a

20 $780,000,000 contract with the Russian Federation

21 for Atomic Energy (MINATOM) to complete a

22 VVER–1000 pressurized-light water reactor at the

23 Bushehr nuclear power plant and in November

24 1998, Iran and Russia signed a protocol to expedite
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1 the construction of the nuclear reactor, setting a

2 new timeframe of 52 months for its completion.

3 (8) In November 1998, Iran asked Russia to

4 prepare a feasibility study to build three more nu5 clear reactors at the Bushehr site.

6 (9) Iran is building up its offensive military ca7 pacity in other areas as evidenced by its recent test8 ing of engines for ballistic missiles capable of car9 rying 2,200 pound warheads more than 800 miles,

10 within range of strategic targets in Israel.

11 (10) Iran ranks tenth among the 105 nations

12 receiving assistance from the technical cooperation

13 program of the International Atomic Energy Agen14 cy.

15 (11) Between 1995 and 1999, the International

16 Atomic Energy Agency has provided and is expected

17 to provide a total of $1,550,000 through its Tech18 nical Assistance and Cooperation Fund for the Ira19 nian nuclear power program, including reactors at

20 the Bushehr nuclear power plant.

21 (12) In 1999 the International Atomic Energy

22 Agency initiated a program to assist Iran in the area

23 of uranium exploration. At the same time it is be24 lieved that Iran is seeking to acquire the requisite
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1 technology to enrich uranium to weapons-grade lev2 els.

3 (13) The United States provides annual con4 tributions to the International Atomic Energy Agen5 cy which total more than 25 percent of the annual

6 assessed budget of the Agency and the United

7 States also provides annual voluntary contributions

8 to the Technical Assistance and Cooperation Fund

9 of the Agency which total approximately 32 percent

10 ($18,250,000 in 1999) of the annual budget of the

11 program.

12 (14) The United States should not voluntarily

13 provide funding for the completion of nuclear power

14 reactors which could provide Iran with substantial

15 expertise to advance its nuclear weapons program

16 and potentially pose a threat to the United States or

17 its allies.

18 (15) Iran has no need for nuclear energy be19 cause of its immense oil and natural gas reserves

20 which are equivalent to 9.3 percent of the world’s re21 serves and Iran has 73,000,000,000 cubic feet of

22 natural gas, an amount second only to the natural

23 gas reserves of Russia.
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1 SEC. 3. WITHHOLDING OF VOLUNTARY CONTRIBUTIONS TO

2 THE INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGEN3 CY FOR PROGRAMS AND PROJECTS IN IRAN.

4 Section 307 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961

5 (22 U.S.C. 2227) is amended by adding at the end the

6 following:

7 ‘‘(d) Notwithstanding subsection (c), the limitations

8 of subsection (a) shall apply to programs and projects of

9 the International Atomic Energy Agency in Iran, unless

10 the Secretary of State makes a determination in writing

11 to the Committee on International Relations of the House

12 of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Rela13 tions of the Senate that such programs and projects are

14 consistent with United States nuclear nonproliferation and

15 safety goals, will not provide Iran with training or exper16 tise relevant to the development of nuclear weapons, and

17 are not being used as a cover for the acquisition of sen18 sitive nuclear technology. A determination made by the

19 Secretary of State under the preceding sentence shall be

20 effective for the 1-year period beginning on the date of

21 the determination.’’.
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1 SEC. 4. ANNUAL REVIEW BY SECRETARY OF STATE OF PRO2 GRAMS AND PROJECTS OF THE INTER3 NATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY; UNITED

4 STATES OPPOSITION TO PROGRAMS AND

5 PROJECTS OF THE AGENCY IN IRAN.

6 (a) ANNUAL REVIEW.—

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State shall

8 undertake a comprehensive annual review of all pro9 grams and projects of the International Atomic En10 ergy Agency in the countries described in section

11 307(a) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22

12 U.S.C. 2227(a)) and shall determine if such pro13 grams and projects are consistent with United

14 States nuclear nonproliferation and safety goals.

15 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the

16 date of the enactment of this Act and on an annual

17 basis thereafter for 5 years, the Secretary shall pre18 pare and submit to the Congress a report containing

19 the results of the review under paragraph (1).

20 (b) OPPOSITION TO CERTAIN PROGRAMS AND

21 PROJECTS OF INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGEN22 CY.—The Secretary of State shall direct the United States

23 representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency

24 to oppose programs of the Agency that are determined by

25 the Secretary under the review conducted under sub-
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1 section (a)(1) to be inconsistent with nuclear nonprolifera2 tion and safety goals of the United States.

3 SEC. 5. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the

5 date of the enactment of this Act and on an annual basis

6 thereafter for 5 years, the Secretary of State, in consulta7 tion with the United States representative to the Inter8 national Atomic Energy Agency, shall prepare and submit

9 to the Congress a report that—

10 (1) describes the total amount of annual assist11 ance to Iran from the International Atomic Energy

12 Agency, a list of Iranian officials in leadership posi13 tions at the Agency, the expected timeframe for the

14 completion of the nuclear power reactors at the

15 Bushehr nuclear power plant, and a summary of the

16 nuclear materials and technology transferred to Iran

17 from the Agency in the preceding year which could

18 assist in the development of Iran’s nuclear weapons

19 program; and

20 (2) contains a description of all programs and

21 projects of the International Atomic Energy Agency

22 in each country described in section 307(a) of the

23 Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2227(a))

24 and any inconsistencies between the technical co25 operation and assistance programs and projects of
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1 the Agency and United States nuclear nonprolifera2 tion and safety goals in these countries.

3 (b) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENT.—The report re4 quired to be submitted under subsection (a) shall be sub5 mitted in an unclassified form, to the extent appropriate,

6 but may include a classified annex.

7 SEC. 6. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.

8 It is the sense of the Congress that the United States

9 Government should pursue internal reforms at the Inter10 national Atomic Energy Agency that will ensure that all

11 programs and projects funded under the Technical Co12 operation and Assistance Fund of the Agency are compat13 ible with United States nuclear nonproliferation policy and

14 international nuclear nonproliferation norms.

Passed the House of Representatives July 19, 1999.

Attest:

Clerk.