H 5552 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE May 24, 1995

Thurman

Tiahrt

Torkildsen

Traficant

Upton

Vucanovich

Waldholtz

Walker

Walsh

Wamp

Watts (OK)

Weldon (FL)

Weldon (PA)

Weller

White

Whitfield

Wicker

Williams

Wolf

Young (AK)

Young (FL)

Zeliff

Zimmer

ANSWERED ‘‘PRESENT’’—1

Fields (LA)

NOT VOTING—14

Calvert

Conyers

Cubin

Fazio

Hansen

Harman

Kleczka

Lantos

McDade

McNulty

Meyers

Peterson (FL)

Quinn

Watt (NC)

b 1819

Mr. EHLERS changed his vote from

‘‘aye’’ to ‘‘no.’’

Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of

Texas changed her vote from ‘‘no’’ to

‘‘aye.’’

So the amendment was rejected.

The result of the vote was announced

as above recorded.

Mr. SABO. Mr. Chairman, I rise to express

my strong opposition to H.R. 1561, the American Overseas Interest Act, and the proposal

to eliminate the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency (ACDA). This agency performs a unique advocacy role in formulating

our nation’s foreign policy. Under this legislation, ACDA’s strong and knowledgeable voice

on arms control and non-proliferation issues

will be muted by a new State Department

‘‘super-bureaucracy.’’

The State Department performs the necessarily broad mission of advancing and protecting the global interests of the United

States and its citizens. To accomplish its responsibilities, the State Department must consider many different issues as it formulates

our Nation’s foreign policy. On the other hand,

ACDA’s mission if sharply focused on

strengthening our national security by advocating, formulating, negotiating, implementing,

and verifying sound arms control, nonproliferation, and disarmament policies and agreements. As a result, ACDA is staffed with

physicists, chemists, engineers, and other

specialists who spend their entire careers

dealing with one issue—arms control. To fold

ACDA into the State Department would be a

serious mistake. This nation needs ACDA to

maintain a strong, independent voice for arms

control.

Even if the State Department could match

ACDA’s arms control expertise, the goals of

arms control and non-proliferation are sometimes at odds with the broader objectives of

the State Department. In fact, if this bill had

been enacted thirty years ago, we would not

have a nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty [NPT].

In the 1960’s, it was ACDA that pressed for

the NPT. The State Department had opposed

the original negotiations out of deference to

friendly countries that wanted to explore the

nuclear option.

I have listened to the arguments that, because the cold war is over, an independent

voice for arms control is no longer needed.

One only needs to look at the nuclear ambitions of North Korea and Iran or the recent

gas attacks in Japan to understand the continued importance of battling the proliferation of

nuclear, chemical, and other weapons of mass

destruction. Some have also claimed that the

reorganization proposed in this bill will save

the taxpayers money. However, no study has

identified any savings from eliminating ACDA.

In fact, a recent Congressional Research

Service study has found that merging ACDA

into the State Department could actually cost

$10 million.

Clearly, this legislation doesn’t take into account the importance of having a strong and

independent arms control and non-proliferation

viewpoint within the United States government. Instead, it appears to me that organizational boxes are simply being moved in an arbitrary manner. I urge my colleagues to oppose this bill, ACDA must be protected.

Mr. ANDREWS. Mr. Chairman, I rise today

to support a provision in the American Overseas Interests Act, which modifies section

36(b)(1) of the Arms Export and Control Act to

require greater congressional oversight and

scrutiny of arms sales to the Government of

the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia until such time

as the Secretary of State certifies and reports

to Congress that the unpaid claims of American companies described in the June 30,

1993 report by the Secretary of Defense pursuant to section 9140(c) of the Department of

Defense Appropriation Act, 1993 (Public Law

102–396; 106 Stat 1939), including the additional claims noticed by the Department of

Commerce as page 2 of the report, have been

resolved satisfactorily.

The $43.4 million claim of Gibbs & Hill, Inc.

is one of the claims as yet unresolved. Gibbs

& Hill was decimated by financial losses incurred in the design of the desalination and

related facilities for the Yanbu Industrial City in

Saudi Arabia in the late 1970’s and early

1980’s as a result of the Kingdom’s failure to

honor its contractual obligations and pay for

additional work required of the company.

My involvement in this matter dates back almost 2 years. The company, which is a large

employer in my district, approached me for assistance in having its claim paid through the

Special Claims Process established for the

resolution of claims of American companies

which had not received fair treatment in their

commercial dealing with the Government of

the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This Special

Claims Process was established between our

Government and the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, following congressional

hearings on the unfair commercial practices of

the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia first held in the

House Subcommittee on Europe and the Middle East in May 1992. In response to my letter

to Saudi Ambassador Bandar bin Sultan

Abdulaziz of April 29, 1993, the Ambassador

promised to spare ‘‘no efforts in resolving this

claim in an expeditious and fair manner.’’

Since this date, the company, the Congress

and the past and present administrations have

received a series of promises and commitments from the Government of the Kingdom of

Saudi Arabia to resolve the claim favorably for

Gibbs & Hill. The most recent commitment

coming on October 6, 1994, one day prior to

our country once again coming to the defense

of the Kingdom when threatened by invasion

from Iraq, in fulfillment of our commitment to

our bilateral relationship.

I should note that I am not alone in my support of the full and prompt resolution of the

Gibbs & Hill claim. More than 3 dozen Senators and Members of Congress, the President, the National Security Council, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Senate

Armed Services Committee, the Department of

Defense, State and Commerce have all expressed their desire to see this claim resolved

so as to successfully conclude the Special

Claims Process.

On January 23, 1995, I expressed my growing frustration with the delaying tactics of the

Saudi Embassy in fulfilling its commitment to

the company, the Congress and our Government. I also noted that the failure of the Saudi

Embassy to resolve this claim, under the mandate established by its own Government, was

beginning to grow into a significant strain on

the United States-Saudi relations. Again, this

was a sentiment shared by numerous of my

colleagues in the Congress, who wrote and

communicated with the Department of State,

and the Saudi Embassy in January of this

year. In these communications, it was made

clear that the delaying tactics of the Saudi

Embassy would no longer be tolerated, and

unless serious discussions were held between

the company and the Kingdom leading to the

full and prompt resolution of the claim, legislative alternatives would be considered to bring

this matter to a close.

Despite several attempts to resolve the

claim successfully, the Government of the

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has shown no signs

of cooperation. Therefore, I introduced H.R.

1243, which would focus its attention on resolving all the unresolved claims with the

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Under the leadership of Congressman CHRIS SMITH, this bill

was made part of the American Overseas Interest Act. I hope in the long run we will focus

on other remedies in our bilateral relationship

with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to ensure

the prevention of unfair treatment of any other

United States company doing business with

the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Chairman, I move

that the Committee do now rise.

The motion was agreed to.

Accordingly, the Committee rose;

and the Speaker pro tempore (Mr. FOX

of Pennsylvania) having assumed the

chair, Mr. GOODLATTE, Chairman of the

Committee of the Whole House on the

State of the Union, reported that that

Committee, having had under consideration the bill (H.R. 1561) to consolidate

the foreign affairs agencies of the United States; to authorize appropriations

for the Department of State and related agencies for fiscal years 1996 and

1997; to responsibly reduce the authorizations of appropriations for United

States foreign assistance programs for

fiscal years 1996 and 1997, and for other

purposes, had come to no resolution

thereon.

(Mr. GEPHARDT asked and was

LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM

fgiven permission to address the House

for 1 minute.)

Mr. GEPHARDT. Mr. Speaker, I ask

for this 1-minute for the purpose of inquiring of the distinguished chairman

of the Committee on Rules about the

schedule for the rest of today and tomorrow.

Mr. SOLOMON. Mr. Speaker, will the

gentleman yield?

Mr. GEPHARDT. I yield to the gentleman from New York.

Mr. SOLOMON. Mr. Speaker, I thank

the gentleman for yielding, and let me
May 24, 1995 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE H 5553

just say that there will be no more

votes tonight. We will be in at 10 a.m.

tomorrow morning. We will suspend 1-

minutes. We will then go to conference

on the Medicare select bill.

I would like to announce now also

there will be an emergency meeting of

the Committee on Rules to consider a

second rule on the American Overseas

Interests Act, H.R. 1561.

After we finish the Medicare select

bill tomorrow morning, we will go back

on the 5-minute rule on the remaining

time on this American Overseas Interests Act.

Mr. GEPHARDT. Will the gentleman

tell us what time he is intending to adjourn tomorrow?

Mr. SOLOMON. No later than 2:30.

Mr. GEPHARDT. Mr. Speaker, I

thank the gentleman from New York.

ACHIEVEMENTS IN AERONAUTICS

AND SPACE DURING FISCAL

fYEAR 1994—MESSAGE FROM THE

PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED

STATES

The SPEAKER pro tempore. laid before the House the following message

from the President of the United

States, which was read and, together

with the accompanying papers, without

objection, referred to the Committee

on Science:

To the Congress of the United States:

I am pleased to transmit this report

on the Nation’s achievements in aeronautics and space during Fiscal Year

1994, as required under section 206 of

the National Aeronautics and Space

Act of 1958, as amended (42 U.S.C. 2476).

Aeronautics and space activities involve 15 contributing departments and

agencies of the Federal Government, as

this report reflects, and the results of

their ongoing research and development affect the Nation as a whole in a

variety of ways.

Fiscal Year 1994 featured many important developments and changes in

U.S. aeronautics and space efforts. It

included 7 Space Shuttle missions successfully completed, 15 Government

launches of Expendable Launch Vehicles (ELVs), and 4 commercial launches

from Government facilities. Among notable developments in the ELV area

were the launch of the Deep Space

probe, Clementine, initial use of the

Titan IV Centaur upper stage, and the

first launch of the Taurus launch vehicle. Highlights of the Shuttle missions

included the highly successful servicing mission for the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), which replaced several

faulty parts and installed a sophisticated package of corrective optics to

compensate for the spherical aberration in HST’s primary mirror. Also, the

flight of the Space Radar Laboratory

began to provide information on environmental change, and a mission with

a Russian astronaut, Sergei Krikalev,

as a member of the crew signalled the

beginning of a three-phased cooperative program in space between Russia

and the United States.

In a year of tremendous accomplishments for the international Space Station, National Aeronautics and Space

Administration (NASA) developed an

initial set of specifications that included Russian elements as part of the

design. Russia’s agreeing to join the 12

original participating nations as a

partner resulted in the expansion of

the existing Shuttle/Mir program into

Phase I of the international Space Station program, which officially began

with Sergei Krikalev’s flight on the

Shuttle. All of the partners held a successful systems design review in Texas

in March, and in June Russia and the

United States signed an interim agreement on the Space Station and a $400

million contract for Russian space

hardware, services, and data. In August, the program completed a vehicle

architecture review and in September,

the Space Station Control Board ratified the recommendations it included.

The redesigned Space Station costs $5

billion less than Space Station Freedom and still offers increased research

capability and users flexibility.

In aeronautics, activities included

development of technologies to improve performance, increase safety, reduce engine noise and other environmental degradation, improve air traffic

management, lower costs, and help

American industry to be more competitive in the world market. For example,

high-speed research continued during

Fiscal Year 1994 to focus on resolving

critical environmental issues and laying the technological foundation for an

economical, next generation, High

Speed Civil Transport (HSCT). In this

connection, the United States reached

agreement with Russia to use the Tu–

144 supersonic transport as a testbed

for HSCT development. In addition, efforts in advanced subsonics focused on

reducing aircraft and engine noise levels, on development of wind shear sensing devices, and on creating technologies that will improve general

aviation aircraft.

In space science, astronomers using

HST’s revitalized optics discovered

disks of protoplanetary dust orbiting

stars in the Orion Nebula, suggesting

that the formation of planets in the

Milky Way and elsewhere may be relatively common. Also, HST’s revelation of helium in distant constellations

provides valuable information about

the conditions in the universe during

its initial evolution. The Spacelab Life

Sciences-2, U.S. Microgravity Payload2, and International Microgravity Laboratory-2 greatly increased our understanding of the role of gravity on biological, physical, and chemical processes. In biology, we learned that gravity affects the function of the neural

connections between brain cells; this

can have profound implications for rebuilding damaged brain cells due to

strokes and diseases. In Earth science,

the Space Radar Laboratories-1 and -2,

plus the Lidar In-Space Technology Experiment payload, used powerful radar

and laser technology to penetrate

cloud cover and map critical factors on

a global scale. Also, the highly successful launch of the Clementine Deep

Space Probe tested 23 advanced technologies for high-tech, lightweight

missile defense. The relatively inexpensive, rapidly-built spacecraft constituted a major revolution in spacecraft management and design; it also

contributed significantly to lunar studies by photographing 1.8 million images

of the surface of the Moon.

Additionally, on May 5, 1994, the

White House announced that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Department

of Defense, and NASA were establishing a joint program to effect the convergence of civil and military polar-orbiting operational environmental satellite systems into a single operational

program. Other White House announcements during the year included a policy for licensing U.S. firms by the Secretary of Commerce to operate private

remote sensing systems and sell their

images to domestic and foreign entities

and a national space transportation

policy that will sustain and revitalize

U.S. Space transportation capabilities

by providing a coherent strategy for

supporting and strengthening U.S.

space launch capabilities to meet the

growing needs of the civilian and national security sectors.

Thus, Fiscal Year 1994 was a highly

successful one for the U.S. aeronautics

and space programs. Efforts in both

areas have contributed significantly to

furthering the Nation’s scientific and

technical knowledge, international cooperation, a healthier environment,

and a more competitive economy.

WILLIAM J. CLINTON.

THE WHITE H

fOUSE, May 24, 1995.

APPOINTMENT OF INDIVIDUALS

AS MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF

DIRECTORS OF THE OFFICE OF

COMPLIANCE

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Without

objection, and pursuant to the provisions of section 301 of Public Law 104–

1, the Chair announces on behalf of the

Speaker and minority leader of the

House of Representatives and the majority and minority leaders of the U.S.

Senate their joint appointment of the

following individuals to the Board of

Directors of the Office of Compliance:

Mr. Glen D. Nager of Washington,

DC, chairman, to a 5-year term;

Ms. Virginia A. Seitz of Washington,

DC, to a 5-year term;

Mr. Jerry M. Hunter of Missouri, to a

4-year term;

Mr. James N. Adler of California, to

a 4-year term; and

Mr. Lawrence Z. Lorber of Washington, DC, to a 3-year term.

A VISION FOR AN AMERICA WITH

There was no objection.

MORE GRATITUDE

f(Mr. INGLIS of South Carolina asked

and was given permission to address