I
106TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 4022
Regarding the sale and transfer of Moskit anti-ship missiles by the Russian
Federation.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 16, 2000
Mr. ROHRABACHER (for himself, Mr. SPENCE, Mr. ROGAN, Mr. LIPINSKI, Mr.
BARTLETT of Maryland, Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN, Mr. SAM JOHNSON of
Texas, Mr. LARGENT, Mr. DOOLITTLE, Mr. HUNTER, Mr. JONES of
North Carolina, Mrs. BONO, Mr. MCCOLLUM, Mr. TAUZIN, Mr. SMITH
of New Jersey, and Mr. BURTON of Indiana) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on International Relations
A BILL
Regarding the sale and transfer of Moskit anti-ship missiles
by the Russian Federation.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Russian Anti-Ship Mis-
sile Nonproliferation Act of 2000’’.
SEC. 2. PURPOSE.
The purpose of this Act is to prohibit the forgiveness
or rescheduling of any bilateral debt owed by the Russian
Federation to the United States until the Russian Federa-
tion has terminated all sales and transfers of Moskit anti-
ship missiles that endanger United States national secu-
rity.
SEC. 3. FINDINGS.
The Congress makes the following findings:
(1) In February 2000, the first of two Russian-
built Sovremenny-class destroyers sold to the Peo-
ple’s Republic of China arrived in the Taiwan Strait,
manned by a mixed Russian and Chinese naval crew.
Currently, the Russian and Chinese Governments
are discussing the sale of 2 additional Sovremenny
destroyers.
(2) Within weeks after the arrival of the de-
stroyers, the Russians are scheduled to transfer the
first of several of the ship’s most lethal weapon, the
radar-guided Moskit (also known as Sunburn) anti-
ship missile, which can carry either conventional or
nuclear warheads.
(3) The supersonic Moskit missile, which can be
mounted on a naval or mobile land platform, was de-
signed specifically to destroy American aircraft car-
riers and other warships equipped with advanced
Aegis radar and battle management systems. The
United States Navy considers the missile to be ex-
tremely difficult to defend against.
(4) The Moskit missile has an over-the-horizon
range of 65 miles and can deliver a 200-kiloton war-
head in under 2 minutes. One conventional Moskit
missile can sink a warship or disable an aircraft car-
rier, causing the deaths of hundreds of American
military personnel.
(5) The Russian Federation is helping the air
force of the People’s Liberation Army to assemble
Sukhoi Su–27 fighter aircraft, which are capable of
carrying an air-launched version of the Moskit mis-
sile, which has a longer range than the sea-launched
version. The Russian Federation is reportedly dis-
cussing the sale of air-launched Moskit missiles to
the People’s Republic of China.
(6) Land-, sea-, or air-launched Moskit missiles
raise the potential for American casualties and could
affect the outcome in any future conflict in the Tai-
wan Strait or South China Sea. The transfer of the
missile by China to Iran or other belligerent nations
in the Persian Gulf region would increase the poten-
tial for conflict and for American casualties. A
Moskit missile mounted on a mobile land platform
would be difficult to locate and could wreak havoc
on the coastline of the Straits of Hormuz.
SEC. 4. PROHIBITION OF DEBT FORGIVENESS.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the
President shall not reschedule or forgive any outstanding
bilateral debt owed to the United States by the Russian
Federation, until the President certifies to the Congress
that the Russian Federation has permanently terminated
all transfers of Moskit anti-ship missiles that endanger
United States national security, particularly transfers to
the People’s Republic of China.
SEC. 5. REPORTS ON THE TRANSFER BY RUSSIA OF MOSKIT
MISSILES.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after the
date of the enactment of this Act and every 6 months
thereafter, until the certification under section 4, the
President shall submit to the Committee on International
relations of the House of Representatives and the Com-
mittee on Foreign Relations of the Senate a report identi-
fying the status of any contract and the date of the trans-
fer of any version of the Moskit missile, particularly trans-
fers to the People’s Republic of China, occurring on or
after February 1, 2000.