106TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 4118
AN ACT
To prohibit the rescheduling or forgiveness of any
outstanding bilateral debt owed to the United
States by the Government of the Russian Fed-
eration until the President certifies to the Con-
gress that the Government of the Russian Fed-
eration has ceased all its operations at, removed
all personnel from, and permanently closed the
intelligence facility at Lourdes, Cuba.
106TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 4118
AN ACT
To prohibit the rescheduling or forgiveness of any out-
standing bilateral debt owed to the United States by
the Government of the Russian Federation until the
President certifies to the Congress that the Government
of the Russian Federation has ceased all its operations
at, removed all personnel from, and permanently closed
the intelligence facility at Lourdes, Cuba.
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-American
Trust and Cooperation Act of 2000’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress makes the following findings:
(1) The Government of the Russian Federation
maintains an agreement with the Government of
Cuba which allows Russia to operate an intelligence
facility at Lourdes, Cuba.
(2) The Secretary of Defense has formally ex-
pressed concerns to the Congress regarding the espi-
onage complex at Lourdes, Cuba, and its use as a
base for intelligence activities directed against the
United States.
(3) The Secretary of Defense, referring to a
1998 Defense Intelligence Agency assessment, has
reported that the Russian Federation leases the
Lourdes facility for an estimated $100,000,000 to
$300,000,000 a year.
(4) It has been reported that the Lourdes facil-
ity is the largest such complex operated by the Rus-
sian Federation and its intelligence service outside
the region of the former Soviet Union.
(5) The Lourdes facility is reported to cover a
28 square-mile area with over 1,500 Russian engi-
neers, technicians, and military personnel working at
the base.
(6) Experts familiar with the Lourdes facility
have reportedly confirmed that the base has multiple
groups of tracking dishes and its own satellite sys-
tem, with some groups used to intercept telephone
calls, faxes, and computer communications, in gen-
eral, and with other groups used to cover targeted
telephones and devices.
(7) News sources have reported that the prede-
cessor regime to the Government of the Russian
Federation had obtained sensitive information about
United States military operations during Operation
Desert Storm through the Lourdes facility.
(8) Academic studies assessing the threat the
Lourdes espionage station poses to the United
States cite official United States sources affirming
that the Lourdes facility is being used to collect per-
sonal information about United States citizens in the
private and government sectors, and offers the
means to engage in cyberwarfare against the United
States.
(9) It has been reported that the operational
significance of the Lourdes facility has grown dra-
matically since February 7, 1996, when then Rus-
sian President, Boris Yeltsin, issued an order de-
manding that the Russian intelligence community in-
crease its gathering of United States and other
Western economic and trade secrets.
(10) It has been reported that the Government
of the Russian Federation is estimated to have spent
in excess of $3,000,000,000 in the operation and
modernization of the Lourdes facility.
(11) Former United States Government offi-
cials have been quoted confirming reports about the
Russian Federation’s expansion and upgrade of the
Lourdes facility.
(12) It was reported in December 1999 that a
high-ranking Russian military delegation headed by
Deputy Chief of the General Staff Colonel-General
Valentin Korabelnikov visited Cuba to discuss the
continuing Russian operation of the Lourdes facility.
SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON BILATERAL DEBT RESCHEDULING
AND FORGIVENESS FOR THE RUSSIAN FED-
ERATION.
(a) PROHIBITION.—Notwithstanding any other provi-
sion of law, the President—
(1) shall not reschedule or forgive any out-
standing bilateral debt owed to the United States by
the Government of the Russian Federation; and
(2) shall instruct the United States representa-
tive to the Paris Club of official creditors to use the
voice and vote of the United States to oppose re-
scheduling or forgiveness of any outstanding bilat-
eral debt owed by the Government of the Russian
Federation,
until the President certifies to the Congress that the Gov-
ernment of the Russian Federation has ceased all its oper-
ations at, removed all personnel from, and permanently
closed the intelligence facility at Lourdes, Cuba.
(b) WAIVER.—
(1) IN
GENERAL.—The President may waive
the application of subsection (a)(1) with respect to
rescheduling of outstanding bilateral debt if, not less
than 10 days before the waiver is to take effect, the
President determines and certifies in writing to the
Committee on International Relations of the House
of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign
Relations of the Senate that—
(A) such waiver is necessary to the na-
tional interests of the United States; and
(B) the Government of the Russian Fed-
eration is substantially in compliance with mul-
tilateral and bilateral nonproliferation and arms
limitation agreements.
(2) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENT.—If the Presi-
dent waives the application of subsection (a)(1) pur-
suant to paragraph (1), the President shall include
in the written certification under paragraph (1) a
detailed description of the facts that support the de-
termination to waive the application of subsection
(a)(1).
(3) SUBMISSION IN CLASSIFIED FORM.—If the
President considers it appropriate, the written cer-
tification under paragraph (1), or appropriate parts
thereof, may be submitted in classified form.
(c) PERIODIC REPORTS.—The President shall, every
180 days after the transmission of the written certification
under subsection (b)(1), prepare and transmit to the Com-
mittee on International Relations of the House of Rep-
resentatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of
the Senate a report that contains a description of the ex-
tent to which the requirements of subparagraphs (A) and
(B) of subsection (b)(1) are being met.
SEC. 4. REPORT ON THE CLOSING OF THE INTELLIGENCE
FACILITY AT LOURDES, CUBA.
Not later than 30 days after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, and every 120 days thereafter until the
President makes a certification under section 3, the Presi-
dent shall submit to the Committee on International Rela-
tions of the House of Representatives and the Committee
on Foreign Relations of the Senate a report (with a classi-
fied annex) detailing—
(1) the actions taken by the Government of the
Russian Federation to terminate its presence and
activities at the intelligence facility at Lourdes,
Cuba; and
(2) the efforts by each appropriate Federal de-
partment or agency to verify the actions described in
paragraph (1).
Passed the House of Representatives July 19, 2000.
Attest:
Clerk.