LEGISLATIVE PROVISIONS

LEGISLATIVE PROVISIONS ADOPTED

DEMILITARIZATION OF THE FORMER SOVIET UNION (SECS. 1401-1441)

The House bill contained several provisions (title XI) dealing with nuclear weapons nonproliferation, including section 1106 and sections 241-243, which concerned weapons destruction and demilitarization in the former Soviet Union. Section 1106 would extend through fiscal year 1993 the authority to expend the remainder of the $400 million authorized in the Soviet Nuclear Threat Reduction Act of 1991 (title II of Public Law 102-228) for destroying the weapons of the former Soviet Union and preventing their proliferation. It would also authorize an additional $250 million for the same purposes. Sections 241-243 would encourage the Secretary of Defense to participate actively in joint research and development programs with the states of the former Soviet Union and would authorize the Secretary to spend not more than $25 million in fiscal year 1993 for technical cooperation and participation, in- kind assistance, and other activities in such programs. The purposes of these programs would include demilitarizing the industries of the former Soviet Union and preventing the proliferation of its weapons.

The Senate amendment contained provisions (title XI) that, in addition to the measures in section 1106 of the House bill, would authorize another $150 million for such programs and extend their scope to include the industrial demilitarization of the former Soviet Union as well as the expansion of military-to-military contacts between the United States and the independent states of the former Soviet Union. The Senate amendment would also stipulate that the presidential certifications regarding recipient countries required under the Soviet Nuclear Threat Reduction Act of 1991 be made annually. The Senate amendment contained no provision similar to sections 241-243 of the House bill.

The conferees agree to combine the provisions of the House bill and the Senate amendment. The conferees agree that the primary focus of the activities authorized under this title should be on the transportation, storage, safeguarding, and destruction of nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction, as well as on the nonproliferation of such weapons and their components. The conferees also believe that prudent and measured U.S. assistance in demilitarizing the defense industries of the former Soviet Union can help reduce the potential threat posed by the former Soviet Union's still robust defense establishment.

The conferees believe that U.S. government funding to assist demilitarizing the defense industries of the former Soviet Union should, to the extent possible, be directed to facilitating the involvement of the U.S. private sector in that process. Such funding should be used, pursuant to an interagency strategy coordinated throughout the relevant components of the U.S. government, to improve the environment for investment by U.S. firms in redirecting the human and material resources of the former Soviet Union's defense sector to meet pressing civilian needs and creating mutually beneficial commercial opportunities. The conferees believe that the provisions in sections 241-243 of the House bill can contribute significantly to such undertakings.

The conferees have in mind industrial demilitarization projects that would directly contribute to the elimination of military production capability, especially in the area of weapons of mass destruction. The conferees believe that a modest use of U.S. government funds can assist in eliminating defense production capability in the former Soviet Union and foster a significant investment of U.S. private sector funds, while bringing profits to U.S. firms and the American economy. The conferees foresee, as discussions with administration officials indicate, that no more than about $40 million for such industrial demilitarization projects would be proposed to the Congress for obligation during fiscal year 1993.

The conferees find that the experience to date of the former Soviet Union in industrial demilitarization indicates that this undertaking can waste ill-considered investments. To help insure that funds available under this title are used effectively to advance U.S. interests, the conferees have established specific requirements for advance notifications of any proposal to obligate funds for industrial demilitarization in the former Soviet Union.

The conferees also agree that, at a time when the countries of the former Soviet Union are forming their respective defense establishments and military doctrines, intensified contacts between them and U.S. defense officials are timely. Such contacts, if carefully conceived and selectively executed, can help shape the militaries of these countries along non-threatening, democratic lines and thus advance U.S. national security interests.

Therefore, the conferees urge the Secretary of Defense to establish programs to accelerate and intensify contacts and cooperation between the Department of Defense and selected elements of the ministries of defense and armed forces of the states of the former Soviet Union. The conferees believe that such programs should include those to promote

(1) civil-military relations appropriate to democratic societies;

(2) openness and transparency in defense establishments, policy, doctrine, forces, budgets, and programs; and

(3) cooperation, education, advice, and training in areas of shared security interests.

The conferees agree to limit funding under this title for military-to-military contacts to not more than $15 million.

The conferees further agree to limit expenditures for other specifically authorized activities as follows:

(1) not more than $25 million for joint research and development conducted by the nongovernmental foundation established in the Freedom Support Act;

(2) not more than $10 million for the study, assessment, and identification of nuclear waste disposal activities by the former Soviet Union in the Arctic region;

(3) not more than $25 million for the activities of Project Peace as outlined in Senate Report 102-408 accompanying the Fiscal Year 1993 Department of Defense Appropriations bill; and