DATE=9/14/1999
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=CONGRESS-IRAN-RUSSIA (L ONLY)
NUMBER=2-253867
BYLINE=PAULA WOLFSON
DATELINE=CAPITOL HILL
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: For the second year in a row, the U-S House of
Representatives has passed a bill calling for
sanctions on foreign entities that help Iran's missile
program. President Clinton vetoed similar legislation
last year. And as V-O-A's Paula Wolfson reports, the
White House is promising more of the same (another
veto)
TEXT: Republicans and Democrats stood together to
defy the President.
///optional Lee tease act///
This legislation will move us one step closer to
non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction
in the Middle East and throughout the world.
/// end optional act///
California Democrat Barbara Lee joined the chorus of
support for the measure.
///Lee act///
This bill is a serious effort to tailor
sanctions to foreign companies that are the true
wrongdoers.
///end act///
The goal of the bill is to deter shipments of goods to
Iran that could help Tehran's missile development
program. The main target of the legislation is
Russia.
Last year, President Clinton vetoed a similar bill.
He urged Congress not to challenge his decision,
saying he wanted to press Moscow through diplomatic
channels.
But the legislature is losing patience. House
International Relations Committee Chairman Benjamin
Gilman (a New York Republican) says the time for
diplomacy has passed.
///Gilman act///
Clearly, the President overestimated his ability
to handle this problem diplomatically
///end act///
The new legislation gives the President the ability to
waive sanctions. But it also links Russia's non-
proliferation record to payments for Moscow's
participation in the international space station.
(opt) The chairman of the House Science Committee,
James Sensenbrenner (a Wisconsin Republican), pushed
for the linkage.
///Sensenbrenner act///
Using the space program as a non-proliferation
tool follows the path the White House laid out
in 1993, when it invited Russia into the
international space station partnership. The
White House explicitly linked Russian
participation in the space station to its goal
of discouraging Russia from engaging in
proliferation activities.
///end act (end opt)///
Meanwhile, House Republican leaders are stepping up
their criticism of the Clinton administration's Russia
policy. Just minutes after the vote on the sanctions
bill, House Majority leader Richard Armey met with
reporters.
///optional Armey act///
The Clinton administration's Russia policy is
the greatest foreign policy failure since
Vietnam. We need to find out what went wrong
and where we can go from here. It is time for
Congress to ask the question: "Who lost
Russia?"
///end optional act///
Mr. Armey called for restrictions on International
Monetary Fund loans to Russia. And he promised a
comprehensive set of hearings starting next week on
Washington's economic dealings with Moscow.
(signed)
NEB/PT
14-Sep-1999 15:12 PM LOC (14-Sep-1999 1912 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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