Senate Defense Authorization Bill Strengthens and Expands Non-Proliferation Efforts
On June 27, the Senate passed the Fiscal 2003 Defense Authorization Bill (S. 2514) by a vote of 97-2. The bill included an amendment offered by Sen. Pete Domenici (R-NM) and others that would strengthen U.S. efforts to secure nuclear and radiological materials in the former Soviet Union in order to prevent their acquisition and use by terrorists.
The amendment authorizes the Department of Energy to spend $100 million in fiscal 2003 defense nuclear non-proliferation funds on new and expanded nuclear security and non-proliferation initiatives, including:
- $15 million for a new program on research and technology to respond to and protect against nuclear or radiological terrorism (Sec. 3155)
- $5 million for expanding the Materials Protection, Control, and Accounting program to countries outside the former Soviet Union, for returning research reactor fuel to countries of origin, and for establishing a Radiological Dispersal Device Materials Protection, Control, and Accounting Program (Sec. 3156)
- $40 million to accelerate the disposition of highly enriched uranium through options such as purchase and transfer of HEU to the U.S. or Russia for down-blending (Sec. 3157)
- $35 million to strengthen international security for nuclear materials and nuclear power plants, including $5 million for nuclear power plant protection, $10 million for developing new proliferation-resistant nuclear technologies, and $15 million for assistance to International Atomic Energy Agency nuclear safety and security efforts (Sec. 3159)
- $5 million to study options for assisting other countries in improving their export control programs covering materials that could be used in nuclear or radiological dispersal devices (Sec. 3160)
- Comprehensive annual report on coordination an integration of all U.S. non-proliferation programs (Sec. 3162)
Other noteworthy provisions of the Senate version of the Defense Authorization Bill include:
- Full funding of the administration’s request of $416.7 million for the Cooperative Threat Reduction (Nunn-Lugar) Program, including $133.6 million for chemical weapons destruction in Russia (Sec. 1202)
- Authorization to use $50 million of CTR funds outside of the former Soviet Union (Sec. 1203)
- Permanent authority to waive certification restrictions on expenditure of CTR program funds (Sec. 1204) ==Report on cooperative efforts with Russia to reduce the proliferation threat posed by Russian tactical nuclear weapons (Sec. 1205)
- Report on requirements, use doctrines, likely targets, and conventional weapon alternatives for the Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator (Sec. 3132)
- Transfer of the program to eliminate production of weapons-grade plutonium in Russia from the Department of Defense to the Department of Energy (Sec. 3151)
Important Differences Between Senate (S. 2514) and House (H.R. 4546) Versions of the Defense Authorization Bill