House of Representatives - June 14, 1999

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, last week in the other body, the Senate, an amendment to the fiscal year 2000 defense appropriations bill was approved that would suspend for 5 years certain sanctions against India and Pakistan . The sanctions were imposed pursuant to the Glenn amendment to the Arms Export Control Act, more than a year ago, after the two south Asian nations conducted nuclear tests.

I want to express my support for the approval of this amendment which was offered by Senator Brownback of Kansas. I have introduced similar legislation to lift the sanctions, although my proposals would permanently repeal the sanctions as opposed to the 5-year suspension provided for by Senator Brownback's amendment.

There is one other critical difference between the legislation I have introduced and the provision approved in the Senate last week, and that is the Senate bill includes language to repeal the Pressler amendment which bans U.S. military assistance to Pakistan . I support retaining the Pressler amendment which was adopted in the 1980s and was invoked by President Bush in response to Pakistan's nuclear proliferation activities. Nothing has changed to justify repeal of the Pressler amendment. Thus, I will work for the Pressler amendment to be retained and will urge my House colleagues to maintain this vital provision of law.

Mr. Speaker, in the past few weeks, we were again reminded of why the Pressler amendment should remain in effect, as we have seen Pakistani support for the militants who have infiltrated territory on India's side of the line of control in Kashmir . It is clear that Pakistan is the country that is promoting instability in this current conflict as they have often done so in the past.

Pakistan's involvement in supporting the militants who continually infiltrate India's territory is an example of how Pakistan promotes regional instability and commits or supports aggression against its neighbors. India is not involved in these kinds of hostile destabilizing activities.

This is no time to be renewing military cooperation with Pakistan . Indeed, the Cox report, whose recommendations were implemented last week in this House as an amendment to the defense authorization bill, contain several references to transfers of nuclear technology and missile technology between China and Pakistan . India's nuclear program, on the other hand, is an indigenous program, and India has not been involved in sharing this technology with unstable regimes. This is an extremely, an extremely important distinction.

But, Mr. Speaker, I want to stress that our priorities should be to do what we can to promote stability and economic opportunities in south Asia. The best way we can do that is to lift the sanctions imposed under the Glenn amendment as the Senate has done.

Mr. Speaker, I would also like to mention that the Senate amendment has an important sense of the Congress provision stating that the export controls should be applied only to those Indian and Pakistani entities that make direct and material contributions to weapons of mass destruction and missile programs and only those items that can contribute to such programs. I have long been critical of the so-called `entities list' which has targeted a wide range of private and government entities in India that have no bearing on nuclear proliferation concerns, but which have been prohibited from contacts with U.S. entities. As the Senate language states, and I quote, `The broad application of export controls to nearly 300 Indian and Pakistani entities is inconsistent with specific national security interests of the United States, and that this entities list requires refinement.'

I hope we can enact a similar provision here on this side of the Capitol and that the administration will respond in a meaningful way by removing entities from this list that really do not belong there; thereby reopening important bilateral contacts that benefit both sides. To that end, I am drafting a sense of the Congress resolution which I hope to introduce this week.

Mr. Speaker, repealing the sanctions would have a positive impact on the people of India . But I also want to stress that the remaining sanctions are causing American companies to lose opportunities to do business in India , while our economic competitors in Europe and Japan gain a major foothold in this great emerging market.

Finally, Mr. Speaker, we must get beyond the unproductive approach of confrontation and work towards policies that will promote improved opportunities for cooperation between the world's two largest democracies. Last week's action in the Senate, in the other body, certainly will contribute to that process.