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Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to put an end to the claims from opponents of used nuclear fuel disposal who say transporting the material is unsafe. These claims have become louder since President Bush made a decision to move forward with the disposing of nuclear waste in Yucca Mountain. The truth is their concerns are misguided. You cannot argue with the fact that almost 3,000 safe shipments of used nuclear fuel have taken place without any release of radioactive material.

1B) Energy Legislation and Iraq
Floor Statement of Senator Frank Murkowski (R-AK)
March 1, 2002
Congressional Record, S1389

The majority leader says he wants to move an energy bill, but I am afraid we just have not seen the kind of commitment that America expects or that is referenced in our calendar. . . As you know, [energy legislation] was one of our President's priorities. . . We have given Saddam Hussein more than $4 billion for his oil in the last year. That is a lot of money for an economy that is believed to have a GDP of only about $52 billion. What does he do with that money? We know he has chemical weapons. In fact, he is believed to have sufficient chemicals to produce hundreds of tons of mustard gas, VX, and other nerve agents, as well as 25 missiles and an estimated 15,000 artillery shells capable of the delivery of lethal weapons. We know he has been working on nuclear weapons because one of his top nuclear engineers defected to the West in 1994 and has given us details of the program. We can only truly speculate on the extent of his success, but it is commonly believed that an Iraqi nuclear device is inevitable. And if it is not available currently, the question is when? . . . As long as we are dependent on sources such as Saddam Hussein for our oil, we will continue to finance the regime of Saddam Hussein. As long as he is in power, he will continue to threaten the world as a member of the axis of evil. . .

Mr. McINNIS. Madam Speaker, this evening I would like to cover a couple of subjects. The first subject that I would like to spend some time on is on the President's axis of evil. I really do not want to focus entirely on that particular subject, but I want to talk more specifically as kind of a jump from that subject on to missile defense, the importance of missile defense for the United States of America; in fact, the absolute necessity for the United States to deploy as soon as possible a missile defense to secure our borders against future attempts, either accidental or intentional, to cause harm. To lay a basis for this, I have just returned from NATO meetings. . . As Margaret Thatcher said, anything short of a full missile defense system is gross neglect, gross neglect of our fiduciary duties to our citizens.

2B) China's Long-Range Missile Program
Floor Statement of Congressman Bob Schaffer (R-CO)
February 28, 2002
Congressional Record, E242

Mr. SCHAFFER. Mr. Speaker, on several occasions I have addressed this House on the matter of National Security and the threat to it posed by China's aggressive arms buildup. . . . I applaud the leadership of our President to advance a national missile defense program, Congress must rely upon complete, accurate, and candid assessments of the threat posed by China. . . I hereby submit for the RECORD, a letter I have today posted to Mr. George Tenant, who heads America's Central Intelligence Agency. . . DEAR MR. TENET: Perhaps the unclassified National Intelligence Estimate was meant to conceal from foreign eyes what the CIA really thinks or knows. But this government has a duty to defend the lives and freedom of its citizens. A large part of that defense is informing the American people of the threats they face rather than downplaying, for example, China's ballistic missile and military buildup.

3A) Congressional War Powers - Take Caution in Approach to Iraq
Floor Statement of Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX)
February 26, 2002
Congressional Record, H537

Mr. PAUL. Mr. Speaker, the war drums are beating, louder and louder. Iraq, Iran, and North Korea have been forewarned. Plans have been laid and, for all we know, already initiated for the overthrow and assassination of Saddam Hussein. There has been talk of sabotage, psychological warfare, arming domestic rebels, killing Hussein and even an outright invasion of Iraq with hundreds of thousands of U.S. troops. All we hear about in the biased media is the need to eliminate Saddam Hussein, with little regard of how this, in itself, might totally destabilize the entire Middle East and Central Asia. It could, in fact, make the Iraqi problem much worse.

3B) Poverty and Terrorism
Testimony of Richard Perle before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee as entered into the Record by Senator Jesse Helms (R-NC)
February 27, 2002
Congressional Record, S1245

Mr. Chairman, this hearing is about building a more secure future; and I know it will come as no surprise if I argue that doing that in the near term will require an effective military establishment to take the war on terrorism to the terrorists, to fight them over there because they are well on the way to achieving their murderous objectives when we are forced to fight them over here. For once those who wish to destroy Americans gain entry to the United States and exploit the institutions of our open society, the likelihood that we will stop them is greatly diminished. This is why President Bush was right to declare on September 11 that ``We will make no distinction between the terrorists who committed these acts and those who harbor them.'' Dealing effectively with the states that support or condone terrorism against us (or even remain indifferent to it) is the only way to deprive terrorists of the sanctuary from which they operate, whether that sanctuary is in Afghanistan or North Korea or Iran or Iraq or elsewhere. The regimes in control of these ``rogue'' states--a term used widely before the last administration substituted the flaccid term ``states of concern''--pose an immediate threat to the United States. The first priority of American policy must be to transform or destroy rogue regimes.

4) Appointment of Conferees for H.R. 3448, Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Response Act of 2001
Floor Debate and Instruction of Conferees
February 28, 2002
Congressional Record, H638

Mr. TAUZIN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to take from the Speaker's table the bill (H.R. 3448) to improve the ability of the United States to prevent, prepare for, and respond to bioterrorism and other public health emergencies, with Senate amendments thereto, disagree to the Senate amendments, and agree to the conference asked by the Senate. . .

A) Senate Armed Services - Re: WMD Program in Iraq
http://www.senate.gov/~armed_services/e_witnesslist.cfm?id=182

B) Senate Armed Services - Re: Future of NATO
http://www.senate.gov/~armed_services/e_witnesslist.cfm?id=179

C) Senate Governmental Affairs - Re: U.S. Policy in Iraq
http://www.senate.gov/~gov_affairs/030102witness.htm

D) House Armed Services - Re: Export Administration Act of 2001
http://www.house.gov/hasc/openingstatementsandpressreleases/107thcongress/02-02-28crouch.html
http://www.house.gov/hasc/openingstatementsandpressreleases/107thcongress/02-02-28jochum.html
http://www.house.gov/hasc/openingstatementsandpressreleases/107thcongress/02-02-28vandiepen.html

E) House Armed Services - Re: Special Oversight on NNSA
http://www.house.gov/hasc/openingstatementsandpressreleases/107thcongress/02-02-26gordon.html
http://www.house.gov/hasc/openingstatementsandpressreleases/107thcongress/02-02-26jones.html

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