Sustaining principled and purposeful American leadership

US Department of State Dispatch, May, 1997

Address at annual Fleet Week Gala, New York City.

Mr. Chairman and members of the subcommittee: I am pleased to have the opportunity to testify this morning for the first time in my new capacity. I hope very much that we will be able to continue the frank relationship we enjoyed while I served as our Permanent Representative to the United Nations. Together, we have an important job to do, and I look forward to working with you not only this year but in the future.

I want to acknowledge at the outset that this subcommittee and members on it have been leaders in supporting an active and engaged U.S. foreign policy. We have not always agreed on all subjects, but the disagreements have almost always been on tactics, not on goals. We all agree that the United States is, and should remain, vigilant in protecting its interests; careful and reliable in its commitments; and a forceful advocate for freedom, human rights, open markets, and the rule of law.

I am heartened that the agreement on the budget resolution worked out by the Administration and congressional leaders treats international affairs as the priority it is. I know that Senator Lautenberg and others on this subcommittee were important actors in this process, and I want to thank you for your support.

Now the action moves to appropriations. Consistent with the budget resolution, I hope that this subcommittee and the Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice and State Appropriations will receive allocations sufficient to fund both our regular international programs and to pay our arrearages to the United Nations and the multilateral development banks. I hope that my testimony this morning will help persuade any who may doubt that such an allocation would serve our nation and our people well.

Mr. Chairman, I am here today to ask your support and that of the subcommittee for the President's request for funds for the foreign operations programs of the United States. Put simply, the goal of those programs is to protect the interests of our citizens in an age when national borders are porous, markets are global, and many of the threats to our safety and security cannot be dealt with by any one nation acting alone.

The President's request seeks to ensure that we will have the foreign policy tools we need to sustain principled and purposeful American leadership. It includes funds for programs that will help us to promote peace and maintain our security; to safeguard our people from the continuing threat posed by weapons of mass destruction; to build prosperity for Americans at home by opening new markets overseas; to promote democratic values and strengthen democratic institutions; to respond to the global threats of international terrorism, crime, drugs, and pollution; and to care for those who are in desperate need of humanitarian aid. Let me begin my discussion here this morning with our programs for maintaining the security and safety of our people.

Maintaining Security

The Cold War may be over, but the threat posed by nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction has only been reduced, not ended. Our efforts to reduce the number and stop the spread of weapons of mass destruction contribute to what former Defense Secretary Perry called "preventive defense." We pursue these initiatives not as favors to others but because they are a national security bargain for the American people.

With strong U.S. leadership, and bipartisan support from the Congress, much has been accomplished. Achievements range from the removal of nuclear weapons from Belarus, Kazakstan, and Ukraine to recent approval by the Senate--with the help of many members of this subcommittee--of our participation in the Chemical Weapons Convention. But arms control and non-proliferation are works in progress, and we will need your help and that of the Congress, as a whole, to continue that progress.

The 1994 Agreed Framework between the United States and North Korea froze and established a roadmap for dismantling that country's dangerous nuclear weapons program. With our partners, we created the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization--KEDO--to implement key aspects of the agreement. Our earlier commitment helped jump-start KEDO and generated contributions from Japan and South Korea that will ultimately dwarf our own.

KEDO now has 10 members, and we will bring in at least three more this year to share the burden. I appreciate the support this subcommittee has shown in the past for our participation in KEDO, and ask your support for our proposed $30 million contribution in Fiscal Year 1998. Those funds will leverage the support of others while contributing directly to the safety and security of the American people.

I also ask your support for our proposed $36 million voluntary contribution to the International Atomic Energy Agency--IAEA. These funds will help that agency to verify compliance with the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in more than 820 locations in 61 countries.

We are also continuing efforts to fulfill the President's call for negotiations leading to a worldwide ban on the use, stockpiling, production, and transfer of anti-personnel landmines. Just last week, ACDA Director John Holum was in Geneva to urge the Conference on Disarmament to begin that negotiation in earnest. He also voiced U.S. support for the complementary process now underway in Ottawa. As Director Holum made clear: We don't underestimate the challenges at the Conference on Disarmament. However, that venue does provide the best opportunity to negotiate an APL ban that is truly comprehensive and effective. This issue remains a high foreign policy priority for the United States, and I will continue to consult closely with Senator Leahy, who has been an inspiring and determined leader on this issue, and other Members of Congress concerning it.