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Marty on the Issues
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Congressman
Marty Meehan is a senior member of the House Armed Services
Committee (HASC) and serves as the Ranking Member of the Terrorism,
Unconventional Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee. In this
capacity, he oversees nonproliferation programs at the Department of
Defense.
As Meehan explains, "We live in a dangerous age. We read in the
news every day about the threats from North Korea and Iran. It is
essential that we give our government then tools needed to fight to
the proliferation of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons. The
enduring lesson of 9/11 is to be prepared. A catastrophe many times
worse than 9/11, while unthinkable, is a very real threat. We must
take action."
Meehan believes that one of the most important recommendations of
the bipartisan 9/11 Commission was on giving proper priority to
nonproliferation. The Commission warned that "al Qaeda has
tried to acquire or make weapons of mass destruction for at least
ten years. There is no doubt the United States would be a prime
target. Preventing the proliferation of these weapons warrants a
maximum effort."
9/11
Commission Combating Proliferation Implementation Act of 2004
To take the steps needed to implement the 9/11 Commission's
recommendations, Meehan recently introduced the "9/11
Commission Combating Proliferation Implementation Act of 2004".
The legislation has four major components:
·
creating a director of nonproliferation within the White House with
full authority over the nation's nonproliferation programs
·
accelerating the removal of fissile materials from vulnerable sites
·
increasing interception of illegal shipments of WMD
·
and expanding programs to deactivate nuclear weapons.
Creating a Director of Nonproliferation
We need a director of nonproliferation within the White House who is
given full budget authority over the nation's nonproliferation
programs and tasked with designing and implementing a strategic plan
for addressing the threat of weapons of mass destruction.
Currently, nonproliferation efforts are executed by the Departments
of Energy, Defense and State. While they all have had success, they
are not guided by an overall plan or supported by a single
individual who has the ability to ensure that the programs are
meeting the President's objectives. Because of this lack of
high-level attention and leadership, some programs have either
lapsed or been burdened with unrelated restrictions. The director
would ensure that these valuable programs are used more effectively
to reduce the threat of weapons of mass destruction. Such a
coordinating function has been recommended in several reports
including the 1999 Deutsch Commission to Assess the Organization of
the Federal Government top combat the Proliferation of Weapons of
Mass Destruction.
Accelerating the Removal of Fissile Materials
We must accelerate the removal and improve the security of fissile
materials and related equipment at vulnerable sites worldwide. As
has been observed in countless reports and testimony, the greatest
danger to the United States continues to be the prospect of a rogue
state or terrorist group acquiring fissile material to make a
nuclear weapon from the inadequately guarded facilities in the
former Soviet Union or one of the dozens of nuclear research
facilities throughout the world. This means implementing a more
aggressive timetable in the Soviet Union for securing nuclear
facilities and expanding the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction
Program to other countries.
Meehan has led efforts in the House to develop a Global Cleanout
Initiative, a global effort to secure, remove, or dispose of nuclear
and radiological materials around the world. He offered amendments
in the House Armed Services Committee and on the House floor to
boost funding for the Global Cleanout initiative by $30 million in
FY05, the amount nonproliferation experts at Harvard University and
the Nuclear Threat Initiative, headed by Sam Nunn, argue we need to
remove highly enriched uranium from two dozen vulnerable research
reactor sites.
Increasing Interception of Illegal Shipments
Congressman Meehan believes that we must expand the Proliferation
Security Initiative, which intercepts illegal shipments of weapons
of mass destruction materials. This includes authorizing funds for
joint training exercises with nations that join the PSI and working
to expand participation in the program. At present, only 20
countries are members, thus leaving 85% of the world's 50,000 large
cargo ships free from emergency inspection.
Expanding Programs to Deactivate Nuclear Weapons
Congressman Meehan believes that we should expand the cooperative
threat reduction programs that have had an impressive track record
at deactivating over 13,000 warheads, destroying over 1,400
Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs), eliminating over 800
ICBM silos, and hundreds of ICBM mobile launchers. As the 9/11
Commission observed, "the government's main instrument in this
area, the Cooperative Threat Reduction Program, is now in need of
expansion, improvement and resources."
Upholding
the U.S. Commitment to Nonproliferation
Marty believes the United States must uphold its commitments to
international nonproliferation treaties. Last year, he opposed
legislation to overturn the so-called Spratt-Furse ban on nuclear
testing, which had been in place since 1992. He has also
consistently fought the Bush Administration's efforts to study the
development of the Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator (RNEP) and other
initiatives that would lead to the creation of a new generation of
nuclear weapons.
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