A member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and the Senate Armed Services Committee, Senator Bayh is one of Congress’ most respected voices on a wide range of national security issues. He has championed legislation to confront the most serious security threats of our time, including terrorism, nuclear proliferation, and volatility in the Middle East, as well as championing efforts to strengthen homeland security and our intelligence programs.

Keeping America Safe

More than six years after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the United States continues to be targeted by small bands of violent Islamic extremists intent on perpetrating mass casualty civilian attacks on our soil. To guard against this threat, Senator Bayh advocates using all tools of national power to isolate terrorists and hamper recruitment efforts. He has cosponsored bipartisan legislation to expand international education programs to encourage civil society in places where government is not responsive to the needs of its people. He cosponsored legislation in 2006 calling upon Congress to fully implement the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission. He has pushed to distribute anti-terrorism funding to state and local governments based on risk factors. And he has led efforts to more closely scrutinize cargo at our ports to monitor for explosives and dangerous shipments.

Nuclear Non-proliferation

Senator Bayh believes the United States must exert global leadership to keep the world’s most dangerous weapons away from its most dangerous people. Nuclear arms falling into the hands of a terrorist group or rogue state constitutes the gravest threat to global security. Senator Bayh supports enhanced efforts to safeguard nuclear materials at the source. He has called for expanding the Nunn-Lugar program to dismantle and safely store “loose nukes” in the former Soviet Union and elsewhere, and he has cosponsored legislation to help our allies detect and interdict nuclear bomb-making components. Senator Bayh also favors strengthening the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty to confront non-compliance by Iran.

Deterring Iran

The government in Iran is the world’s most active state sponsor of terrorism and continues to pursue nuclear weapons production capacity in defiance of international demands to cease. The Tehran regime seeks to undermine regional stability by arming, training and assisting violent extremists, while suppressing civil society and democracy activists at home. Senator Bayh has led efforts to aggressively confront the Iranian threat. In February 2005, he championed a bill to keep all sanctions, controls and regulations against Iran in place until the President certifies that Iran has verifiably dismantled its WMD programs. In 2006, Senator Bayh introduced a resolution calling on the Bush administration to enact a series of aggressive sanctions against Iran for its proliferation activities. In 2007, he cosponsored the Iran Counter-Proliferation Act, which strengthened existing sanctions and imposed new penalties on Iran. He also introduced the Iran Human Rights Act, which would establish a special envoy to improve human rights in Iran.

Most recently, he has led efforts to pressure the Iranian government to discontinue its nuclear materials production program through tougher economic sanctions that would choke off refined petroleum imports into Iran, the second-largest importer of gasoline in the world. Senator Bayh recently advanced a measure that would give state and local governments clear authority to divest from companies that provide Iran with refined oil and liquefied natural gas.

Defending Israel

Senator Bayh is committed to maintaining an enduring alliance between Israel and the United States. He advocates a Middle East peace that provides security for the Israelis and the Palestinians. A frequent traveler to Israel and neighboring countries, Senator Bayh understands that there can be no peace without a true commitment to security by all sides. He believes the United States must support capacity building, good governance and rule of law in the Palestinian territories, while isolating groups that reject Israel’s right to exist and advocate violence to advance an extremist agenda. Since entering the Senate nearly a decade ago, Senator Bayh has cosponsored many important legislative initiatives that defend Israel’s right to exist in safety and security. In 2006, he cosponsored a resolution condemning Hezbollah and Hamas and their state sponsors for initiating hostilities against the Jewish state, while supporting Israel’s exercise of its right to self-defense. He also cosponsored the Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act that outlined a peaceful, two-state solution to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.

International Nuclear Fuel Bank

To provide a safe supply of civilian nuclear energy to developing countries and deter nations seeking atomic weapons under its guise, Senator Bayh teamed with fellow Indiana Senator Richard Lugar to pass legislation and secure funding for an international nuclear fuel bank. Last December, Congress approved the creation of the fuel bank under the auspices of the International Atomic Energy Agency. The bank would help ensure that nations seeking civilian nuclear power have an affordable supply of nuclear fuel to meet their peaceful energy needs. It would ensure that nations have access to civilian nuclear power so long as they are willing to abide by conditions that protect global security. To participate, nations must agree to forgo enriching uranium and submit to rigorous inspections of their civilian reactors. Foreign governments that refuse fuel bank services would come under immediate suspicion about their true nuclear intentions.

Preserving Domestic Defense Industry

Senator Bayh believes we should never be reliant on foreign countries for sensitive U.S. military weapons components. In 2003, the Bush administration off-shored to China the domestic production of special magnets used to guide precision military smart bombs. Previously, high-performance military magnets were produced by a U.S. company called Magnequench in Valparaiso, Indiana. Today, the Pentagon must buy these weapons parts from Beijing as a result of the Chinese acquisition. In response to this fiasco, Senator Bayh has pushed for more robust security reviews when foreign investors seek to acquire U.S. companies that possess sensitive military components. He successfully fought to expand the specialty metals clause in the 2008 Department of Defense reauthorization bill to counter Chinese efforts to corner the market on other high-performance magnets.

Course Change in Iraq

Senator Bayh believes a careful disengagement out of Iraq to be the most responsible path for the United States. Strategic redeployment of our forces is the only way to put the burden on Iraqis to do what only they can do—suppress civil violence and make the tough political decisions necessary to establish a functioning democracy. Such a course change will make America safer by allowing our military leaders to focus needed resources and attention on the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan. Senator Bayh introduced bipartisan legislation in 2007 to help forge consensus in the Senate for a new strategy in Iraq. He also added language to the 2006 National Defense Authorization Act requiring more candid assessments of the situation on the ground in Iraq, including a mandate to include new reporting requirements that reflect the consensus judgments of the U.S. intelligence community.

Demanding Accountability from Saudi Arabia

As an original cosponsor of the Saudi Arabia Accountability Act, Senator Bayh has a long track record of demanding accountability from Saudi Arabia in deterring the terrorist threat to our homeland. His legislation required a total cessation in Saudi support for institutions that fund, train, incite, encourage, aid or abet terrorism, as well as full Saudi cooperation in the investigation of terrorist incidents. Senator Bayh believes the United States must continue to cultivate a pragmatic relationship with Saudi Arabia while encouraging the Kingdom toward moderation, tolerance and a more open civil society. Senator Bayh is encouraged by steps being taken inside the Kingdom but believes more must be done.