NEWS RELEASE

Committee on Energy and Commerce
Rep. John D. Dingell, Chairman

Dingell, Stupak on Administration’s Withdrawal of Russian Nuclear Agreement

Washington, D.C. – Rep. John D. Dingell (D-MI), the Chairman of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI), the Chairman of the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, commented today on the Administration’s decision to formally pull its request for Congressional approval of the ‘123’ agreement for civilian nuclear cooperation with Russia.

The following may be attributed to Dingell:

“Even without Russia’s incursion into Georgia, Russian support for Iranian nuclear and missile programs alone is enough to call into question the wisdom of committing to a 30-year agreement to transfer sensitive nuclear technologies and materials to Russia.

“While I am pleased that the Administration has decided to take the Russian 123 agreement off the table, the Committee’s oversight of this issue will continue. We have asked the Government Accountability Office to review Russian support for Iranian nuclear programs. That assessment will go forward, given the likelihood that Congress and a new Administration may revisit this issue in the future.”

The following may be attributed to Stupak:

“In January, the Oversight & Investigations Subcommittee held a hearing titled Combating Nuclear Proliferation: The Effectiveness of the Department of Energy’s Initiatives for Proliferation Prevention (IPP) Program. During that hearing, I expressed concern about the United States funding agencies that may be working with our enemies on nuclear programs.

“The Bush Administration appears to have come around to my view that now is not the time for nuclear cooperation with countries acting with disregard for U.S. interests. Chairman Dingell and I raised these concerns four months ago in a letter to President Bush when he first submitted the U.S.-Russia deal to Congress, noting Russia’s ties to missile activities in Iran. I am pleased to see that the Administration is heeding our advice and withdrawing the pact from consideration.”

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