NEWS
House Foreign Affairs Committee
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Ranking Republican
CONTACT: Sam Stratman, (202)
226-7875
Lee Cohen, (202) 226-1139
January 9, 2007
For IMMEDIATE Release
Ros-Lehtinen Suggests 9/11 Legislation
May Undermine Proliferation Security Initiative
(
U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen
(R-FL), ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said: “provisions in the proposed law drafted by
the House Democratic leadership may weaken the important work of the
Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) by making it subject to a UN Security
Council mandate.”
The legislation urges "with a
particular emphasis" that the President work with the United Nations
Security Council to "authorize the PSI under international law" and
that PSI be expanded and formalized into a "multilateral regime" to
increase coordination, cooperation, and compliance among its participants.
Created in 2002 by the Bush Administration, the Proliferation Security
Initiative is a voluntary working group that includes more than 70
participating countries. PSI cooperation already extends beyond NATO partners
(as recommended by the proposed legislation). The State Department credits PSI
with halting more than two-dozen weapons-related transfers from 2005-2006.
“The
initiative has been a success in its existing form, and considered critical in
uncovering
Ros-Lehtinen added: “granting the United
Nations the right to define what is permissible under the Proliferation
Security Initiative will result in the imposition of unpredictable limitations,
conditions, and interpretations and result in a regulatory straightjacket
overseen by an international bureaucracy.
"
and cannot do," Ros-Lehtinen said, adding "They have used the Security Council veto to hobble
Ros-Lehtinen continued: "This
section of the proposed legislation may have unintended consequences that could
harm our counter-proliferation capabilities through PSI.”
“If the new Majority is truly concerned about our nation’s security, it should afford Committees the time to carefully evaluate these proposals. By contrast, the Republican 9/11 measure enacted into law was a carefully calibrated bipartisan measure,” Ros-Lehtinen concluded.
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