Doug Bereuter: “as the Vice Chairman of the Committee on International Relations and the original sponsor of H.R. 1152, this Member…”

“as the Vice Chairman of the Committee on International Relations and the original sponsor of H.R. 1152, this Member rises in strong support of the Silk Road Strategy Act of 1999. In introducing this important legislation, this Member was joined by the distinguished ranking Democrat on the Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific, the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos), the distinguished gentleman from New York (Mr. Ackerman), the distinguished gentleman from California (Mr. Berman) and many other colleagues in the House who were interested in and concerned about improving U.S. relations with the countries in this vital region of the world. Mr. Speaker, with the disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russia became the focus of U.S. attention and heir to the vast Soviet arsenal. Russia also retained the Soviet permanent seat on the UN Security Council and membership now, of course, in the G-8. A peaceful post-Soviet era largely depended on Washington's ability to get along with Moscow. It is not surprising then that U.S. attention, including the Freedom Support Act, was directed principally at Moscow. We should remember, however, that 15 countries emerged or reemerged from the collapse of the Soviet Union. A few, the Baltics and Ukraine, garnered special attention in the Freedom Support Act, or in the SEED Act, which addressed Eastern Europe. But the Caucasus and Central Asia region received scant attention.”