Sam Gejdenson: “while I commend the chairman on some of our accomplishments on some of this legislation, there is still a lot left to be…”

“while I commend the chairman on some of our accomplishments on some of this legislation, there is still a lot left to be done. It seems that we were not able to reverse what has been a damaging impact on America's satellite industry. Since the transfer of the licensing process from the Commerce Department to the State Department, we have had a 40 percent loss in American sales in the area of satellites. We continue to place restrictions on Russia as if they were the old Soviet Union and appear to try to re-create tensions that we ought to be working to ease. Lastly, in this legislation, while we made some progress from the original concerns by Senator Helms, it is clear that what we have here we are still placing restrictions on the United Kingdom and Australia, two of our closest allies that we work in harmony with in almost every theater in the world. The idea that American sales of nonclassified defense items should go through a complicated licensing process is against our national interest and against our global interest.”