Dick Lugar: “As the fiscal year 1998 Defense authorization bill moves to conference to resolve differences between the Senate and…”

“As the fiscal year 1998 Defense authorization bill moves to conference to resolve differences between the Senate and House versions of the bill, I am hopeful the conferees will give careful consideration to the Senate provision addressing the issue of the disposal of the U.S. chemical weapons stockpile. This provision requires an additional report to Congress by the Secretary of Defense on options available to the Department of Defense for the disposal of chemical weapons and agents. Since 1985, Congress has directed the Army to conduct a number of studies and evaluations of our Nation's chemical weapons stockpile in order to determine the safest and most effective method of disposal. Regardless of the destruction timetables set forth in the recently ratified Chemical Weapons Convention, U.S. chemical agents and munitions must be disposed of by 2004 as a matter of national policy.”