Benjamin Gilman: “S.J. Res. 54 is the Senate companion of H.J. Res. 125 which Speaker Gingrich and I introduced on June 25, 1998. We…”

“S.J. Res. 54 is the Senate companion of H.J. Res. 125 which Speaker Gingrich and I introduced on June 25, 1998. We introduced our resolution in response to the mounting evidence that Iraq continues to defy the decisions of the United Nations Security Council with regard to its weapons of mass destruction. The most recent example is the revelation in late June that Iraq has placed VX poison gas into missile warheads. That fact was established by lab testing in our Nation of missile warhead fragments which U.N. inspectors found in Iraq. This evidence proves that Iraq remains in violation of its obligations under U.N. Security Council Resolution 687 to disclose and eliminate its weapons of mass destruction programs and capabilities. It also demonstrates that Iraq continues even now to misrepresent to the United Nations and to the world about the history of its weapons of mass destruction programs. There is nothing new about this, however. Iraq's record of continued evasion and obstruction of U.N. resolutions is spelled out in the 28 "whereas" clauses contained in our measure.”