John Spratt: “Mr. Chairman, this amendment would strike at a Japanese facility which is one of the most modern in the world, built in…”

“Mr. Chairman, this amendment would strike at a Japanese facility which is one of the most modern in the world, built in 1988, more modern than ours. We have more plutonium missing at the Savannah River site than this facility cannot account for. Basically, three tons of plutonium have gone into the facility since 1988, and three tons minus 70 kilograms have gone out. Where are the 70 kilograms involved? They are not secreted away. It is in the crevices, cracks, and glove boxes of this particular facility. We have Los Alamos to tell us that. We have the IAEA to tell us that. Mr. Chairman, there is no violation here, even though there is some uncertainty as to where all of it is. What happens if we adopt this resolution? We are telling the President of the United States, ``You should stop the operation of this facility. You should tell the Japanese to return all the special nuclear materials we have given them, all the technology. That is the content, those are the provisions of our nuclear cooperation agreement.'' At this point in time do we want to slap an ally like the Japanese in the face with a diplomatic gaffe like this at such a sensitive time? Do we want to lend credence to the North Koreans who say the Japanese cannot account for their plutonium when they very well can? We do not, Mr. Chairman, and that is why we need to defeat this amendment and defeat it overwhelmingly.”