Larry Pressler: “last year the Clinton administration asked Congress for the authority to allow United States military equipment to be…”

“last year the Clinton administration asked Congress for the authority to allow United States military equipment to be delivered to Pakistan. Since 1990, such deliveries were not allowed because of a 1985 law known as the Pressler amendment, which prohibited any United States Assistance to Pakistan if the President failed to certify Pakistan was not in possession of a nuclear explosive device. My colleagues may recall that we debated this issue quite extensively. It was very controversial. In the end, despite strong opposition from this Senator and many of my colleagues, the Senate approved the so-called Brown amendment, which authorized the transfer of military equipment and repealed the Pressler amendment's prohibitions on nonmilitary aid to Pakistan. The Brown amendment became law earlier this year. To bolster the Clinton administration's request, Under Secretary of State Peter Tarnoff sent a letter to Members of Congress on August 3, 1995, when the Senate first debated the Brown amendment. Secretary Tarnoff attempted to assure Senators that the administration's support of the Brown amendment would be conditional on "no significant change on nuclear and missile non-proliferation issues of concern to the United States." Mr. President, that was then. On February 22, 1996, Dr. John Deutch, the Director of Central Intelligence, testified before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.…”