Nick Lampson: “I listened very carefully to Chairman Sensenbrenner's opening remarks during the hearing on this bill a couple of months…”

“I listened very carefully to Chairman Sensenbrenner's opening remarks during the hearing on this bill a couple of months ago. He stated that ``We must ensure that the Russian government is not facilitating the proliferation of missile technology * * * If the President finds that Russia is contributing to Iran's attempts to acquire weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles, then the bill prohibits NASA from transferring U.S. tax dollars to the Russian Space Agency and any enterprise under its jurisdiction.'' I can't agree more with the intent of this statement. During Committee markup, I had planned on offering an amendment to this bill that I believe would have clarified and honored the original intent of the bill by changing the nature of Section 6 to one that would have prohibited payments if proliferation was to occur, but wouldn't require advance certification that it hasn't. No one will disagree, I believe, that we should punish cheating, and this amendment would have achieved that goal in a less burdensome manner than the existing provision. However, I decided against offering this amendment. While I still have major concerns that Section 6 will not materially improve the effectiveness of this legislation in discouraging weapons technology transfer to Iran, and will cast a shadow over the greatest example of international cooperation in the peaceful use of space, I will reluctantly support H.R. 1883.”