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“CONGRATULATING KAZAKHSTAN ON 15TH ANNIVERSARY OF CLOSURE OF WORLD'S SECOND LARGEST NUCLEAR TEST SITE” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Energy was published in the House of Representatives section on pages H5332-H5338 on July 18, 2006.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
CONGRATULATING KAZAKHSTAN ON 15TH ANNIVERSARY OF CLOSURE OF WORLD'S
SECOND LARGEST NUCLEAR TEST SITE
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 905) congratulating Kazakhstan on the 15th anniversary of the closure of the world's second largest nuclear test site in the Semipalatinsk region of Kazakhstan and for its efforts on the nonproliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
The Clerk read as follows:
H. Res. 905
Whereas on August 29, 1991, the Government of Kazakhstan shut down the world's second largest nuclear test site in the Semipalatinsk region of the Republic of Kazakhstan;
Whereas between 1945 and 1991, more than 450 nuclear tests were conducted at this site, exposing more than 1.5 million innocent people to radiation and causing damage to the environment;
Whereas the damage to the environment and to the health of the people of Kazakhstan from this terrible legacy of hundreds of detonations of Soviet nuclear explosive devices could be felt for decades to come;
Whereas upon gaining independence, Kazakhstan inherited from the former Soviet Union more than 1,000 nuclear warheads, as well as a squadron of 40 TU-95 heavy bombers armed with 370 nuclear warheads, comprising the world's fourth largest nuclear arsenal;
Whereas Kazakhstan renounced this massive nuclear arsenal, unilaterally disarmed, and joined the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) as a non-nuclear weapon state, the first time a state that had possessed such a massive nuclear arsenal had done so;
Whereas Kazakhstan's leadership and cooperation with the United States on nonproliferation matters is a model for other countries to follow;
Whereas Kazakhstan also inherited from the former Soviet Union the world's largest anthrax production and weaponization facility, which had a capacity to produce more than 300 metric tons of anthrax per year;
Whereas Kazakhstan, in cooperation with the United States Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR) program, dismantled the military-related buildings and equipment associated with the anthrax production and weaponization facility;
Whereas the Government of Kazakhstan, in cooperation with the United States, participated in a very successful secret operation code-named ``Project Sapphire,'' in which 581 kilograms (1,278 pounds) of weapons-grade highly enriched uranium, enough to produce 20 to 25 nuclear warheads, were removed overnight from Kazakhstan;
Whereas in December 2004 and May 2006, Kazakhstan and the United States concluded amendments to a bilateral agreement on the nonproliferation of weapons of mass destruction, which have moved the two countries toward a new level of cooperation in preventing the threat of bio-terrorism; and
Whereas in February 2006, Kazakhstan and the Nuclear Threat Initiative of Washington, D.C., with the support of the United States Department of Energy, blended down 2,900 kilograms (6,600 pounds) of weapons-usable highly enriched uranium, enough to produce up to 25 nuclear warheads, converting the material for peaceful use and preventing it from falling into the hands of terrorist organizations and being used in weapons production: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) congratulates the people and Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan on the 15th anniversary of the closure of the world's second largest nuclear test site in the Semipalatinsk region of Kazakhstan;
(2) commends Kazakhstan for greatly advancing the cause of the nonproliferation of weapons of mass destruction as a result of its dismantlement of its nuclear and biological weapons and facilities; and
(3) calls upon the Administration to establish a joint working group with the Government of Kazakhstan to assist in assessing the environmental damage and health effects caused by nuclear testing in the Semipalatinsk region by the former Soviet Union.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) and the gentleman from American Samoa (Mr. Faleomavaega) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Florida.
General Leave
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentlewoman from Florida?
There was no objection.
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I rise in support of House Resolution 905, congratulating Kazakhstan on the 15th anniversary of the closure of the world's second largest nuclear test site, and for its efforts on nonproliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
Kazakhstan was once home to the second largest nuclear test site in the world. From the years of 1945 to 1991, over 450 tests were carried out at that site.
After becoming independent from the Soviet Union, Kazakhstan was left with more than 1,000 nuclear warheads and with 40 heavy bombers armed with 370 nuclear warheads and comprising the world's fourth largest nuclear arsenal.
Immediately after achieving its independence, Kazakhstan successfully closed and secured its enormous nuclear test site.
Kazakhstan accepted support from the U.S. Department of Energy and readily complied with the nuclear threat initiative, blending down over 6,000 pounds of weapons grade highly enriched uranium.
Given the threats that we are facing from rogue states such as Iran, which has blatantly violated its nuclear nonproliferation obligations and which refuses to immediately stop its nuclear-related and weapons-
related activities, we welcome the opportunity to stand here today commemorating Kazakhstan's landmark decision.
In addition to inheriting a massive nuclear arsenal from the Soviet Union, Kazakhstan was also left with the world's largest anthrax production and weaponizing facility.
Through cooperation with the United States Cooperative Threat Reduction program, CTR, Kazakhstan was able to successfully dismantle the military-related buildings and equipment related to such anthrax programs.
I ask my colleagues to support this important resolution and, in so doing, join us in commending the people and the government of Kazakhstan on the 15th anniversary of the closure of the world's second largest nuclear test site and for greatly advancing global nonproliferation efforts by dismantling its nuclear and biological weapons and facilities.
Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I might consume.
(Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)
Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Madam Speaker, again I want to thank my good friend, the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen), especially in her capacity as chairperson of the Subcommittee on the Middle East and Eastern Europe, and especially my good friend, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Ackerman), who is our ranking member of the subcommittee. I certainly want to thank also Chairman Henry Hyde and Mr. Tom Lantos, our senior ranking member of the House International Relations Committee. Without their support, Madam Speaker, House Resolution 905 would not be possible. And I really, really appreciate their help and assistance in providing this resolution now before the floor.
Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of House Resolution 905, congratulating Kazakhstan on the 15th anniversary of the closure of the world's second largest nuclear test site in Semipalatinsk region of Kazakhstan, and for its efforts on the nonproliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
House Resolution 905 is historic for these reasons, Madam Speaker. It is historic because this is the first time the U.S. House of Representatives has considered legislation in praise of Kazakhstan, a former Soviet republic that has proved to be a true ally of the United States.
It is also historic because it is being considered on the 60th birthday of my dear friend and brother, I consider my brother, the Honorable Kanat Saudabayev, the Ambassador of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the United States. Ambassador Saudabayev has worked tirelessly to represent the interests of Kazakhstan in the United States and has served His Excellency, Mr. Sursultan Nazarbayev, the President of Kazakhstan, with distinction and honor.
Ambassador Saudabayev and his wife and children and grandchildren are with us. It is my privilege to wish him a happy birthday and commend him for his service to his nation and certainly to the United States as well.
Madam Speaker, House Resolution 905 recognizes Kazakhstan as a model for advancing the cause of nuclear nonproliferation. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Kazakhstan inherited a ruined economy and became overnight the world's fourth largest recipient and supplier of nuclear weapons.
This arsenal of nuclear weapons could possibly have helped to resolve the financial problems of this young and struggling nation. However, under the leadership of President Nazarbayev, the people of Kazakhstan, knowing firsthand the horrible effects of nuclear tests, made a choice to renounce nuclear weapons all together. In fact, immediately after achieving independence, and in spite of threats from the Kremlin, President Nazarbayev closed and sealed the world's second largest nuclear test site at Semipalatinsk, where the Soviet Union conducted almost 500 nuclear tests from 1949 to 1991.
Our Nation assisted President Nazarbayev to dismantle these nuclear weapons through the leadership of former Senator Sam Nunn and Chairman Richard Lugar, with the enactment of the Nunn-Lugar Act that provided the necessary funds to carry out the elimination of these nuclear weapons.
Madam Speaker, today few know about President Nazarbayev's heroic decision which, in my humble opinion, changed the course of modern history. Few know that this story about Kazakhstan did not bargain and did not lobby to gain political or economic dividends from its choice. Rather, Kazakhstan, for the sake of global peace and security, consciously chose to ensure a brighter future for their children and for the rest of the world.
Can you believe a Muslim country having in its possession all these nuclear weapons that President Nazarbayev could have easily doled out, sold them, and made it such that it could have been a very, very dangerous situation for the world.
I believe we should speak out more often of Kazakhstan's example, Madam Speaker. While I am grateful that the world is aware of the Chernobyl disaster, where several thousands perished, I am saddened that the world knows so little about the tragedies of Semipalatinsk, the Marshall Islands and French Polynesia, where children and elderly have gone dying for decades as a result of Cold War policies and also being directly affected because of nuclear contamination.
At Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan, the cumulative power of explosions from nuclear tests conducted by the former Soviet Union is believed to be equal to the power of 2,500 explosions of the type of bombs dropped in Hiroshima, Japan in 1945. More than 1.5 million people of Kazakhstan suffered from nuclear contamination as a result of these tests, and a horrifying array of diseases will continue to destroy the lives of these good people.
Madam Speaker, as a Pacific Islander, I have a tremendous affinity to the people of Kazakhstan because the Marshallese and the Polynesian Tahitians also know firsthand the horrors of nuclear testing. Bikini is one of 29 atolls and five islands that compose the Marshall Islands. These atolls are located north of the equator and are scattered over some 357,000 square miles of the Pacific Ocean. Because of their location away from regular air and sea routes, these atolls were chosen by our government to be the nuclear proving grounds for the United States.
From 1946 to 1958 the United States detonated 67 nuclear weapons at the Marshall Islands, which included the first hydrogen bomb explosion of what is known as the Bravo shot, a 15 megaton shot, which is equivalent to 1,000 times more powerful than the bombs we dropped on Nagasaki, Hiroshima. Acknowledged as the greatest nuclear explosion ever detonated by the United States, the Bravo shot vaporized six islands, and created a mushroom cloud 25 miles up in the atmosphere. It has been said that if one were to calculate the net yield of the tests conducted in the Marshall Islands, it would be equivalent to the detonation of 1.7 Hiroshima nuclear bombs every day for 12 years.
The U.S. nuclear testing program exposed the people of the Marshall Islands to severe health problems and genetic abnormalities for generations. The U.S. nuclear testing program in the Marshall Islands also set a precedent for France to use the islands of the Pacific for its own testing program. For some 30 years the French Government detonated approximately 218 nuclear bombs on Moruroa and Fangataufa atolls near Tahiti.
In 1995, while the world turned a blind eye, the newly elected President, Jacques Chirac, announced that France would violate the 1992 world moratorium on nuclear testing and exploded eight more nuclear bombs on Moruroa and Fangataufa atolls beginning in September 1995.
Chirac said the nuclear explosions would have no ecological consequences. Give me a break. They described his decision as irrevocable. And what is known about this is that we even told France, you don't need to explode any more nuclear bombs. You can do it electronically. Despite all of this, still couldn't do it.
I also made an irrevocable decision to accompany Mr. Oscar Temaru, the current President of French Polynesia on the Greenpeace warrior vessel which took us to Moruroa as part of some 20,000 demonstrators who came from Europe, from Japan, from the United States, from New Zealand, Australia and elsewhere to protest President's Chirac's decision to break France's commitment to a moratorium not to conduct any more nuclear tests.
{time} 1545
Later I personally visited Moruroa under the supervision of the French Government, and to this day portions of that atoll is still contaminated.
Madam Speaker, in 2003, as a direct result of my friendship with the good Ambassador from Kazakhstan, I became aware of the magnitude of the problem of Semipalatinsk. In August, 2004, I felt a deep sense of obligation as a Member of Congress who had visited the nuclear test sites in the Marshall Islands and in French Polynesia and also now to the Semipalatinsk test site. During my visit and in later discussions with President Nazarbayev, I learned that I was the first American legislator to set foot on ground zero where the Soviet Union exploded its first nuclear device in 1949. And guess what, Madam Speaker? It is still contaminated to this day.
Madam Speaker, considering the courageous decision made by President Nazarbayev to shut down the Semipalatinsk test site so that you and I and future generations may live in peace, I believe we have a moral responsibility to bear the burdens of our brothers and sisters in Semipalatinsk. This is why I am pleased that this House resolution calls upon the administration to establish a joint working group with the Government of Kazakhstan to assist in assessing the environmental damage and health effects caused by nuclear testing in the Semipalatinsk region by the former Soviet Union.
As important as this resolution is, Madam Speaker, I also believe the international community should more fully acknowledge Kazakhstan's tremendous contribution to world peace. While I am pleased this year's Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the United Nations director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the IAEA, I believe President Nazarbayev, Senator Richard Lugar, and Senator Sam Nunn should also be seriously considered for the Nobel Peace Prize for reaffirming the worth and advancing the rights of human beings around the world and by dismantling the world's fourth largest nuclear arsenal, closing and sealing the Semipalatinsk test site, and most recently blending down 6,600 pounds of weapons-usable highly enriched uranium, or enough to produce up to 25 nuclear warheads, converting the material for peaceful use and thereby preventing it from falling into the hands of terrorist organizations.
I submit, Madam Speaker, these are some of the achievements that President Nazarbayev and Senator Lugar and Senator Nunn have made, and they certainly should be recognized by leaders of our world community.
I want to share with my colleagues the substance of the paper that was delivered by my good friend, Ambassador Saudabayev, concerning what happened in Kazakhstan. And I quote:
``The people of Kazakhstan have experienced firsthand the devastating force of nuclear weapons. During four decades, the Soviet Union conducted 456 nuclear explosions at the world's largest nuclear test site at Semipalatinsk. The cumulative power output of these explosions equaled 2,500 Hiroshima-size bombs. More than 1.5 million Kazaks were exposed.
``That is, Kazakhstan made the unprecedented step in the history of the world and became the first country to shut down a nuclear test site and renounce the world's fourth largest nuclear arsenal. At that time this arsenal was larger than the nuclear weapons stockpiles of Great Britain, France, and China combined. Kazakhstan had 1,040 nuclear warheads for intercontinental ballistic missiles SS-18 and 370 nuclear warheads for cruise missiles and 40 strategic multipurpose bombers TU-
95 to deliver them.''
The point I wanted to make about the Ambassador's statement, Madam Speaker, is that Kazakhstan is no longer involved in this madness of developing as well as holding on to nuclear weapons.
With the recent announcement of our need to establish a global initiative to combat nuclear terrorism and on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the closure of the world's second largest nuclear test site at Semipalatinsk, it is only fitting and fair that we should acknowledge Kazakhstan's commitment and leadership in nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation. For this reason I urge my colleagues to support the House Resolution 905.
Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution. H. Res. 905 congratulates Kazakhstan on the 15th anniversary of the closure of the world's second largest nuclear test site in the Semipalatinsk region of Kazakhstan and for its efforts on the nonproliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
H. Res. 905 is non-controversial and historic. It is historic because this is the first time the U.S. House of Representatives has considered legislation in praise of Kazakhstan, a former Soviet Republic that has proved to be a true ally of the U.S.
It is also historic because it is being considered on the 60th birthday of my friend and brother, His Excellency Kanat Saudabayev, Ambassador of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Ambassador Saudabayev has worked tirelessly to represent the interests of Kazakhstan in the U.S. and has served his President, Nursultan Nazarbayev, with distinction and honor and, today, it is my privilege to wish him a happy birthday and commend him for his service to his nation and ours.
Also, at this time, I thank Chairman Henry Hyde and Ranking Member Tom Lantos of the International Relations Committee for their support in moving this important legislation forward. I also thank Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Congressman Gary Ackerman, Chair and Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on the Middle East and Central Asia, for cosponsoring this legislation. Without their support, H. Res. 905 would not be possible.
H. Res. 905 recognizes Kazakhstan as a model for advancing the cause of nuclear nonproliferation. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Kazakhstan inherited a ruined economy and the World's fourth largest nuclear arsenal. This arsenal could possibly have helped to resolve the financial problems of this young and struggling nation.
However, led by President Nazarbayev, the people of Kazakhstan, knowing firsthand the horrible effects of nuclear tests, made a choice to renounce nuclear weapons. In fact, immediately after achieving independence and in spite of threats from the Kremlin, President Nazarbayev closed and sealed the world's second largest nuclear test site at Semipalatinsk where the Soviet Union conducted more than 450 nuclear tests from 1949 to 1991.
Today, few know about President Nazarbayev's heroic decision which undoubtedly changed the course of modern history. Few know this story because Kazakhstan did not bargain and did not lobby to gain political or economic dividends from its choice. Rather, Kazakhstan, for the sake of global peace and security, consciously chose to ensure a brighter future for their children and ours.
For this reason, I believe we should speak more often of Kazakhstan's example. While I am grateful that the world is aware of the Chernobyl disaster where thousands perished, I am saddened that the world knows so little about the tragedies of Semipalatinsk, the Marshall Islands and French Polynesia where children and the elderly have been dying for decades as a result of Cold War policies that to this day have never been set right.
In Semipalatinsk, the cumulative power of explosions from nuclear tests conducted by the former Soviet Union is believed to be equal to the power of 2,500 explosions of the type of bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan in 1945. More than 1.5 million people in Kazakhstan suffered from nuclear contamination as a result of these tests and a horrifying array of disease will continue to destroy the lives of many more.
As a Pacific Islander, I have a special affinity for the people of Kazakhstan because the Marshallese and Polynesian Tahitians also know firsthand the horrors of nuclear testing. Bikini is one of 29 atolls and five islands that compose the Marshall Islands. These atolls are located north of the equator and are scattered over 357,000 square miles of the Pacific Ocean. Because of their location away from regular air and sea routes, these atolls were chosen to be the nuclear proving ground for the United States.
From 1946 to 1958, the United States detonated 66 nuclear weapons in the Marshall Islands including the first hydrogen bomb,or Bravo shot, which was 1,000 times more powerful than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima. Acknowledged as the greatest nuclear explosion ever detonated by the U.S., the Bravo shot vaporized 6 islands and created a mushroom cloud 25 miles in diameter. It has been said that if one were to calculate the net yield of the tests conducted in the Marshall Islands, it would be equivalent to the detonation of 1.7 Hiroshima nuclear bombs every day for 12 years.
The U.S. nuclear testing program exposed the people of the Marshall Islands to severe health problems and genetic anomalies for generations to come. The U.S. nuclear testing program in the Marshall Islands also set a precedent for France to use the islands of the Pacific for its own testing program. For some 30 years, the French Government detonated approximately 218 nuclear devices at Moruroa and Fangataufa atolls in Tahiti. In 1995, while the world turned a blind eye, the newly elected President of France, Jacques Chirac, announced that France would violate the 1992 world moratorium on nuclear testing and explode 8 more nuclear bombs at Moruroa and Fangataufa atolls beginning in September 1995. Chirac said that the nuclear explosions would have no
``ecological consequences'' and described his decision a
``irrevocable.''
I also made an irrevocable decision and, in August 1995, accompanied Mr. Oscar Temaru, who is now the President of French Polynesia, on the Green Peace Warrior which took us to Moruroa in protest of President Chirac's decision to break the world moratorium. Later, I personally visited Moruroa under the supervision of the French Government and I remember well the fact that on certain areas of the island, it was off-
limits and obviously contaminated and unfit for human occupation. After years of denial, the French Government has finally admitted there are leakages of radioactive materials from these atolls where the nuclear tests were conducted. As a result, some 10,000 Tahitians are believed to be severely exposed to nuclear radiation and the French Government has done little or nothing to properly diagnose or even give medical treatment to the Tahitian workers who were victims of this tragedy.
In 2003, as a direct result of my friendship with Ambassador Saudabayev, I became aware of the magnitude of the problem of Semipalatinsk. In August 2004, I felt a deep sense of obligation as a Member of Congress who had visited the nuclear test sites in the Marshall Islands and Tahiti to also visit the Semipalatinsk test site. During my visit and in later discussions with President Nazarbayev, I learned that I was the first American legislator to set foot on ground zero in Kazakhstan.
Considering the courageous decision made by President Nazarbayev to shut down the Semipalatinsk test site so that you and I and future generations may live in peace, I believe we have a moral responsibility to bear the burdens of our brothers and sisters in Semipalatinsk. This is why I am pleased that H. Res. 905 calls upon the Administration to establish a joint working group with the Government of Kazakhstan to assist in assessing the environmental damage and health effects caused by nuclear testing in the Semipalatinsk region by the former Soviet Union.
As important as this resolution is, I also believe the international community should more fully acknowledge Kazakhstan's contribution to world peace. While I am pleased that this year's Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), I believe President Nazarbayev should also receive the Nobel Peace Prize for reaffirming the worth and advancing the rights of the human person by dismantling the world's 4th largest nuclear arsenal, closing and sealing the Semipalatinsk test site, and most recently blending down 6,600 pounds of weapons-usable highly enriched uranium, or enough to produce up to 25 nuclear warheads, converting the material for peaceful use and thereby preventing it from falling into the hands of terrorist organizations.
I also believe Senator Richard Lugar and former Senator Sam Nunn should likewise be honored for establishing the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR) program which provides assistance to Russia and the former Soviet republics for securing and destroying their excess nuclear, biological and chemical weapons.
With the recent announcement of our need to establish a global initiative to combat nuclear terrorism and on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the closure of the world's second largest nuclear test site at Semipalatinsk, it is only fitting and fair that we should acknowledge Kazakhstan's commitment and leadership in nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation. For this reason, I urge my colleagues to support H. Res. 905 and I thank Minority Leader Pelosi and Majority Leader Boehner for bringing this timely resolution to the floor.
Madam Speaker, I gladly yield 5 minutes to my dear friend and colleague from the great State of Nevada (Ms. Berkley).
Ms. BERKLEY. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from American Samoa for yielding.
I rise today to congratulate the people and the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan on the 15th anniversary of the closure of the former Soviet nuclear test site within their borders. I am pleased to commend Kazakhstan on its tireless work for nonproliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and I call upon the administration and my colleagues here in Congress to assist Kazakhstan in assessing the environmental damage caused by Soviet testing.
This is a very important and very personal issue to me. I represent southern Nevada, where the United States detonated over 900 nuclear bombs at the Nevada test site in the 1950s and 1960s. Nevadans and residents of surrounding States paid a very heavy price for this testing especially during the above-ground testing years. Environmental contamination and the devastating impact on the health of the people living in this area, living in the southwestern region of the United States of America, were unconscionable and unacceptable and can never be allowed to happen again.
I remember as a kid growing up in Las Vegas, so many of my friends' mothers and fathers worked at the Nevada test site. They would be bussed into the test site during the week. They would be bussed home during the weekend. Little did any of us realize that they were being contaminated as they worked for our government in the attempt and in the thought that they were doing something good and important for national security.
I recall, after being elected to Congress, going to a meeting of all the former Nevada test site workers, at least those that were still alive. There were 200 people in the room when I walked in. We asked that everybody in the room that had been a worker at the test site who had some form of cancer, if they would mind standing and acknowledging that fact. Every single person in that room, all 200 of them, stood up because they were all suffering from a form of cancer.
Radioactive contamination from tests in both Nevada and in Kazakhstan indiscriminately spread across the globe, eventually causing world powers to recognize the terrible health risks, stop atmospheric testing, and finally end all testing. We must prevent a return to nuclear testing, and we must continue to redress the problems that have been caused by testing over the last 60 years and continue to cause environmental and health threats from the United States to the former Soviet Union, Kazakhstan, to the South Pacific, Marshall Islands, and many other places that have been harmed by nuclear testing.
Today is the 60th birthday of my friend and partner in opposing nuclear proliferation, His Excellency Kanat Saudabayev, the Ambassador to the United States from the Republic of Kazakhstan. I do not think it is appropriate to acknowledge the fact that he is in the gallery, but I will be joining him in the gallery to congratulate him on reaching this milestone when I conclude my remarks.
It was my great pleasure in June to cochair, at his suggestion, a public symposium in Las Vegas on the Legacy and Lessons of Nuclear Testing in Kazakhstan and Nevada. Over 100 of my constituents joined me and the Ambassador for this remarkable event, and it was with a strong sense of commitment that I submitted into the Congressional Record the Ambassador's and my joint statement of opposition to nuclear proliferation and our ongoing commitment to working for a safer world.
I salute the Ambassador, his President, and the people of Kazakhstan and look forward to working with them on eliminating the threat of nuclear testing and nuclear weapons proliferation and congratulate them for their very courageous actions.
I wholeheartedly support H. Res. 905. I commend my friend and colleague, the gentleman from American Samoa, for drafting this timely and important resolution, and I strongly urge its passage.
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Madam Speaker, I would like to yield 5 minutes of our time to the gentleman from American Samoa (Mr. Faleomavaega).
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from American Samoa is recognized for 5 additional minutes.
Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Madam Speaker, how much more time do I have on this side?
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman has 8\1/2\ minutes.
Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
I want to commend the gentlewoman from Nevada for a most eloquent statement. And nothing pleases me more than to know that one of my colleagues has had personal experience in dealing with nuclear testing.
I must say for the record I am probably one of the few Members who have ever visited the actual nuclear test sites. I have been to French Polynesia. I have been to Moruroa. It is not a very pleasant sight when you see a nuclear explosion like a flower, a beautiful array of colors, but very deadly. I have been to Semipalatinsk, ground zero, where the Soviet Union exploded its first nuclear weapon in 1949. That place is still contaminated. So with 10,000 French Tahitians who were exposed to nuclear contamination, 1.5 million people of Kazakhstan exposed to nuclear contamination, several hundred Marshallese people exposed to nuclear contamination, Madam Speaker, I submit we have a moral obligation to help these people, to assist them with their medical needs. And, unfortunately, I must say my own government has not done a very good job in helping the people of the Marshall Islands, providing the best medical treatment that we can give.
When that 15-megaton hydrogen bomb was exploded, there was no warning given to the people living in Rongelap and Utirik. And guess what? That nuclear cloud that came over as result of the explosion of this hydrogen bomb literally caused some very serious problems. I have talked to some of the women in the Marshall Islands. Five times they have had to have cancer operations of the lymph nodes. And this is just an example of our failure as a government to fulfill our responsibility to what we have done to these people in the Marshall Islands.
And I want to say that I commend also the Government of Kazakhstan and all the efforts that they are making. I visited the hospitals, seen the nuclear victims and, sad to say, the cancer, the results of women not giving birth in normal cycles.
This is very bad, and I sincerely hope that my colleagues and we as a government could be more responsible, especially in our responsibility to the people of the Marshall Islands.
Madam Speaker, I have several documents of a symposium that was conducted December 16, 2003, here in Washington, D.C., and I will include in the Record the statement of Ambassador Kanat Saudabayev and a table also indicating the various nuclear explosions that had taken place since we started this madness in 1945 up until 1998.
A realistic comparison to make here: We exploded a 15-megaton bomb. The Soviet Union exploded a 50-megaton hydrogen bomb in 1961, which was 3,333 times more powerful than the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atom bombs that we exploded in Japan. You can just imagine what this means to the 1.5 million Kazaks who were exposed in this terrible, terrible time of our world's history, what the Soviet Union had done to these good people.
Madam Speaker, again I want to thank my good friend, the gentlewoman from Florida for her support and management of this legislation.
I urge my colleagues to support this resolution.
Symposium Remarks by Kanat Saudabayev
Hon. Senator Nunn, Congressmen Faleomavaega, Your Excellencies, Ladies and gentlemen, It is difficult to overestimate the pressing urgency of today's symposium; weapons of mass destruction and the desire by international terrorists to use them have become the most dangerous threat in the world.
The people of Kazakhstan have experienced first-hand the devastating force of nuclear weapons. During four decades, the Soviet Union conducted 456 nuclear explosions at the world's largest nuclear test site at Semipalatinsk. The cumulative power output of these explosions equaled 2,500 Hiroshima-size bombs. More than 1.5 million people suffered from these tests in Kazakhstan, and vast territories became absolutely useless for life.
That is why Kazakhstan made the unprecedented step in the history of the world, and became the first country to shut down a nuclear test site and renounce the world's fourth largest nuclear arsenal. At that time this arsenal was larger than the nuclear weapons stockpiles of Great Britain, France and China combined. Kazakhstan had 1,040 nuclear warheads for intercontinental. ballistic missiles (ICBMs) 55-18 and 370 nuclear warheads for cruise missiles, and 40 strategic multipurpose bombers TU-95 to deliver them.
Today, there are no nuclear weapons in Kazakhstan. The infrastructure of the test site has been demolished. This was possible due to close cooperation between our two countries during the past decade under the Nunn-Lugar Program.
It could have been very different. In the early days of independence, there was no shortage of foreign emissaries asking our President to keep the nuclear weapons, saying that you are going to be the first and only Muslim nation with nuclear weapons and that you are going to be respected by the whole world. I must say that a significant portion of Kazakhstan's elite of that time were also in favor of keeping the nuclear arsenal. Today it would be fair to say that our renunciation of nuclear weapons was a courageous choice of historic significance by the President of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev.
The President convincingly tells the story of what was behind that choice in his book, Epicenter of Peace, which we present to you today. I must say that the book's first presentation in Washington was supposed to happen on September 11, 2001. The time that has passed since that tragic day has only confirmed and reinforced the urgent need to tackle the problems discussed in the book. Yet another argument against weapons of mass destruction and their proliferation is the photo exhibit, Kazakhstan: From Nuclear Nightmare to Epicenter of Peace, which you can see here.
Today Kazakhstan strongly urges the world to follow our example and further reduce and eliminate nuclear arsenals as well as other weapons of mass destruction, and prevent them from falling into the hands of terrorists.
This is the reason Kazakhstan has become a strong partner of the United States and the international coalition in the fight against terrorism from the very first days after the tragedy of September 11. We provide assistance to Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. Today our troops, the only ones. from our region, are taking part in the postwar stabilization and restoration of Iraq.
I believe Kazakhstan's experience of cooperating with the United States in nonproliferation of weapons of mass destruction and eliminating the infrastructure that supports them provide meaningful answers to modern challenges.
We are eager to further strengthen our cooperation with the United States and other nations who are interested in the prevention of further proliferation of WMDs.
Today's forum, taking place in the U.S. Congress, a universally recognized citadel of democracy and freedom, is vivid proof of strengthening cooperation between Kazakhstan and the U.S. to ensure security in the world.
There are people in this room today who by the call of duty and the call of heart are committed to the ideal of nonproliferation and are doing everything possible to free the world of the threat of weapons of mass destruction. The symposium has gained a special significance with the participation of outstanding statesmen such as senators Sam Nunn and Richard Lugar who established the famous Cooperative Threat Reduction Program. I believe their enormous contribution to global security has yet to be fully appreciated by the world.
The Presidents of our two countries, George W. Bush and Nursultan Nazarbayev, support this symposium's goals and each sent a message. It is with great pleasure that I would like to carry out the honorable mission assigned to me by President Nursultan Nazarbayev and read out his message to the symposium.
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Ambassador Saudabayev, assigned to Washington since December 2000, brings an important contribution strengthening the growing strategic partnership between Kazakhstan and the United States of America in the spheres of security, economy and democratic development.
Before his appointment to the U.S., Ambassador Saudabayev had a long career in the fields of government, diplomacy and the arts.
In 1999 and 2000, he served as the head of the Prime Minister's Office with the rank of Cabinet member.
In the 1990s, he served as Kazakhstan's Ambassador to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and to Turkey.
During 1994, as the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Saudabayev worked to implement the developing foreign policy of his young independent state. He was Kazakhstan's signatory to NATO's Partnership for Peace agreement.
In the fall of 1991, he became the last Soviet Ambassador ever appointed, to Turkey, by President Mikhail S. Gorbachev. As he was planning to take up his post, the Soviet Union ceased to exist. Within weeks he was on his way to Turkey again, but as the first Ambassador ever from an independent Kazakhstan to any nation.
Working in Moscow from September 1991 through May 1992 as the Plenipotentiary Representative of the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic to the USSR, and then, after the Soviet Union collapsed, to the new Russian republic, Kanat Saudabayev was a direct participant in and a witness to many crucial events of those historic days.
Before entering the diplomatic service, Ambassador Saudabayev had a distinguished cultural career serving as Chairman of the State Committee of Culture with the rank of Minister, Chairman of the State Film Committee, and Deputy Culture Minister. He began his career as a theatrical producer.
Ambassador Saudabayev holds degrees from the Leningrad Institute of Culture and the Academy of Public Sciences of the Central Committee of Communist Party of the Soviet Union. He has a Ph.D. in Philosophy from the Kazakh State University and a Ph.D. in Political Science from Moscow State University. His service has been recognized with the Order of Kurmet (Distinguished Service).
Kanat Saudabayev is married to Kullikhan with two sons and a daughter, and three grandchildren. He was born in the Almaty region in 1946.
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MILESTONE NUCLEAR EXPLOSIONS
[The following list is of milestone nuclear explosions. In addition to the atomic bombings of Hiroshima andNagasaki, the first nuclear test of a given weapon type for a country is included, and tests which were
otherwise notable (such as the largest test ever). All yields (explosive power) are given in their estimated
energy equivalents in kilotons of TNT (see megaton).]
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Date Name Yield (kt) Country Significance
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Jul 16 1945.................... Trinity........... 19 USA............... First fission weapon
test
Aug 6 1945..................... Little Boy........ 15 USA............... Bombing of Hiroshima,
Japan
Aug 9 1945..................... Fat Man........... 21 USA............... Bombing of Nagasaki,
Japan
Aug 29 1949.................... Joe 1............. 22 USSR.............. First fission weapon
test by the USSR
Oct 3 1952..................... Hurricane......... 25 UK................ First fission weapon
test by the UK
Nov 1 1952..................... Ivy Mike.......... 10,200 USA............... First ``staged''
thermonuclear weapon
test (not deployable)
Aug 12 1953.................... Joe 4............. 400 USSR.............. First fusion weapon
test by the USSR (not
``staged'', but
deployable)
Mar 1 1954..................... Castle Bravo...... 15,000 USA............... First deployable
``staged''
thermonuclear weapon;
fallout accident
Nov 22 1955.................... RDS-37............ 1,600 USSR.............. First ``staged''
thermonuclear weapon
test by the USSR
(deployable)
Nov 8 1957..................... Grapple X......... 1,800 UK................ First (successful)
``staged''
thermonuclear weapon
test by the UK
Feb 13 1960.................... Gerboise Bleue.... 60 France............ First fission weapon
test by France
Oct 31 1961.................... Tsar Bomba........ 50,000 USSR.............. Largest thermonuclear
weapon ever tested
Oct 16 1964.................... 596............... 22 China............. First fission weapon
test by China
June 17 1967................... Test No. 6........ 3,300 China............. First ``staged''
thermonuclear weapon
test by China
Aug 24 1968.................... Canopus........... 2,600 France............ First ``staged''
thermonuclear test by
France
May 18 1974.................... Smiling Buddha.... 12 India............. First fission nuclear
explosive test by
India
May 11 1998.................... Shakti I.......... 43 India............. First potential fusion/
boosted weapon test by
India (exact yields
disputed, between 25kt
and 45kt)
May 13 1998.................... Shakti II......... 12 India............. First fission
``weapon'' test by
India
May 28 1998.................... Chagai-I.......... 9 Pakistan.......... First fission weapon
test by Pakistan
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Mr. LANTOS. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution. I would first like to commend my good friend and colleague from American Samoa, Eni Faleomavaega, for introducing this important measure. He has been the leader in Congress on matters related to the legacy of nuclear testing, both in the former Soviet Union and in the Pacific, and we greatly appreciate his hard work.
Madam Speaker, upon the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the newly-
minted independent nation of Kazakhstan found itself in possession of the fourth largest nuclear arsenal in the world. Kazakhstan inherited more than 1,000 nuclear weapons and a squadron of heavy bombers armed with 370 nuclear warheads from the Soviet Union.
Rather than embrace their nuclear status, the people of Kazakhstan made a farsighted decision fifteen years ago. They closed their nation's nuclear test site, and yielded all of their inherited nuclear arsenal and weapons materials back to Russia.
Kazakhstan, the victim for so long of Soviet domination, completely and voluntarily rescinded their membership in the nuclear club. The nation proudly joined the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, or ``NPT'', as a non-nuclear weapon state, the first time a state that had possessed such a massive nuclear arsenal had done so.
While Kazakhstan made a wise decision to rid itself of its nuclear arsenal, the damage to the environment and to the health of the people of Kazakhstan will be felt for decades to come. Between 1945 and 1991, more than 450 nuclear tests were conducted at the Semipalatink test site, exposing more than 1.5 million innocent people to radiation and causing massive damage to the environment.
It is for that reason that the United States should work with Kazakhstan to establish a joint working group to help assess the environmental damage and health affects caused by the nuclear testing.
Madam Speaker, Kazakhstan's commitment to nuclear non-proliferation, and to nuclear disarmament, is an inspiring one, and a shining example for others to follow. It has strengthened immeasurably the global nuclear nonproliferation regime, and we greatly appreciate these actions.
Madam Speaker, I strongly support this resolution, and I urge all of my colleagues to join me in doing likewise.
Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Madam Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) that the House suspend the rules and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 905.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor thereof) the rules were suspended and the resolution was agreed to.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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