7 Finally, Mr. Chairman, I would like to say that the list of proponents of this legislation is particularly impressive. They are organizations for which, I know, we share the greatest respect. Shortly after my election as Chairman of the Subcommittee, I received a letter from many of the groups urging passage of the implementing legislation. I would like to provide a copy of that letter for the record. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to testify on this important piece of legislation. I would be pleased to respond to any questions. March 21, 1989 The Honorable Bruce Morrison, Chairman Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees and International Law Committee on the Judiciary U.S. House of Representatives Dear Mr. Chairman: RECEIVED MAR 2 1 1988 IMMIGRATION We congratulate you on your election as chairman of a key subcommittee with jurisdiction over an issue that has been neglected for 17 years. We urge you to consider early hearings and adoption of a Biological Weapons Bill. In past years, former Judiciary Committee Chairman Peter Rodino joined with the Committee's ranking Republican, Rep. Hamilton Fish, to introduce the Biological Weapons Bill (H.R. 901 in the last Congress). We urge you to cooperate with Reps. Fish and Kastenmeier in a bipartisan effort on behalf of a similar bill this year. Passage of such a bill is necessary to conform domestic law with the international obligations we undertook by ratifying the 1972 Biological Weapons Convention which banned the development, production, possession and transfer of all biological and toxin weapons. As you are aware, the United States generally follows up treaty ratification with required domestic legislation. The Biological Weapons Bill would make it a federal crime for any private citizen or corporation, including any governmental personnel, to develop, produce, or possess any biological agent or toxin for use as a weapon of mass destruction. Though the Biological Weapons Convention itself bars the U.S. government from developing biological weapons, it provides no domestic penalties against private individuals, or even terrorists, for work on biological weapons. In light of increasing concern in the U.S. and around the world about biological and chemical weapons proliferation, it is urgent that the U.S. move quickly to complete this long overdue action. We urge you to join with Representatives Fish and Kastenmeier on a common bill, schedule hearings on it and follow it up with expeditious consideration. Senator KOHL. Thank you, Representative Morrison. And gentlemen, your statements will be placed in the record. Before we get to questions, I would like to solicit opening comments from Senator Simon. Senator SIMON. I apologize for being late. I want to tell my new colleague from Wisconsin that you have two of the finest members of the House here. You probably became acquainted with Congressman_Kastenmeier during the course of your own campaign effort, but Bruce Morrison is of the same caliber and we are very pleased to have you here. I want to be a cosponsor of your bill. I just think it is simple prudence that we do everything we can to see that not only the people in this room, but our children and generations to come do not have unnecessary threats, and that is what this all about. This is, I hope, the direction we will go. I thank you for your leadership on this and I thank the two of you for your leadership. Senator KOHL. Thank you, Senator Simon. I would like to ask some brief questions. Congressman Morrison, you mentioned that a variety of organizations support this legislation. Would you like to tell us who they are in particular? Mr. MORRISON. Yes, Senator, attached to my testimony is a letter I received this past March from a number of organizations and I will just briefly read them to you because they are an impressive list: The United Church of Christ; the Council for a Livable World; Professionals 'Coalition for Nuclear Arms Control; the American Baptist Churches; the Sierra Club; the NETWORK, A Catholic Social Justice Lobby; the Friends Committee on National Legislation; the Union of Concerned Scientists; committee for Responsible Genetics; Physicians for Social Responsibility; Women's Action for Nuclear Disarmament; the Washington Office of the Church of the Brethren; the Unitarian Universalist Association of Churches in North America; SANE/FREEZE; the Women's Strike for Peace; Women's International League for Peace and Freedom; Mennonite Central Committee; Federation of American Scientists; and the Presbyterian Church, USA, a very diverse group of organizations with a common commitment to sensible measures for peace and protection of the world from the kind of danger that biological weapons present. Senator KOHL. Thank you. Representative Kastenmeier, you have many cosponsors. Could you tell us a little bit about what your hopes are for the prospects of this legislation? Mr. KASTENMEIER. There are presently, Mr. Chairman, 51 cosponsors and that number is growing weekly and that does indicate, as I say, renewed interest in moving the legislation forward. Our committee, the Judiciary Committee and the subcommittees, particularly, Mr. Morrison's subcommittee, have been very busy with immigration legislation the last few months, but I am sure, as he has indicated, we will have an opportunity to raise this issue in September, and I am delighted and I am sure that he will give us every opportunity to move this legislation forward. Senator KOHL. Thank you. Senator Thurmond? Senator THURMOND. Congressman Kastenmeier, we are glad to have you with us. I have had the pleasure of working with you for a number of years now in judiciary matters. Mr. KASTENMEIER. Yes, sir. Senator THURMOND. In your prepared statement, you point out that the Biological Weapons Convention requires each signatory to take all steps necessary to prevent within its territory the activities prohibited by the Convention. In your opinion, would this legislation meet that commitment without significantly hindering legitimate research? Mr. KASTENMEIER. Yes, sir, it would, I would say to my distinguished friend from South Carolina. As a matter of fact, I alluded to the fact that some in the past administration asserted that the panoply of existing relatively new laws governing various chemicals and biological agents might suffice, but none of them were directly written to implement the Convention. This provides not only penalties for the production of such materials, it provides the power of seizure. It provides injunction as possible relief for the Attorney General in pursuing the mandate of the Convention, which is to take such measures as may be necessary. So I would say that this rather simple statute, in my view, together with all other existing statutes, would satisfy the requirements of the Convention. Senator THURMOND. Congressman Kastenmeier, there is already extensive Federal legislation which prohibits certain acts related to biological weapons. Do you feel this would fill a vacuum that may exist? Mr. KASTENMEIER. Well, I think some of those measures can be relied upon parenthetically, but they do not satisfy the Convention. The Hazardous Material Transportation Act and many of the other acts of the past 10 or 12 years or so could, I suppose, be useful, but they are not directly responsive to what it is that the Convention would prescribe as activity and which the bill prescribes as activity. Therefore, I would say they may be useful, but they are not an answer in and of themselves. They can be useful as adjuncts, I would think, in fulfilling our commitment. But only a bill such as we presently have-and you remember that your body worked long and hard on the Genocide Treaty and you had to have not only agreement to the treaty itself, but you had to have implementing legislation to satisfy the requirements of that treaty, which Senator Thurmond, your body did and I think the same analog is true here is well. You do need implementing legislation. Senator THURMOND. Thank you very much. Congressman Morrison, I share your concern over the threat biological weapons may impose. In your opinion, will this legislation alert the rest of the world about the dangers of biological weapons and result in other nations enacting similar legislation? Mr. MORRISON. Senator Thurmond, I think that is an extremely good point and I certainly hope it will send that kind of signal. I |