NUNN-LUGAR PROGRAMS TO
GET $450 MILLION IN FY04 Extending Program Beyond Post-Soviet
States Authorized Under Strict Conditions
The Department of Defense Cooperative Threat Reduction programs will have
$450.8 million to spend in FY04 given Congress’ approval of the FY04 Defense
Authorization conference bill this past week and the Defense Appropriations
enacted in September. In the final version of the authorization, a House
proposal to shift $28.8 million from program funds for chemical weapons destruction
to other CTR efforts was defeated. The chemical weapons destruction work
is
authorized at the $200.3 million level requested by the Administration.
Shchuch’ye Waiver, Former Soviet Funding Allowed
The authorization bill extends for another year the President’s authority
to waive certification requirements that must be met prior to obligating
funds for the construction of the Shchuch’ye Chemical Weapons Destruction
facility. In a major victory for Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.), chairman of
the Foreign Relations Committee, the bill also authorizes up to $50 million
in CTR funds each fiscal year to be obligated for “threat reduction projects
or activities in countries outside the states of the former Soviet Union.”
The House had initially opposed the extension and in order to reach an accommodation
in conference, the authorization is allowed only under a specified set of
conditions that require:
Notification of Congress within 10 days of obligating any of the funds;
Demonstrating that the project “will assist the United States in the
resolution of a critical emerging proliferation threat”;
Showing that the DoD is best qualified to carry out the particular
project; and
Assuring that the project can be quickly completed.