ADDITIONAL INFO RE: EXECUTIVE ORDER DECLARING NATIONAL/INTL. EMERGENCY

Additional Information Regarding Executive Order Declaring
National/International Emergency in Reference to the Russian Federation ....
From the Cong. Rec. (Senate).......From Newsgroups Search/Full EO posted as
well there. This is authentic/solid. There still remain a number of
questions regarding the meaning and scope of this, as well as the possible
implications. Ronn D. 6/26/00

Subject: 2000CRS5660 REPORT OF THE EXECUTIVE ORDER BLOCKING PROPERTY OF
THE GOVERNMENT OF
From: noone@senate.gov

Date: 2000/06/23
Message-ID:
Newsgroups: gov.us.fed.congress.record.senate
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Archive-Name: gov/us/fed/congress/record/2000/jun/22/2000CRS5660
[Congressional Record: June 22, 2000 (Senate)]
[Page S5660]
>From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:cr22jn00-110]

REPORT OF THE EXECUTIVE ORDER BLOCKING PROPERTY OF THE GOVERNMENT OF
THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION RELATING TO THE DISPOSITION OF HIGHLY ENRICHED
URANIUM EXTRACTED FROM NUCLEAR WEAPONS--MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT--PM

117

The Presiding Officer laid before the Senate the following message
from the President of the United States, together with an accompanying
report; which was referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and
Urban Affairs.

To the Congress of the United States:
Pursuant to section 204(b) of the International Emergency Economic
Powers Act (IEEPA), 50 U.S.C. 1703(b) and section 301 of the National
Emergencies Act, 50 U.S.C. 1631, I hereby report that I have exercised
my authority to declare a national emergency to deal with the threat
posed to the United States by the risk of nuclear proliferation created
by the accumulation in the Russian Federation of a large volume of
weapons-usable fissile material. The United States and the Russian
Federation have entered into a series of agreements that provide for
the conversion of highly enriched uranium (HEU) extracted from Russian
nuclear weapons into low enriched uranium (LEU) for use in commercial
nuclear reactors. The Russian Federation recently suspended its
performance under these agreements because of concerns that payments
due to it under these agreements may be subject to attachment,
garnishment, or other judicial process, in the United States.
Accordingly, I have issued an Executive Order to address the unusual
and extraordinary risk of nuclear proliferation created by this
situation.
A major national security goal of the United States is to ensure that
fissile material removed from Russian nuclear weapons pursuant to
various arms control and disarmament agreements is dedicated to
peaceful uses, subject to transparency measures, and protected from
diversion to activities of proliferation concern. The United States and
the Russian Federation entered into an international agreement in
February 1993 to deal with these issues as they relate to the
disposition of HEU extracted from Russian nuclear weapons (the ``HEU
Agreement''). Under the HEU Agreement, 500 metric tons of HEU will be
converted to LEU over a 20-year period. This is the equivalent of
20,000 nuclear warheads.
Additional agreements were put in place to effectuate the HEU
Agreement, including agreements and contracts on transparency, on the
appointment of executive agents to assist in implementing the
agreements, and on the disposition of LEU delivered to the United
States (collectively, the ``HEU Agreements''). Under the HEU
Agreements, the Russian Federation extracts HEU metal from nuclear
weapons. That HEU is oxidized and blended down to LEU in the Russian
Federation. The resulting LEU is shipped to the United States for
fabrication into fuel for commercial reactors. The United States
monitors this conversion process through the Department of Energy's
Warhead and Fissile Material Transparency Program.
The HEU Agreements provide for the Russian Federation to receive
money and uranium hexafluoride in payment for each shipment of LEU
converted from the Russian nuclear weapons. The money and uranium
hexafluoride are transferred to the Russian Federation executive agent
in the United States.
The Russian Federation recently suspended its performance under the
HEU Agreements because of concerns over possible attachment,
garnishment, or other judicial process with respect to the payments due
to it as a result of litigation currently pending against the Russian
Federation. In response to this concern, the Minister of Atomic Energy
of the Russian Federation, Minister Adamov, notified Secretary
Richardson on May 5, 2000, of the decision of the Russian Federation to
halt shipment of LEU pending resolution of this problem. This
suspension presents an unusual and extraordinary threat to U.S.
national security goals due to the risk of nuclear proliferation caused
by the accumulation of weapons-usable fissile material in the Russian
Federation.
The executive branch and the Congress have previously recognized and
continue to recognize the threat posed to the United States national
security from the risk of nuclear proliferation created by the
accumulation of weapons-usable fissile material in the Russian
Federation. This threat is the basis for significant programs aimed at
Cooperative Threat Reduction and at controlling excess fissile
material. The HEU Agreements are essential tools to accomplish these
overall national security goals. Congress demonstrated support for
these agreements when it authorized the purchase of Russian uranium in
1998, Public Law 105-277, and also enacted legislation to enable
Russian uranium to be sold in this country pursuant to the USEC
Privatization Act, 42 U.S.C. 2297h-10.

Payments made to the Russian Federation pursuant to the HEU
Agreements are integral to the operation of this key national security
program. Uncertainty surrounding litigation involving these payments
could lead to a long-term suspension of the HEU Agreements, which
creates the risk of nuclear proliferation. This is an unacceptable
threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United
States.
Accordingly, I have concluded that all property and interests in
property of the government of the Russian Federation directly related
to the implementation of the HEU Agreements should be protected from
the threat of attachment, garnishment, or other judicial process. I
have, therefore, exercised my authority and issued an Executive Order
that provides:
--except to the extent provided in regulations, orders, directives,

or licenses that may be issued pursuant to the order, all property

and interests in property of the Government of the Russian

Federation directly related to the implementation of the HEU

Agreements that are in the United States, that hereafter come

within the United States, or hereafter come within the possession

or control of United States persons, including their overseas

branches, are blocked and may not be transferred, paid, exported,

withdrawn, or otherwise dealt in;
--unless licensed or authorized pursuant to the order, any

attachment, judgment, decree, lien, execution, garnishment, or

other judicial process is null and void with respect to any

property or interest in property blocked pursuant to the order; and
--that all heads of departments and agencies of the United States

Government shall continue to take all appropriate measures within

their authority to further the full implementation of the HEU

Agreements.
The effect of this Executive Order is limited to property that is
directly related to the implementation of the HEU Agreements. Such
property will be clearly defined by the regulations, orders,
directives, or licenses that will be issued pursuant to this Executive
Order.
I am enclosing a copy of the Executive Order I have issued. The order
is effective at 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on June 22, 2000.

William J. Clinton.
The White House, June 21, 2000.