1996 Congressional Floor Debate

Table of Contents

FY96 Defense Authorization
General Matters
Senate Defense Authorization

FY96 Defense Authorization

• On the 3rd of January the House debated and voted on the bill but failed to override the President's veto of the FY96 Defense Authorization Bill.

General Matters

• Senator Inhofe expressed his concern on 3 January over the Presidential veto.
• On January 26, the START II Treaty was debated and ratified by a vote of 87-4 in the Senate.
• On April 17, Senator Spector proposed legislation to create a commission to combat the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
• Senators Pell and Simon praised the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency (ACDA) on its 35th Anniversary on 26 September.
• On 30 September, Rep. Howard Berman commended the ACDA on its 35th Anniversary, which occurred four days earlier.
• Sen. Tad Cochran warned of ballistic missile threats from Asia on 30 September.

Senate Defense Authorization

• S. 1745 National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1997 introduced in the Senate on 18 June 1996, with consideration of the bill beginning with a general debate.
• Sen. Dorgan offered Amendment 4048 that would reduce, by $300 million, the amount of money authorized in this legislation for national missile defense. Debate continued the next day, and the amendment was rejected by a vote of 53 to 44.
• Amendment No. 4173 Sense of the Senate Concerning Export Controls was adopted on June 25, 1996, and a number of amendments were tabled:
  • Kyl Amendment 4236 on National Missile Defense would add the Defend America Act - June 25, 1996.
  • Kyl Amendment 4170 on ABM Treaty Multilateralization - June 25, 1996.
  • Kyl Amendment 4171 Policy on Compliance with the ABM Treaty - June 25, 1996.
  • Kyl Amendment 4172 Deployment of TMD under the ABM Treaty - June 25, 1996.
  • Nunn Amendment 4180 National Missile Defense Act of 1996 - June 25, 1996.
• Debate resumed on 26 June with Nunn-Lugar-Domenici Threat Reduction, with debate on Nunn-Lugar-Domenici Amendment 4349 emergency assistance program to train and equip State and local emergency personnel to respond to domestic terrorist WMD incidents. June 27, 1996.
• Additional amendments were tabled on 26 June, including:
  • Kyl Amendment 4278 Deployment of TMD under the ABM Treaty - June 26, 1996.
  • Kyl Amendment 4279 on National Missile Defense would add the Defend America Act - June 25, 1996.
  • Kyl Amendment 4280 on ABM Treaty Multilateralization - June 25, 1996.
  • Kyl Amendment 4287 Policy on Compliance with the ABM Treaty - June 26, 1996.
  • Conrad Amendment 4325 and Amendment 4328 , both on Ballistic Missile Defense introduced on 26 June with explanatory remarks on 28 June 1996.
• Amendment 4431 on NMD Joint Program Office - June 28, 1996.
• Amendment 4420 colloquy on Air Force NMD proposals - 28 June 1996.
• Debate on Senator Brown's Amendment 4413 requring a Presidential Report on casualties from an attack by Weapons of Mass Destruction - 28 June 1996.
• Senator Kyl's Amendment 4425 on a Surgical Strike Vehicle for defeating weapons of mass destruction - 28 June 1996.
• Approval of Amendment 4433 to section 232, extending the prohibition on implementing an international agreement on TMD systems, along with modification of section 233 to express the sense of the Senate concerning multilateralization, thereby addressing legal and policy issues raised by the Administration - 28 June 1996.
• Following a review of pending amendments , and a debate on ABM Treaty multilateralization the Defense Authorization concluding debate on June 28, 1996, agreed that a future debate would be held on
  • Defend America Act, which is S. 1635;
  • A bill to be introduced by the Democratic leader, or his designee, on behalf of the President regarding national missile defense;
  • And a bill to be introduced by Senator Nunn regarding national missile defense.
• On July 10, the Senate resumed consideration of the S. 1745 as amended, with Sen. Boxer and Sen. Glenn speaking against passage. Sen. Thurmond commended his colleagues for their work in support of the bill. The bill passed with a vote of 68 to 31.