[Congressional Record: April 1, 2008 (House)]
[Page H1839-H1841]
EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING ALEXANDER LITVINENKO
Mr. BERMAN. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to
the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 154) expressing the sense of
Congress that the fatal radiation poisoning of Russian dissident and
writer Alexander Litvinenko raises significant concerns about the
potential involvement of elements of the Russian Government in Mr.
Litvinenko's death and about the security and proliferation of
radioactive materials, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the concurrent resolution.
The text of the concurrent resolution is as follows:
H. Con. Res. 154
Whereas Russian dissident and writer Alexander Litvinenko,
a citizen and resident of Great Britain, suddenly fell ill on
November 1, 2006, and died three weeks later in a London
hospital;
Whereas British health officials concluded, following an
autopsy, that Mr. Litvinenko died of radiation poisoning
caused by ingestion of the radioactive element polonium-210,
and British law enforcement officials have announced that
they are treating Mr. Litvinenko's death as a murder;
Whereas polonium-210, according to the Health Physics
Society, radiates alpha particles that cannot penetrate paper
or human skin but, if ingested through eating, drinking, or
breathing, are extremely toxic, with the ability to destroy
cells, damage vital organs such as the liver, kidneys, and
bone marrow, cause cancer, and result in human death;
Whereas according to the Health Physics Society, just one
millionth of a gram of polonium-210 can be fatal, an amount
invisible to the naked eye;
Whereas 97 percent of the world's legal production of
polonium-210 occurs at the Avangard nuclear facility in
Russia, and Russia is the world's leading exporter of
polonium-210 for commercial purposes;
Whereas polonium-210 is presently neither produced in nor
commercially exported to Great Britain;
Whereas polonium-210, being especially dangerous to public
health and safety if improperly handled, may attract the
attention of terrorists because it can be easily and safely
concealed and transported and is not usually detectable by
radiation detectors;
Whereas this instance of poisoning by use of polonium-210
could serve as a model for future use of the radioactive
element to assassinate individuals, poison and kill large
numbers of people, or spread general panic and hysteria
amongst the public;
Whereas Mr. Litvinenko was a former agent and official in
the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation during
the period when present Russian President Vladimir Putin ran
that agency;
Whereas in 1998 Mr. Litvinenko was fired from the Federal
Security Service and subsequently arrested and briefly
incarcerated without conviction for a criminal act after
publicly accusing high-level officials of the Federal
Security Service of crimes that included plotting
assassination attempts;
Whereas Mr. Litvinenko fled Russia and successfully sought
asylum in Great Britain,
[[Page H1840]]
becoming a naturalized British citizen in October 2006;
Whereas Mr. Litvinenko, after arriving in Britain,
repeatedly accused the Federal Security Service and many of
its officers, including now-President Putin, of involvement
in organized crime, assassinations, and other illegal
activity;
Whereas on November 1, 2006, before falling ill, Mr.
Litvinenko reportedly met with three citizens of Russia,
including former Federal Security Service agent Andrei
Lugovoi;
Whereas the manner in which the polonium-210 was obtained,
transported, and used must be fully investigated and revealed
in order to reveal any defects or inadequacies in the present
safeguard regime for that substance administered by the
Russian Government and in order to prevent the unlawful,
criminal, or terrorist acquisition or use of polonium-210 in
the future;
Whereas the danger posed by polonium-210, as displayed by
the discovery, subsequent to Mr. Litvinenko's death, of
numerous cases of its exposure to objects and persons who had
contact with Mr. Litvinenko and his meal companions,
demonstrates the threat that the proliferation and use of
polonium-210 poses to the lives of innocents worldwide, as
well as to international security;
Whereas on July 15, 2006, the United States and Russia
jointly announced the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear
Terrorism, which ``will enhance cooperation . . . to combat
the global threat of nuclear terrorism . . . [including]
determined and systematic efforts to improve accounting,
control, and physical protection of nuclear material and
radioactive substances, as well as security of nuclear
facilities; [and] detect and suppress illicit trafficking or
other illicit activities involving such materials, especially
measures to prevent their acquisition and use by
terrorists'';
Whereas Mr. Lugovoi has won immunity from prosecution as a
member of the Russian Duma in December 2007 elections
allegedly influenced by government electoral manipulation,
which provides credence to claims that he has enjoyed
official support in obtaining that office and its associated
immunity; and
Whereas the British investigation into Mr. Litvinenko's
murder continues in an atmosphere of deteriorating relations
between the United Kingdom and the Russian Federation due, in
part, to a lack of agreement on the further pursuit of that
investigation: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate
concurring), That it is the sense of Congress that--
(1) the fatal radiation poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko
raises significant concerns about the potential involvement
of elements of the Russian Government in Mr. Litvinenko's
death, and about the security and proliferation of
radioactive materials;
(2) the use of such radioactive materials in such cases
demonstrates a threat to the safety and security of the
people of the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom, the
United States, and other countries; and
(3) the President of the United States and the Secretary of
State should urge Russian President Vladimir Putin and other
officials of the Russian Government to cooperate fully with
the British Government in its investigation into Mr.
Litvinenko's death and to ensure the security of the
production, storage, distribution, and export of polonium-210
as a material that may become dangerous to large numbers of
people if utilized by terrorists.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
California (Mr. Berman) and the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-
Lehtinen) each of control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California.
General Leave
Mr. BERMAN. 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
gentleman from California?
There was no objection.
Mr. BERMAN. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of this
resolution and yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, I am pleased to support this resolution that notes the
tragic poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko, expresses concern about the
potential involvement of elements of the Russian Government in his
death, and highlights the need to ensure the security of radioactive
materials.
{time} 1315
And I'd like to thank my good friend and the ranking member of the
Foreign Affairs Committee, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida, for
introducing this important measure.
In late November 2006, Americans joined with many around the world in
watching with horror as a youthful, energetic Russian dissident and
British citizen dramatically changed appearances within days. Who can
forget the piercing blue eyes of the bald and gaunt man staring
intently at the camera from a London hospital bed?
After the completion of an autopsy, British health officials
concluded that Alexander Litvinenko had died on November 23, 2006 of
radiation poisoning caused by ingesting the radioactive element
Polonium-210. British law enforcement officials classified his death as
murder.
Alexander Litvinenko was an agent in the Federal Security Service of
the Russian Federation at the time when Vladimir Putin ran the agency.
Mr. Litvinenko was fired from the service in 1998, then was arrested
and briefly held without conviction after accusing senior Security
Service officials of assassination plots.
Mr. Litvinenko successfully sought asylum in Britain, from where he
continued to accuse the Security Service of involvement in illegal
activities.
The night before falling ill, Mr. Litvinenko reportedly dined with
three Russian citizens, including former Federal Security Service Agent
Andrei Lugovoi.
On May 22, 2007, British authorities announced their intent to
prosecute Mr. Lugovoi for the murder of Mr. Litvinenko. After Russia
refused to extradite Mr. Lugovoi to Britain, a political dispute ensued
between the two countries that resulted in the mutual expulsion of
diplomats.
The murder of Alexander Litvinenko clearly raises disturbing
questions about how elements of the Russian Government appear to deal
with their enemies and perceived threats.
It also raises worrying questions about the security and
proliferation of radioactive material. 97 percent of the world's legal
production of Polonium-210 occurs at the Avangard nuclear facility in
Russia, the country that is also the world's leading exporter of this
substance for commercial purposes.
If the Russian government is not responsible for Litvinenko's death,
as President Putin has stated, then it should be urgently investigating
the security of the production, storage, distribution and export of
Polonium-210 to prevent grave threats to international security.
The resolution calls on President Bush and Secretary Rice to urge
President Putin and President-elect Medvedev to cooperate with British
authorities in finding answers to ensure the safety and security of all
our citizens.
I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this resolution.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of House Concurrent Resolution
154, which I introduced.
The purposes of this measure, they're very straightforward. First, it
is to put this Congress on record as being skeptical, to say the least,
about the Russian Government's views and positions regarding the murder
of the Russian dissident and writer Alexander Litvinenko in November of
2006.
We must keep in mind that Litvinenko, as a former agent of the
Russian Security Service, was in a position to speak with credibility
when he charged high level officials of the Russian Government with
involvement in assassinations and organized crime and the use of state-
sponsored terrorism for political purposes in the 1999 bombings of
several Russian apartment buildings.
We note that Mr. Litvinenko's poisoning with the radioactive material
known as Polonium-210 raises some interesting general facts. Polonium-
210 is not produced, nor commercially exported to Britain where Mr.
Litvinenko was murdered. Indeed, as Mr. Berman pointed out, 97 percent
of the world's production of Polonium-210 takes place in Russia. And
indeed, after the poisoning of Litvinenko in London, British
investigators were able to track traces of the material to passenger
aircraft serving the London to Moscow route.
Furthermore, the British investigation into the murder has found that
Litvinenko had met with three visitors from Russia prior to the
detection of the radioactive poison in his body. The British
authorities are now, in fact,
[[Page H1841]]
seeking to prosecute a Russian citizen who currently resides in Russia
for his involvement in the murder.
The second purpose of this measure, Madam Speaker, is to point out
that Polonium-210 would prove to be a dangerous weapon that Islamic
radicals could use seeking to inflict large numbers of civilian
casualties, not just to murder an individual. Therefore, as the
dominant producer of this material, it is incumbent upon the Russian
Government to ensure the security from proliferation of the Polonium-
210, and this resolution indeed makes that case.
Madam Speaker, in closing, I note that former Deputy Secretary of
State Strobe Talbott appeared before our Foreign Affairs Committee last
October and said the following when asked about this case, and I quote.
``Many of the people running Russia today come from Security Services,
the secret police. There has been a long and unbroken tradition of the
use of murder as a means of controlling Russian society. And I can tell
you that our British colleagues believe that they have at least a
prosecutable case that goes very, very close to the seat of power in
Moscow.''
Madam Speaker, the perpetrators of the 1999 apartment building
bombings in Russia probably hope that the passage of time would cover
their tracks and that people would forget and move on. That appears to
be the case in Moscow with this case as well, unfortunately.
So the question before our President and this Congress is the
following: Will that be allowed to happen in the Litvinenko case as
well?
I urge my colleagues to support this resolution to keep in mind that
the people of Russia live with this kind of threat every day. Their
government is aggressively working to take back control over the
economy, over their livelihoods, their access to uncensored news and
their personal freedoms.
So, Madam Speaker, I hope that the House passes this resolution.
Mr. PAUL. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to this ill-
conceived resolution. The U.S. House of Representatives has no business
speculating on guilt or innocence in a crime that may have been
committed thousands of miles outside United States territory. It is
arrogant, to say the least, that we presume to pass judgment on crimes
committed overseas about which we have seen no evidence.
The resolution purports to express concern over the apparent murder
in London of a shadowy former Russian intelligence agent, Alexander
Litvinenko, but let us not kid ourselves. The real purpose is to attack
the Russian government by suggesting that Russia is involved in the
murder. There is little evidence of this beyond the feverish
accusations of interested parties. In fact, we may ultimately discover
that Litvinenko's death by radiation poisoning was the result of his
involvement in an international nuclear smuggling operation, as some
investigative reporters have claimed. The point is that we do not know.
The House of Representatives has no business inserting itself in
disputes about which we lack information and jurisdiction.
At a time when we should be seeking good relations and expanded trade
with Russia, what is the benefit in passing such provocative
resolutions? There is none.
Madam Speaker, I would like to draw your attention to a very thought-
provoking article by Edward Jay Epstein published recently in the New
York Sun, which convincingly calls into question many of the
assumptions and accusations made in this legislation. I would encourage
my colleagues to read this article and carefully consider the wisdom of
what we are doing.
Ms. ROS LEHTINEN. I have no further requests for time, and I give
back the balance of our time.
Mr. BERMAN. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from California (Mr. Berman) that the House suspend the rules
and agree to the concurrent resolution, H. Con. Res. 154, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the concurrent resolution, as amended, was
agreed to.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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