Text: Senator Byrd Backs Thompson's China Nonproliferation Act
(Thompson says Rep. Gilman introduced House version of bill)Senator Fred Thompson (Republican of Tennessee) announced July 18 that Senator Robert Byrd (Democrat of West Virginia) has signed on as a cosponsor of his bill to curb China's proliferation activities.
The China Nonproliferation Act, S. 2645, would have the United States monitor China's proliferation activities and provide for sanctions for companies and entities taking part in China's proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
Senator Fred Thompson introduced S. 2645 with Senator Robert Torricelli (Democrat of New Jersey) in May of this year.
Senator Byrd was one of 12 senators to vote against a motion to invoke cloture July 27 for H.R. 4444, the bill that would grant China Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) status. The successful bid to invoke cloture means the bill will receive expedited treatment once the Senate reconvenes September 5 and that debate on the issue will be limited to 30 hours, with limits on motions and amendments regarding the bill.
Following is the text of a July 18 press release from Thompson's office:
(begin text)
July 18, 2000
THOMPSON ANNOUNCES SENATOR BYRD ADDED AS COSPONSOR
OF CHINA NONPROLIFERATION ACT
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Fred Thompson (R-TN) today announced that Senator Robert C. Byrd (D-WV) is the latest cosponsor of the China Nonproliferation Act, Senator Thompson's legislation to combat Chinese proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and the means to deliver them.
"This reinforces the fact that there is support on both sides of the aisle for sending a strong message of concern about continued Chinese proliferation," Senator Thompson said. "I'm very pleased to have Senator Byrd's support for our bill."
The China Nonproliferation Act (S.2645), which Thompson introduced with Senator Robert Torricelli (D-NJ), has 18 Senate cosponsors and has been introduced in the House by International Relations Committee Chairman Benjamin Gilman (R-NY-20) and Representative Edward Markey (D-MA-7).
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(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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