Bashing the "Unilateralness"
of the McKinney-Rohrabacher Code of Conduct, Representative Sam
Gejdenson (D-CT) has reintroduced his infamous "International
Arms Sales Code of Conduct Act" on February 26th in the
House International Relations Committee. Markup of what is known
as the "faux Code" is scheduled in the HIRC on THURSDAY,
MARCH 4. Please help us get the word out as soon and as loud
as possible to members of the HIRC that Gejdenson's Code will
not do.
Following this message are:
*The List
of HIRC members;
*Sample letter
for grassroots that can be used for talking points;
*McKinney's
Dear Colleague and Oscar Arias' letter to Gingrich, Gejdenson and others about why he as
the founder of the International Code movement opposes his Code.
HIRC MEMBERS
REPUBLICAN
1. Benjamin A. Gilman (R-NY)
2. William F. Goodling, PA
3. James A. Leach, IA
4. Henry J. Hyde, IL
5. Doug Bereuter, NE
6. Christopher H. Smith, NJ
7. Dan Burton, IN
8. Elton Gallegly, CA
9. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, FL
10. Cass Ballenger, NC
11. Dana Rohrabacher, CA
12. Donald A. Manzullo, IL
13. Edward R. Royce, CA
14. Peter T. King, NY
15. Steven J. Chabot, OH
16. Marshall "Mark"
Sanford, SC
17. Matt Salmon, AZ
18. Amo Houghton, NY
19. Tom Campbell, CA
20. John M. McHugh, NY
21. Kevin Brady, TX
22. Richard Burr, NC
23. Paul Gillmor, OH
24. George P. Radanovich, CA
25. John Cooksey, LA
26. Tom Tancredo, CO
DEMOCRAT
1. Sam Gejdenson, CT
2. Tom Lantos, CA
3. Howard L. Berman, CA
4. Gary L. Ackerman, NY
5. Eni F.H. Faleomavaega, AS
6. Matthew G. Martinez, CA
7. Donald M. Payne, NJ
8. Robert Menendez, NJ
9. Sherrod Brown, OH
10. Cynthia A. McKinney, GA
11. Alcee L. Hastings, FL
12. Pat Danner, MO
13. Earl F. Hilliard, AL
14. Brad Sherman, CA
15. Robert Wexler, FL
16. Steven R. Rothman, NJ
17. Jim Davis, FL
18. Earl Pomeroy, ND
19. William D. Delahunt, MA
20. Gregory W. Meeks, NY
21. Barbara Lee, CA
22. Joseph Crowley, NY
23. Joseph M. Hoeffel, PA
SAMPLE LETTER/TALKING POINTS
Dear Congressman/Congresswoman:
It has come to my attention that
you will be participating in the House International Relations
Committee markup of Rep. Sam Gejdenson's "International
Arms Sales Code of Conduct Act" on March 4. I write to strongly
urge you to vote against Mr. Gejdenson's bill in its current
form, and support only the soon-to-be
reintroduced McKinney-Rohrabacher Arms Transfer Code of Conduct.
While both of these bills call
themselves "Codes of Conduct" on Arms Transfers, the
many organizations united to curb military assistance to dictators
and human rights abusers are convinced that only the McKinney-Rohrabacher
version will have a positive impact on U.S. and international
policy.
Mr. Gejdenson's Code of Conduct
bill looks on the surface like a reasonable initiative, essentially
lifting the language in the McKinney-Rohrabacher bill that would
urge the President to conduct negotiations on an international
Code with other supplier nations.
However, there two significant
problems in Mr. Gejdenson's bill that you should be aware of:
1) The definitions as to what
constitutes a "democracy" and "human rights abuser"
are completely vague. These definitions would make any international
negotiations bog down on definitional minutia rather than focus
on the substance of the issue;
2) No U.S. first step: The United
States is by far the largest arms dealer in the world, and continues
to expand its lead by relying on non-democratic and human rights
abusing nations. Without a first step toward restraint on the
part of the United States BEFORE international negotiations
take place, the United States will look hypocritical and disingenuous
in its call for international restraint. Without genuine U.S.
initiative toward restraint, the international negotiations are
bound to fail and prove to be a significant setback to the International
Code of Conduct movement.
Even Dr. Oscar Arias, the leader
of the International Nobel Laureates Code of Conduct movement,
has said that Mr. Gejenson's version would be a step backward,
not forward, for international efforts toward restraint in global
weapons transfers.
I therefore again ask you to
oppose Congressman Gejdenson's International Arms Sales Code
of Conduct and tell Mr. Gejdenson to work WITH Reps. McKinney
and Rohrabacher on a Code of Conduct that will truly address
this vital international security issue.
DEAR COLLEAGUE ON "FAUX CODE"
BY MCKINNEY AND LETTER FROM ARIAS FROM "SUSPENSION LIST"
DEBATE, SEPTEMBER 1998
NOBEL PEACE PRIZE LAUREATE Supports
H.R. 4545,
The Code of Conduct on Arms Transfers
Act
Dear Colleague:
By now you have most likely noticed
that there is a debate amidst on two bills that call themselves
"Codes of Conduct" on arms sales--H.R. 4095 sponsored
by Congressman Gejdenson and H.R. 4545 cosponsored by Mr. Rohrabacher
and me.
Mr. Gejdenson's bill is titled,
"The International Code of Conduct on Arms Sales Act,"
which would make one think that he would have the backing of
those that developed the idea of the international arms sales
Code of Conduct. Nothing, however, could be further from the
truth.
On the back page you will see
a letter from Dr. Oscar Arias, the 1987 Nobel Peace Prize laureate
and progenitor of the international Code movement. He states
that the flaws in H.R. 4095 are significant enough to represent
a danger to the growing international movement to curb the transfer
of weapons to dictators and human rights abusers. Dr. Arias goes
on to declare that H.R. 4545 is the ONLY current U.S. legislation
that can help foster a worldwide regime on conventional weapons
proliferation.
You can find the text of Dr.
Arias' letter on the back. If you agree with Dr. Arias, please
become a cosponsor of H.R. 4545. Thank you very much.
Sincerely,
Cynthia McKinney
Member of Congress
ARIAS LETTER
30 September 1998
San José, Costa Rica
The Honorable
Newt Gingrich
Speaker of the House
2428 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington DC 20515
Fax: (202) 225-4656
Dear Friend,
I write you concerning the current
debate over H.R. 4095, the International Arms Sales Code of Conduct
Act sponsored by Representative Sam Gejdenson. As chair of a
commission of Nobel Peace laureates promoting an International
Code of Conduct on Arms Transfers, I would be grateful if you
would support the omission of Rep. Gejdenson’s bill from
the legislation to be considered under suspension of the House
rules.
While I applaud Rep. Gejdenson’s
intentions to harmonize the arms export policies of different
countries to guarantee respect for human rights, democracy, and
norms of non-aggression, I find his bill to be in conflict with
the progress which the House and its European allies have already
made in this area. To begin with, Rep. Gejdenson’s bill
does not provide the sort of precise definitions of arms export
criteria that are included in the more comprehensive Code proposed
by Reps. McKinney and Rohrabacher. In order for unambiguous moral
benchmarks to be set for the granting of export licenses, it
is crucial that concepts like ‘democracy’, ‘human
rights abuse’ and ‘armed aggression’ be clearly
defined. Unambiguous definitions
are also essential to ensure real progress in the international
negotiations which Rep. Gejdenson’s bill seeks to initiate.
In addition, I find it disheartening
that Rep. Gejdenson’s bill does not seek to alter U.S. foreign
policy as it currently stands, but only mandates future U.S.
participation in multilateral efforts. Naturally I share Rep.
Gejdenson’s conviction that a comprehensive and effective
global arms control regime should
be established. Indeed, the International Code of Conduct on
Arms Transfers that I have sponsored with 16 fellow Nobel Peace
laureates is intended to promote just such a regime. However,
in the absence of such strong international regulations, and
with an eye to hastening their realization, individual states
must act unilaterally to restrict their own arms exports according
to stringent humanitarian and democratic criteria. As the sole
remaining superpower and leading arms merchant in the world,
the United States bears a moral responsibility first to lead
by example, and then reach out to other arms-exporting nations.
The McKinney-Rohrabacher legislation does this; the Gejdenson
bill does not.
I understand that the McKinney-Rohrabacher
Code is not destined to become law in the current legislative
session. Nevertheless, leaving that Code as the standing House
position in preparation for the 106th Congress sends a stronger
message to the international community than would supplanting
it with Rep. Gejdenson’s weaker, more ambiguous version.
In this time of global uncertainty, the United States needs to
play a leading role in ensuring that those who do not respect
human rights will never again be armed by those who do.
For these reasons, I hope you
will consider leaving H.R. 4095 off of your suspension calendar
for this year, and allow this vital human security issue to be
fully debated and acted on in 1999.
Yours truly,
Dr. Oscar Arias