The gentleman from Nebraska, Mr. Bereuter, is recognized to offer a motion.

Mr. BEREUTER. I move that the Chairman be requested to seek consideration of the pending bill as amended on the suspension calendar.

Chairman GILMAN. The question is on the motion of the gentleman from Nebraska. As many as are in favor, signify in the usual manner. As many as are opposed, say no.

The ayes have it. The motion is agreed to. Without objection, the Chair or his designee is authorized to make motions under rule XXII with respect to a conference on the resolution or a counterpart from the Senate.

REOPENING OF H.R..

-THE DEFENSE AND SECURITY ASSISTANCE
ACT OF 2000

Mr. GEJDENSON. Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent that we reopen the first bill-the Security Assistance Act-so that the gentleman from California can offer an amendment to which I will have an amendment at this time. I think it is only fair to Members who are here to make sure that we get a full discussion of this issue. So I ask unanimous consent if we could reopen that security assistance legislation at this time.

Chairman GILMAN. We now have a unanimous consent request by Mr. Gejdenson before the Committee. Is there an objection? If there is no objection, we will now reopen the committee print for further amendment, and initiate its earlier passage. Mr. Rohrabacher is recognized for a motion.

Mr. ROHRABACHER. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk. It is my understanding that we have finished the consideration. I appreciate Mr. Gejdenson's unanimous consent permitting me the opportunity to offer my amendment. It should be there at the desk.

Chairman GILMAN. The clerk will report.

Ms. BLOOMER. Amendment offered by Mr. Rohrabacher.

At the appropriate place in the bill insert the following, (c), notification relating to export of commercial communication satellite. Section 36(c)(1) of the Arms Export Control Act is amended in the first sentence by inserting at the end before the period the following: Except that a certification shall not be required in the case of application for a license for export of a commercial communications satellite designated on the United States munitions list for launch from and by action of the United States or the territory of another country, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Australia, Japan or New Zealand.

[The amendment appears in the appendix.]

Chairman GILMAN. The gentleman is recognized on his proposal. Mr. ROHRABACHER. Mr. Chairman, first of all, let me say that I am a Member of this Committee, yes, but I am also the Chairman of the Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee of the Science Committee, so I deal with the satellite issues and missile and rocket issues in terms of the technology a great deal of my time.

As we are all aware, we have had problems with China which this Congress dealt with in dealing with a leakage of information to China of technical information about American rocketry as part

of their satellite program and the sale of satellites to China. Unfortunately, we passed a law that has been implemented by the Administration in a way that it has done great damage to people who are trying to deal in these high technology industries with countries that are friendly and pose no threat to the United States of America. So, in order for us to deal with China, which we were trying to do, this Administration unfortunately has been interpreting that law and the powers given to it in a way that seriously undermines the trade of high-tech commerce with friendly countries.

My amendment is designed to facilitate that trade, to make sure that people and our NATO allies and countries that don't pose a threat to the United States don't have to jump through so many hoops so that we don't lose these satellite sales. It waives notification to the Congress when we are dealing with NATO countries and friendly countries, and it sets up a licensing process that actually expedites the export and trade to our friends and allies. Mr. BERMAN. Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. ROHRABACHER. I certainly would.

Mr. BERMAN. Who administers that licensing process?

Mr. ROHRABACHER. Who administers that licensing process?
Mr. BERMAN. Yes-that which you described as being set up.
Mr. ROHRABACHER. That is being set up?

Mr. BERMAN. Yes.

Mr. ROHRABACHER. The State Department.

Mr. BERMAN. You are going to entrust to the State Department the licensing of commercial satellites? Is that the same Ŝtate Department that is working against our interests in Panama and Afghanistan?

Mr. ROHRABACHER. That is right. And they are winking all the way down the road.

Mr. GEJDENSON. Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. ROHRABACHER. Yes.

Mr. GEJDENSON. I am impressed by the gentleman's creativity. The gentleman can't condemn the Administration for doing what Congress forced them to do by moving the licensing process to State where we have now lost a 36 percent market share in this area. I want to join with the gentleman.

I am going to have a friendly amendment.

Mr. ROHRABACHER. Could I finish my opening statement first, and then I will be very happy to hear about the amendment.

Reclaiming my time, let me just say that I never have been opposed to high technology satellite sales to countries that are friendly to the United States. This Congress was justifiably concerned that there were technology transfers to countries like Communist China. That is not a strategic partner, but instead a potential enemy of the United States. This resolution today-or this amendment will permit this type of trade and deal with a loss that you will explain when you are advocating your amendment, a loss of jobs, a loss of deals that would have been very important to our country's and those industries' success. That is the purpose of this amendment.

I appreciate Mr. Gejdenson asking for unanimous consent to permit me to offer this amendment.

Mr. ROHRABACHER. Be happy to yield.

Chairman GILMAN. I just would like to state that I support the gentleman's amendment, it follows up on the good work of the gentleman from California, his efforts to ensure our satellite companies are not going to be put at a competitive disadvantage as a result of the munitions licensing process. I urge our colleagues to support the gentleman's amendment.

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Gejdenson.

Mr. GEJDENSON. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment to the amendment.

Chairman GILMAN. The clerk will read the amendment.

Ms. BLOOMER. Amendment offered by Mr. Gejdenson.

On line 11 after NATO, insert "Russian Federation, Ukraine." [The amendment appears in the appendix.]

Chairman GILMAN. The gentleman is recognized on his amend

ment.

Mr. GEJDENSON. As Mr. Rohrabacher indicated, we have lost a 36 percent share in this area in a year, almost an unheard of shrinking of America's market share. These two particular countries, as the gentleman pointed out earlier, are not the ones that created the great concern. China was the great concern. What we are doing here is simply providing for the removal of the 30-day waiting period only if DOD and State have approved it. I would hope the gentleman could accept my amendment which further tries to rectify the situation; and, hopefully, the American companies, frankly, are advantaged more by this part of the amendment in many ways than even the gentleman's original amendment.

Chairman GILMAN. I would like to note that I oppose the gentleman's amendment. I don't support waiving congressional notifications for launches involving Russian entities. These entities have been and some believe are still involved in proliferating missile technology to Iran.

So let's be absolutely clear that what the Gejdenson amendment is all about. It is about whether we should control commercial communications satellites on the munitions list or on the commodities control list. Mr. Gejdenson believes they are dual use and should be controlled by Commerce. I believe, along with the majority in the Congress, as evidenced by our vote 2 years ago to move these satellites under the jurisdiction of the State Department, these satellites should be controlled as munitions.

This is an amendment which would gut the measure, because there is no way the majority of Members will agree to waive our rights to review exports of satellites to be launched by Russian or Ukrainian nationals. Waiving a congressional notification for the export of satellites for launching by nationals of NATO is one thing, but waiving congressional notification for the export of satellites for launching by nationals of Russia and Ukraine is entirely another matter. Accordingly, I will be opposing Mr. Gejdenson's amendment.

Who seeks recognition? Mr. Tancredo.

Mr. TANCREDO. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. Chairman, I reluctantly have to disagree and would hope that you would reconsider your opposition. I support the amend

ment to the amendment and the amendment itself, the underlying amendment, because I believe that we have in place at the present time a mechanism that will fully guarantee the security issues that you are concerned about and that I certainly share.

I would never support anything that I believed would jeopardize those issues in any way, shape or form. But what we are doing here is simply waiving notification to the Congress. Quite frankly, we have never exercised this particular power in a way that would, in fact, be a security-related issue. We have sometimes stopped it but not because of security issues, for political issues.

That has been problematic. It continues to be problematic for our companies in the United States. If we do it just for the countries in the underlying amendment, then companies in the United States, certain companies are put at a disadvantage. So it is to me important to try to level the economic and competitive playing field here and not at the same time do anything that would jeopardize the national security interests of the United States.

When you look at what has to happen with every one of these applications, what it has to go through before it ever gets to Congress and what we are not touching-we are not going to deal with that aspect of it at all. We are just talking about congressional oversight here, which has, frankly, been superfluous. I do support the Gejdenson amendment and would hope that my colleagues would do likewise.

Chairman GILMAN. Is there anyone else seeking recognition?
Mr. Manzullo.

Mr. MANZULLO. Mr. Chairman, I speak in favor of the Rohrabacher amendment and the Gejdenson amendment. The transfer of licensing of these satellites to the State Department has been nothing less than disastrous. The purpose of the Gejdenson amendment would really be to put all of our nation's satellite manufacturers on an equal footing. All it does is simply waive notice to Congress, which no one reads, anyway.

The reason for both of these amendments is to expedite this process which this body put into practice over my objection by transferring licensing of these satellites from the Commerce Department to the State Department. We have lost a 40 percent market share. What this amendment will do is still maintain the security, if you consider the State Department to be an efficient agency to do that, but simply waive the notice to Congress. I would encourage the Chairman to allow the Gejdenson amendment to the Rohrabacher amendment.

Chairman GILMAN. Is any other Member seeking recognition?

If not, the question is now on the Gejdenson amendment to the Rohrabacher amendment. All in favor of the Gejdenson amendment to the Rohrabacher amendment, signify in the usual manner. Opposed?

The ayes have it.

We will now have a rollcall vote. The clerk will call the roll.
Ms. BLOOMER. Mr. Chairman.

Chairman GILMAN. No.

Ms. BLOOMER. Mr. Chairman votes no.

Mr. Goodling.

Mr. Ballenger.

[No response.]

Mr. TANCREDO. Mr. Chairman, I have a point of order.

Chairman GILMAN. The gentleman will state his point of order. Mr. TANCREDO. Are we voting on the amendment, the underlying amendment or the amendment to the amendment?

Chairman GILMAN. We are voting on the Gejdenson amendment to the Rohrabacher amendment.

Mr. TANCREDO. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Ms. BLOOMER. Mr. Rohrabacher.