Page D. U.S. Department of Justice, letter dated April 25, 1991, from W. Lee Rawls, F. Hon. Richard L. Thornburgh, letter dated June 12, 1991, from Chairman H. Additional background information: 1. Helmy case 2. Helmy wiretaps 3. Alcolac case. 4. Global case 5. C-TEK case 616 617 624 627 636 690 772 849 880 ADMINISTRATION AND ENFORCEMENT OF U.S. EXPORT CONTROL PROGRAMS THURSDAY, APRIL 18, 1991 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS, Washington, D.C. The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 9:36 a.m., in room 1100, Longworth House Office Building, Hon. J.J. Pickle (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding. [The press releases announcing the hearings follow:] (1) FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE THURSDAY, MARCH 28, 1991 PRESS RELEASE #6 SUBCOMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS THE HONORABLE J. J. PICKLE (D., TEXAS), CHAIRMAN, ANNOUNCES SUBCOMMITTEE INVESTIGATION INTO U.S. EXPORT CONTROL PROGRAMS The Honorable J. J. Pickle, (D., Texas), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight, Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. House of Representatives, announced today that the Subcommittee on Oversight has been conducting an investigation into the administration and enforcement of U.S. export control programs involving the Middle East. The Subcommittee will examine U.S. Customs Service (Customs) enforcement activities in the area, and review specific cases involving the activities of Customs and the Department of Commerce associated with their enforcement of the U.S. export control laws. The Subcommittee is also examining the Department of the Treasury's (Treasury) Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) which administers trade and financial sanctions against selected foreign countries. OFAC is currently developing a list of foreign individuals and firms who have been designated as agents of the Iraqi Government, and who will be prohibited from doing business with U.S. persons or companies. The Subcommittee will consider this OFAC list and other OFAC activities to determine what additional measures could be taken by Treasury to stem the proliferation and spread of weapons of mass destruction. Also, the Subcommittee will review Treasury's overall role in formulating, implementing, and enforcing trade and financial sanctions against Iraq and other Middle-Eastern countries which may pose a threat to the security of the United States. Hearings on these matters have been tentatively scheduled for April 18 and May 1, 1991. The Subcommittee will issue a press release early next month announcing the date, time, and place of these hearings and the witnesses invited to appear before the Subcommittee. "Over In announcing the investigation, Chairman Pickle stated: the past several years, U.S. companies have sold Iraq computers, electronics equipment, machine tools, chemicals, and other supplies worth billions for use in Iraqi programs to develop nuclear weapons, missiles, and poison gas. Some of these sales were made with the approval of Uncle Sam. What Saddam couldn't obtain legally, he acquired through sophisticated Iraqi underground purchasing networks that made extensive use of dummy corporations and international merchants of death. I am particularly concerned that some U.S. individuals and corporations, directly or indirectly, have assisted Saddam in his efforts. Saddam managed to exploit the export control systems in the U.S. and other industrialized nations to build weapons factories and procure the raw materials necessary to make weapons of mass destruction. "Iraq is just part of the problem. The proliferation of chemical, biological, nuclear, missile technology, and materials represents an immediate threat to the security of the world community. The Subcommittee's investigation hopes to shed some light on who is acquiring sophisticated technology, machinery, and other dangerous materials, how potential adversaries are able to circumvent U.S. export control laws, and the overall effectiveness of the U.S. export control system. "Unless efforts are made to improve the Federal Government's ability to recognize illegal acquisition attempts, countries like Iraq will continue to succeed in getting chemical, biological, and nuclear capabilities with our help. The question remains whether U.S. export control systems are a match for a potential adversary who is desperately bidding to develop a sophisticated weapons arsenal." FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE PRESS RELEASE #8 SUBCOMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 1135 LONGWORTH HOUSE OFFICE BLDG. WASHINGTON, D.C. 20515 TELEPHONE: (202) 225-5522 THE HONORABLE J. J. PICKLE (D., TEXAS), CHAIRMAN, ANNOUNCES SUBCOMMITTEE HEARINGS ON THE ADMINISTRATION The Honorable J. J. Pickle (D., Texas), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight, Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. House of Representatives, announced today that the Subcommittee on Oversight will hold hearings to review the administration and enforcement of U.S. export control programs involving the Middle East. The Subcommittee will examine U.S. Customs Service (Customs) enforcement activities in the area, and review specific cases involving the activities of Customs and the Department of Commerce (Commerce) associated with their enforcement of the U.S. export control laws. In addition, the Subcommittee will examine the administration of trade and financial sanctions against selected foreign countries by the Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). (See Subcommittee Press Release #6, dated March 28, 1991, for additional information on the Oversight investigation.) The The hearings have been scheduled for Thursday, April 18, 1991, and Wednesday, May 1, 1991, beginning at 9:30 a.m., in the main Committee hearing room, 1100 Longworth House Office Building. Subcommittee will receive testimony from representatives of the OFAC, Customs, Commerce, the Department of Defense, and other invited witnesses concerning the threat of proliferation and the effectiveness of U.S. export control program enforcement efforts. Customs and Commerce agents will provide testimony concerning specific cases of illegal exports and diversion schemes involving such commodities as mustard gas precursors, ballistic missile components, combat attack helicopters, cluster bombs, and sophisticated computer equipment with military weaponry applications. The Subcommittee has subpoenaed several witnesses found guilty of violating U.S. export control, money laundering, and other Federal statutes. In announcing the hearings, Chairman Pickle stated: "With the end of the Cold War and recent efforts to relax export restrictions on the sale of high technology products to the Soviet Union and other East European countries, concerns regarding export controls have now shifted from an East-West emphasis, to the proliferation of sensitive technology, weapons, and other materials to third-world nations. There are countries who have clandestine programs to develop chemical, biological, and nuclear capacities and sophisticated missile delivery systems. These countries seeking to develop unconventional warfare capabilities and indigenous production facilities have established complex procurement networks to acquire everything from basic chemicals and missile nose cones to high-tech computer systems with military applications. We need to assess the effectiveness of our current export control programs in stopping the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction." DETAILS FOR SUBMISSION OF WRITTEN COMMENTS: Persons submitting written comments for the printed record of the hearing should submit six (6) copies by the close of business, Wednesday, May 22, 1991, to Robert J. Leonard, Chief Counsel, Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. House of Representatives, Room 1102 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515. (MORE) FORMATTING REQUIREMENTS: Each statement presented for printing to the Committee by a witness, any written statement or exhibit submitted for the printed record or any written comments in response to a request for written comments must conform to the guidelines listed below. Any statement or exhibit not in compliance with these guidelines will not be printed, but will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee. 1. 2. 3. 4. All statements and any accompanying exhibits for printing must be typed in single space on legal-size paper and may not exceed a total of 10 pages. Copies of whole documents submitted as exhibit material will not be accepted for printing. Instead, exhibit material should be referenced and quoted or paraphrased. All exhibit material not meeting these specifications will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee. Statements must contain the name and capacity in which the witness will appear or, for written comments, the name and capacity of the person submitting the statement, as well as any clients or persons, or any organization for whom the witness appears or for whom the statement is submitted. A supplemental sheet must accompany each statement listing the name, full address, a telephone number where the witness or the designated representative may be reached and a topical outline or summary of the comments and recommendations in the full statement. This supplemental sheet will not be included in the printed record. The above restrictions and limitations apply only to material being submitted for printing. Statements and exhibits or supplementary material submitted solely for distribution to the Members, the press and the public during the course of a public hearing may be submitted in other forms. |