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THE NUNN-LUGAR COOPERATIVE THREAT REDUCTION (CTR) PROGRAM

OVERVIEW

The Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR) Program of the United States assists the states of the former Soviet Union in controlling and protecting their nuclear weapons, weapons-usable materials, and delivery systems. To aid in the implementation of arms control agreements, CTR also contributes to the dismantling and destruction of a number of nuclear weapons and their associated delivery systems. The CTR program began in 1991 and is projected to continue until at least 2001. The US Congress has allocated from the defense budget approximately $400 million each year to CTR-related programs, which are administered by the Department of Defense (DOD), Department of Energy (DOE), Department of Commerce, and the Department of State.  Projects of the Cooperative Threat Reduction Program have included strategic offensive arms elimination; nuclear warhead dismantlement; nuclear weapons storage security; chemical weapons destruction; biological weapons proliferation prevention; reactor core conversions; nuclear material protection, control and accounting; export control initiatives; defense conversion; and others. Click here to see details about specific CTR programs in Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and Belarus, to view a list of CTR accomplishments from the Cooperative Threat Reduction Program website, or to see an August 1997 CTR brochure which summarizes the CTR program.
 

HISTORY

The Cooperative Threat Reduction Program otherwise known as the "Nunn-Lugar" legislation (named for sponsoring Senators Sam Nunn [D-GA] and Richard Lugar [R-IN]) began in 1991 as a piece of US legislation entitled "The Soviet Nuclear Threat Reduction Act of 1991" (Public Law 102-228, 12/12/91, Title II Soviet Weapons Destruction) which stemmed from Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev’s request for assistance in dismantling Soviet nuclear weapons, and US President George Bush’s subsequent proposal to assist in the disposition, dismantlement, and destruction of nuclear weapons in the Soviet Union. In the Soviet Nuclear Threat Reduction Act, Congress noted that aid to the Soviet Union and its potential successor states would be in the national security interest of the United States as a means to address the threat of nuclear weapons proliferation. This threat was comprised of three components: 1) substandard materials protection, control, and accounting measures for nuclear weapons and materials; 2) the possibility of smuggling nuclear weapons and/or components; and 3) potential transfer of actual weapons, components, and weapons-related knowledge. With these threats in mind, the Act delineates a two-fold objective: "A) to facilitate on a priority basis the transportation, storage, safeguarding, and destruction of nuclear and other weapons in the Soviet Union, its republics, and any successor states; and B) to assist in the prevention of weapons proliferation." For Fiscal Year 1992, the Act allotted $400 million of transferred Department of Defense funds for this purpose. (For cumulative funding to date see chart below.) In October 1992, an additional $400 million was allocated to establish the Safe and Secure Dismantlement (SSD) Talks under the Former Soviet Union Demilitarization Act. However, allocation of all funds to the NIS is contingent upon a US presidential certification that the recipient country is:

• "making a substantial investment of its resources for dismantling or destroying such weapons;
• forgoing any military modernization program that exceeds legitimate defense requirements and forgoing the replacement of destroyed weapons of mass destruction;
• forgoing any use of fissionable and other components of destroyed nuclear weapons in new nuclear weapons;
• facilitating United States’ verification of weapons destruction carried out under section 212;
• complying with all relevant arms control agreements; and
• observing internationally recognized human rights, including the protection of minorities."[1,2]

OBJECTIVES

EVOLUTION

From the Cooperative Threat Reduction Website: http://www.ctr.osd.mil

CTR FUNDING

CTR CUMULATIVE OBLIGATED FUNDS AS OF OCTOBER 1998

CTR FUNDING DEVELOPMENTS:

 

FISCAL YEAR 1999

 

10/17/98: PRESIDENT SIGNS FY 1999 NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION BILL INTO LAW

On 17 October 1998, President Clinton signed into law the FY 1999 National Defense Authorization Bill.[1] The bill allocates a total of $440,400,000 for Cooperative Threat Reduction Funds.  Of that amount, $384,900,000 is allocated for programs in Russia, $47,500,000 is allocated for strategic nuclear arms elimination in Ukraine, and $8 million is allocated for administrative support. The bill authorizes funding for strategic offensive arms elimination, warhead dismantlement, chemical weapons dismantlement, nuclear weapons transportation and storage security, reactor core conversion, fissile material storage, and for biological weapons proliferation preventions activities.[2]

Sources:

[1] Library of Congress Website,  http://thomas.loc.gov.

[2] "H.R.3616, Strom Thurmond National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1999 (Enrolled Bill(Sent to President))" Library of Congress Website, http://thomas.loc.gov. {Entered 10/29/98, PBI}

 

FISCAL YEAR 1998

 

11/11/97: CONGRESS PASSES FY 1998 NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION BILL

The House, on 30 October 1997, and the Senate, on 7 November 1997, passed the FY 1998 National Defense Authorization Bill which provides $382.2 million for the Cooperative Threat Reduction Program. Specifically, the bill allocates $77.9 million for strategic offensive arms elimination in Russia, $76.7 million for strategic nuclear arms elimination in Ukraine, $7 million for fissile material storage containers in Russia, $36 million for weapons storage security, $8 million for defense and military-to-military contacts for Russia, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan, $2 million for nonproliferation programs for post-Soviet Republics other than Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, and Belarus, and $20.5 million for administrative support.  The $41 million request for continued support to convert the reactor cores at Seversk (Tomsk-7) and Zheleznogorsk (Krasnoyarsk-26) was also approved. (The reactor core conversion at these sites was recently agreed upon during the ninth meeting of the Gore-Chernomyrdin Commission.) Finally, while the bill allocates $57 million for the fissile material storage facility at Mayak, it refuses obligation of those funds until agreements with Russia are concluded regarding transparency issues at the site and until total US costs at the facility are determined. Also, within 90 days of the bill's enactment, the Secretary of Defense is required to submit to Congress a report detailing any taxes placed on CTR assistance to Russia and the means by which the resulting disputes over the taxes were resolved.[1] A Sense of Congress Clause was also added to the bill. It requests that Russia provide a detailed plan and possibly a US tour of a very large underground facility at Yamantau Mountain in the Urals. The construction of this site has been a cause for concern for some in Congress who question the underground complex's purpose.[2] The bill also allocates $55.4 million for chemical weapons dismantlement and the construction of a facility to achieve those ends. However, obligation and disbursement of that $55.4 million is contingent upon several restrictions.  First, Congress must be provided with an accurate total cost of the program. Second, a site for the facility must be chosen, and third, the Russian government must approve the plans for the facility and commit to paying a portion of its costs. In addition, no funds may be obligated or spent until the President eithers certifies that US national security would be comprised by not obligating these funds, or certifies that Russia is making progress toward the Wyoming MOU, is implementing the Bilateral Destruction Agreement, and has completely declared all information regarding its chemical weapons and facilities. (The full text of this bill (H.R. 1119) can be found through the Library of Congress homepage.)

Sources:

[1] "U.S. Congress Meets Full Administration Request for Nunn-Lugar Program" Post-Soviet Nuclear & Defense Monitor, vol. 4, no. 23, 11 November 1997, pp. 1-2.

[2] Congress Requests Data on Secret Russian Urals Underground Bunker" Post-Soviet Nuclear & Defense Monitor, vol. 4, no. 23, 11 November 1997, pp. 2-3.

{Entered 11/17/97, PBI}

 

FISCAL YEAR 1997

 

9/30/96: PRESIDENT SIGNS FY 97 APPROPRIATIONS BILL INTO LAW

President Clinton signed into law the FY 97 Omnibus Appropriations Bill which includes $427.9 million in DoD funding for the CTR program. Of this amount, $327.9 million will be allocated to already established CTR programs. It is estimated that DoE will allocate $16 million for continuing core-conversion studies at the Russian plutonium production reactors in Krasnoyarsk and Tomsk , $20 million for its lab-to-lab program, and $15 million for MPC&A at NIS facilities. DoD will most likely allocate $10 million to further MPC&A efforts, $6 million to tighten security around Russian naval propulsion HEU, and $2 million for military-to-military efforts in the Caucasus and Central Asia. In addition, $66 million will go towards the Mayak fissile material storage facility, $38.5 million will be allotted for fissile material storage containers, $15 million for Russian chemical weapons stockpile destruction, and $52 million to eliminate strategic offensive arms and related infrastructure in Russia and Ukraine. In a separate request, the DoE will allocate $17 million for technologies monitoring the dismantlement of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons in the NIS. Under the Nunn-Lugar II amendment or the "Defense Act of 1996," $100 million will be set aside to enhance weapons security and safeguard activities both in the NIS and the US, but allocations for specific projects have yet to be finalized. Nunn-Lugar II, sponsored by Senators Sam Nunn, Richard Lugar, and Pete Domenici, includes provisions to enhance the security of weapons of mass destruction, increase border control assistance, and further develop verification technologies in the NIS. It is unclear what role the US "Office of the National Coordinator for Non-Proliferation Matters" will play in coordinating CTR efforts, if it is indeed established pursuant to the recommendation in Nunn-Lugar II legislation. Sources:

[1]"President Clinton Signs Into Law FY97 Funding for Post-Soviet States" POST-SOVIET NUCLEAR & DEFENSE MONITOR, Vol. 3, No. 24, 10/14/96, pp. 1-3.
[2] "Defense Against Weapons of Mass Destruction Act of 1996," US Senate, 6/26/96.
[3] "Congress Ok’s Increased Funds For Soviet Weapons Dismantlement," POST-SOVIET NUCLEAR & DEFENSE MONITOR, Vol. 3, No. 20, 8/13/96, pp. 1-3.
[4]"Senate Approves ‘Nunn-Lugar II’ To Counter Domestic WMD Threats," ARMS CONTROL TODAY, July 1996, pp. 23, 28.

 

95-96 HOUSE MEASURES TO CURB CTR FUNDING FAIL

The amendments sponsored by Rep. Gerald Soloman (R-NY) in 1996 and Rep. Robert Dornan (R-CA) in 1995 requiring a presidential certification that Russia is in compliance with all arms control treaties and is not pursuing biological weapons research, among other things have both failed to become law, and therefore have not affected the funding schedule of the CTR program. Rep. Soloman’s amendment was defeated (220-202) in the House on 5/15/96. While Rep. Dornan’s amendment passed (244-180) in the House on 6/13/95, it was not approved by the President.

Sources:

[1] "President To Sign Defense Bill With Cuts, Restrictions On CTR Program," POST-SOVIET NUCLEAR & DEFENSE MONITOR, 1/31/96, p. 1.

[2] Igor Borisenko, ITAR-TASS, 6/14/95; in "U.S. Congress Freeze on Aid to Russia Viewed," FBIS-SOV-95-114, 6/14/95.

[3] Aleksandr Koretskiy, "U.S. Congress on Biological Weapons in Russia. Financial Fallout of Previous Rumors," KOMMERSANT-DAILY, 6/15/95, pp. 1, 3; in FBIS-SOV-95-115, 6/15/95.

 

5/15/96: HOUSE CERTIFICATION AMENDMENT TO NDAA FAILS

A House amendment that would have prohibited any CTR funding to Russia and Belarus narrowly failed to pass (220-202). The amendment proposed by Rep. Solomon (R-NY) called for a presidential certification that Russia was among other things, in compliance with the CFE Treaty, had ended the war in Chechnya, and aborted the Ural mountains complex near Beloretsk (Bashkortostan) before any aid would be granted.

["House Effort To Cut Aid To Russia, Belarus Fails By Narrow Margin," POST-SOVIET NUCLEAR AND DEFENSE MONITOR, 5/17/96, p. 3] {entered 11/2/96, mew}