SENSE OF CONGRESS RELATING TO THE PROLIFERATION OF SPACE LAUNCH VEHICLE TECHNOLOGIES.

SEC. 1614. SENSE OF CONGRESS RELATING TO THE PROLIFERATION OF SPACE LAUNCH VEHICLE TECHNOLOGIES. (a) Findings.—The Congress finds the following: (1) The United States has joined with other nations in the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), which restricts the transfer of missiles or equipment or technology that could contribute to the design, development, or production of missiles capable of delivering weapons of mass destruction. (2) Missile technology is indistinguishable from, and interchangeable with, space launch vehicle technology. (3) Transfers of missile technology or space launch vehicle technology cannot be safeguarded in a manner that would provide timely warning of diversion for military purposes. (4) It has been United States policy since agreeing to the guidelines of the Missile Technology Control Regime to treat the sale or transfer of space launch vehicle technology as restrictively as the sale or transfer of missile technology. (5) Previous congressional action on missile proliferation, notably title XVII of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1991 (Public Law 101–510–104 Stat. 1738), has explicitly supported the policy described in paragraph (4) through such actions as the statutory definition of the term “missile” to mean “a category I system as defined in the MTCR 107 STAT. 1853Annex, and any other unmanned delivery system of similar capability, as well as the specially designed production facilities for these systems”. (6) There is strong evidence that emerging national space launch programs in the Third World are not economically viable. (7) The United States has been successful in dissuading other countries from pursuing space launch vehicle programs in part by offering to cooperate with those countries in other areas of space science and technology. (8) The United States has successfully dissuaded other MTCR adherents, and countries who have agreed to abide by MTCR guidelines, from providing assistance to emerging national space launch programs in the Third World. (b) Strict Interpretation of MTCR.—The Congress supports the strict interpretation by the United States of the Missile Technology Control Regime concerning— (1) the inability to distinguish space launch vehicle technology from missile technology under the regime; and (2) the inability to safeguard space launch vehicle technology in a manner that would provide timely warning of the diversion of such technology to military purposes. (c) Sense of Congress.—It is the sense of Congress that the United States Government and the governments of other nations adhering to the Missile Technology Control Regime should be recognized by the international community for— (1) the success of those governments in restricting the export of space launch vehicle technology and of missile technology; and (2) the significant contribution made by the imposition of such restrictions to reducing the proliferation of missile technology capable of being used to deliver weapons of mass destruction. (d) Definition.—For purposes of this section, the term “Missile Technology Control Regime” or “MTCR” means the policy statement, between the United States, the United Kingdom, the Federal Republic of Germany, France, Italy, Canada, and Japan, announced on April 16, 1987, to restrict sensitive missile-relevant transfers based on the MTCR Annex, and any amendments thereto.