Dem Lawmaker Proposes Amendment To Ban Sale Or Purchase Of Cluster Munitions

2 months ago

In remarks on the House floor last week, Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV) spoke about her amendment to prevent the purchase or selling of cluster munitions.

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Transcript

00:00from Nevada seek recognition. I have an amendment at the desk. Clerk will

00:03designate the amendment. Amendment number 171 printed in Part A of House Report

00:08number 118-559 offered by Ms. Titus of Nevada. Pursuant to House

00:14Resolution 1316 the gentlelady from Nevada Ms. Titus and a member opposed

00:18will each control five minutes. The chair recognizes the gentlelady from Nevada.

00:22Thank you Mr. Chairman. I rise in support of this vital amendment to prohibit

00:26funds in the bill from being used to acquire, use, sell, or transfer cluster

00:32munitions in an effort to avert more widespread harm to civilians in areas

00:38contaminated with unexploded ordnance. Cluster bombs are not winning weapons

00:43but indiscriminate munitions that blanket large areas contaminating land

00:49and inflicting disproportionate harm on civilians. Cluster munitions are shells

00:54that contain dozens of smaller bomblets that disperse into the air and scatter

01:00over areas the size of several football fields. Their lack of precision targeting

01:06capabilities increases the risk of their falling into civilian areas and makes it

01:12very difficult to decontaminate those bombed areas. The extreme threat to

01:18civilians furthermore that these weapons pose far outweighs the potential

01:22military benefit. The 2023 cluster munition monitor report found there were

01:29at least 1,172 new cluster munition casualties globally in 2022. That's the

01:38highest annual number of casualties since at least 2010. In 2022 civilians

01:45accounted for approximately 95% of all cluster munitions casualties and of that

01:5195% children accounted for over 70% of the civilian casualties.

01:59Thousands of communities across Southeast Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern

02:04Europe face lingering dangers from landmines and explosive remnants of war

02:10dating back to World War II, the Vietnam War, and the Indochina Wars with many of

02:16the Pacific Island nations still contaminated with unexploded ordnance

02:21following World War II battles between Japan and Allied forces. Laos, the most

02:27heavily bombed country per capita in history, has suffered an estimated 50,000

02:34civilian casualties from explosive remnants of war since 1964. Cambodia and

02:40Vietnam have seen over 64,000 and 105,000 casualties respectively since

02:481975. The 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions has a hundred and twelve, a

02:55hundred and twelve party states and twelve signatories including the

03:01majority of our NATO allies. The transfer of these weapons by the U.S. is contrary

03:07to the global norm against the use, transfer, and stockpiling of cluster

03:12munitions. There is a reason why the vast majority of the international community

03:17has banned these weapons and it's time for the U.S. to do the same. I reserve.

03:23General, Lady Reserves, for what purpose does a gentleman from California seek

03:27recognition? I rise to claim time in opposition to the amendment. The gentleman is recognized for five minutes.

03:31Ukraine is in a fight for its survival and artillery has been a critical part of

03:37that in its defense. Cluster munitions fill a much-needed gap until production

03:42of 155 millimeter rounds can catch up. We have a shortage of those rounds. The

03:48Russians have been using cluster munitions for over two and a half years

03:52since the beginning of this conflict. We should not limit Ukraine's ability to

03:56respond in kind. Moreover, the amendment goes beyond prohibiting the transfer of

04:01cluster munitions to Ukraine. It would tie our hands in future conflicts

04:05prohibiting the option to use these munitions in contingencies where the

04:09only other option are larger munitions that suffer even more casualties.

04:14Additionally, it's not hard to imagine a situation where we would might need to

04:19transfer these munitions to other allies and partners such as Taiwan or South

04:24Korea. We should not impede our own defense or that of our allies and

04:29partners with a complete prohibition on cluster munitions. I urge a no vote and

04:34reserve the balance of my time.

04:38May I inquire how much time is left?

04:42The gentlelady has two minutes remaining. At this time I would yield one minute to

04:47the chair of the ranking member of the subcommittee. The gentlelady from Minnesota is

04:51recognized for one minute. Thank you Mr. Chair. I rise in support of this

04:54amendment. In the case of Ukraine, I continue remains concerned that allowing

05:01these munitions to go onto the battlefield undermines our moral

05:05authority and places the United States in a position that contradicts 23 of our

05:11NATO allies who have joined the Convention on Cluster Mines. I want to be

05:15clear though, I strong supporter of the Biden's administration policy in Ukraine.

05:19And this is a difficult position that the Ukrainian military has been put in.

05:24Yes, Russia has used these types of munitions inside of Ukraine. So when we

05:30were short on delivering the the security that we promised Ukraine for

05:35you know help, cluster bombs became something that the administration put in

05:41the mix. I wasn't supportive of that but I do realize that this is the choice

05:46between the lesser of two evils in the war that Ukraine has been faced to fight

05:51because of the Russia invasion. So I want to get to a place where we don't have

05:56these choices in front of us and that we are not transferring these weapons.

06:02Gentlelady from Nevada Reserves. Gentleman from California is recognized.

06:06I yield to the gentleman from Arkansas, Mr. Crawford, two minutes. Gentleman from

06:10Arkansas is recognized. I thank Chairman Calvert for yielding me some time. I rise

06:14today in support of the Cluster Munitions Prohibition Amendment. We've

06:18heard from members speaking in favor of this amendment and I'd like to echo their

06:20concerns from a military perspective. Cluster munitions do kill innocent

06:25civilians but they also are incredibly deadly to US military personnel as well.

06:30The vast majority of cluster munitions lack a self-destruct capability and have

06:34failure rates from two to forty percent. With many of these war-torn nations

06:38unable to adequately address their own UXO clearance operations, often due to a

06:42lack of having their own EOD trained personnel, this is where the United

06:45States military steps in. Through programs like the Humanitarian

06:49Demining Research and Development Program and Humanitarian Mine Action

06:52Program, the US Department of Defense sends highly skilled EOD personnel to

06:56provide demining assistance to partner nations post-conflict. This means that

07:01even if the United States is not directly involved in a conflict, we send

07:04America's EOD personnel into harm's way when they conduct clearance operations.

07:08President Biden has provided Ukraine with cluster munitions for use

07:12against Russia and anyone would be a fool to believe that when the Ukraine-

07:15Russia conflict is over, American EOD personnel will not be sent to assist in

07:19post-conflict clearance operations. On my last visit to EOD Memorial Wall at

07:24Eglin Air Force Base, I reread the names of 344 fallen EOD technicians. If we

07:30don't support the Cluster Munitions Prohibition Amendment, we will be adding

07:32more names to that wall. As a founder and co-chair of the Congressional EOD

07:37Explosive Ordnance Disposal Caucus, it is my duty to be a voice in Congress for

07:41America's EOD personnel. I urge my colleagues to support the amendment and

07:45with that I yield back.

07:46The gentleman from California Reserves.

07:50The dud rate on the Russian munition, cluster munitions, exceeds 30% where the dud rate

07:57of the U.S. munition is extremely low. It's a terrible weapon, war is a terrible

08:04thing, and the weapons are necessary for us to have our allies win and so I would

08:13ask that we defeat this amendment and I yield back.

08:16The gentleman yields back. The gentlelady from Nevada is recognized.

08:20Thank you, Mr. Chairman, but I thank the gentleman from Arkansas for pointing out the

08:24danger of these weapons not just to the victims but also to our own troops. As

08:30far as the dud rates go, the Department of Defense has indeed stated that DPICMs

08:36have a low dud rate, 2.35%, as the department has said. This figure, however,

08:42does not tell the whole story. DOD tests the dud rate by dropping bomblets on a

08:48concrete surface. Obviously, every little bomblet will detonate on concrete, but

08:55that's not representative of the environments where they are deployed.

08:59When cluster munitions are dropped in mud, snow, marshes, and certain soft terrain,

09:04that dud rate skyrockets upwards of 50%. The DOD's announced dud rate figure

09:11cannot be taken at face value and constructing an argument against this

09:15amendment solely based on that foundation is truly flawed. I just point

09:20out again the damage that is done to humanity by these weapons and the

09:25majority of those who are casualties are children and I yield back.

09:32The gentlelady's time has expired. The question is on the amendment offered by

09:35the gentlelady from Nevada. Those in favor say aye. Those opposed say no.

09:42In the opinion of the chair, the noes have it. For what purpose does the

09:45gentlelady from Nevada seek recognition?

09:49Pursuant to Clause 6 of Rule 18, further proceedings on the amendment offered

09:53by the gentlelady from Nevada will be postponed.

Dem Lawmaker Proposes Amendment To Ban Sale Or Purchase Of Cluster Munitions

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