[Congressional Bills 103th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [H. Con. Res. 85 Introduced in House (IH)] 103d CONGRESS 1st Session H. CON. RES. 85 To express the sense of Congress that the President should exercise the temporary waiver authority that an emergency exists under the Merchant Marine Act, 1936 and justifying the waiver of cargo preference rates in transporting the $1,600,000,000 in bilateral assistance to Russia as agreed to in the ``Vancouver Package'' between President Clinton and President Yeltsin of the Russian Federation. _______________________________________________________________________ IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES April 22, 1993 Mr. Barrett of Nebraska submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries _______________________________________________________________________ CONCURRENT RESOLUTION To express the sense of Congress that the President should exercise the temporary waiver authority that an emergency exists under the Merchant Marine Act, 1936 and justifying the waiver of cargo preference rates in transporting the $1,600,000,000 in bilateral assistance to Russia as agreed to in the ``Vancouver Package'' between President Clinton and President Yeltsin of the Russian Federation. Whereas the recently formed independent states of the former Soviet Union are struggling to put in place the institutions of democratic government and free market economies; Whereas the Congress in the Freedom Support Act, enacted into law in the 102d Congress, found that failure to meet the opportunities, presented by the recent developments in the independent states of the former Soviet Union to make a transition to a peaceful and stable international order, ``could threaten United States national security interests and jeopardize substantial savings in United States defense that these developments have made possible''; Whereas the independent states of the former Soviet Union, especially Russia, need to import agricultural commodities and other products for the health and sustenance of their respective populations and the well-being of the animals in their livestock sector; Whereas the lack of importation of these agricultural commodities and other products may threaten the stability of the elected governments of these newly independent states, especially Russia, and their future as democratic governments; Whereas the President of the United States and the President of the Russian Federation announced a bilateral aid package for Russia (referred to as the Vancouver Package) in Vancouver, British Columbia, on April 3, 1993, in the amount of $1,600,000,000; Whereas the President has announced that the food aid assistance to Russia by the United States will take the form of donations and concessional sales of food aid under the Food For Progress Act and section 416 of the Agricultural Act of 1949; and Whereas problems have arisen with respect to the $1,600,000,000 in bilateral assistance to Russia that are best illustrated by the food aid provided to Russia under the Food for Progress Act and section 416 of the Agriculture Act of 1949 in that such aid will be subject to substantial diminution in volume and value if the cargo preference rate provisions of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936, apply to such food aid, inasmuch as up to one-third of the amount of food aid to Russia may be spent on the cost of shipping, and this one-third reduction in the Vancouver Package food aid poses possible dire consequences for the democratic republics in the former Soviet Union, especially Russia, with a resulting emergency situation threatening the stability of the Government of Russia or a possible budget emergency in the United States Government if approximately $250,000,000 must be added to the fiscal years 1993-1994 budget deficits to fix this problem: Now, therefore, be it Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), That the Congress declares that the President should exercise the temporary waiver authority granted in section 901(b) and 901b of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936 (46 U.S.C. App. 1241(b), 1241(f)) so that the $1,600,000,000 in bilateral assistance to Russia, referred to as the Vancouver Package, may be effected without endangering the stability of the Government or the economy of Russia and without adding to the United States budget deficit. <all>