Foreign Affairs Issue

As the sole remaining global superpower, the United States must use its power responsibly to promote democracy, enhance international security, and protect human rights. Senator Domenici believes that America's international diplomacy must lead the effort to achieve these goals.

Nuclear Nonproliferation

Senator Domenici is one of the Senate's foremost experts in the area of nuclear nonproliferation. He is author or coauthor of nearly every major U.S. law aimed at stemming the international proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD), including:

Nunn-Lugar-Domenici Cooperative Threat Reduction Program. This program provides assistance to countries of the former Soviet Union to prevent hostile nations and terrorist groups from acquiring materials and information leftover from the Soviet WMD infrastructure. Congress strongly supports this program and has authorized and appropriated between $300 and $400 million per year for its activities since 1991.

Nuclear Cities Initiative. This initiative was authored by Senator Domenici and signed into law as part of the 2001 Defense Authorization Bill. It conditions U.S. assistance to Russia upon a comprehensive restructuring of the Russian nuclear weapons complex from military to civilian activities. Its goal is to encourage Russia to stabilize its nuclear weapons activities and limit the threat of its nuclear personnel and materials from the effects of proliferation.

Nuclear and Radiological Terrorism Threat Reduction Act. Senator Domenici was the primary cosponsor of this 2002 legislation aimed at creating an international repository to provide temporary storage of radioactive sources found in other countries. WMD attacks by terrorists have become a very real threat. Senator Domenici believes outreach to help other nations is critical to preventing radioactive materials from finding their way into the black market.

New Mexico's International Border

Senator Domenici recognizes the importance of the United States-Mexico relationship and works to enhance mutual cooperation on a variety of bilateral issues. In 2001, he traveled to Mexico City for face-to-face talks with Mexican President Vincente Fox to discuss more cooperative methods of fighting the illegal narcotics trade. The result has been greater coordination between Mexican and U.S. law enforcement agencies in battling drug smuggling across the Mexico-New Mexico border. He has also been a long time proponent of improving border security, and as a member of the Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee, he has helped secure funding to hire, train, and deploy thousands of new border patrol agents and immigration and customs enforcement officers as well as more detention space to detain unauthorized aliens.

For more information on the Nuclear Cities Initiative, please visit:
http://www.nnsa.doe.gov/nci/index.shtml

For more information on the 2001 Defense Authorization Bill, please visit:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/legislative/sap/107-1/S1438-s.html

To read the full text of the Nuclear and Radiological Terrorism Threat Reduction Act, please visit:
http://www.snm.org/pdf/bill_102302.pdf

For more information on Senator Domenici's views and activities on foreign affairs, visit our online News Center.

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