Details of the Kyl Amendment

THE KYL
AMENDMENT

To The 1992-93
Foreign Assistance Authorization Act,
H.R. 2508

(Approved by
the House of Representatives on 19 June
1991, 374-41)

SEC. 869.
LIMITATION ON ASSISTANCE

(a) FINDINGS. — The
Congress finds that —

the long term national
security of the United States,
and of the peoples of the Soviet
Union, would benefit greatly from
the transformation of the Soviet
Union to a fully democratic
nation based on the principles of
government by the people, respect
for individual rights, and free
market economic opportunity; and
assistance provided by the
United States to the Soviet Union
should promote rather than retard
this transformation.

(b) CERTIFICATION. —
During fiscal year 1992 and fiscal year
1993, assistance may not be provided to
the Soviet Union under the Foreign
Assistance Act of 1961 unless the
President certifies in a report to the
Congress that the following conditions
have been met:

That the Government of the
Soviet Union has taken meaningful
steps toward observing human
rights for all citizens,
including the following:

The Soviet Government
has ceased its
interference with the
freedom of the press in
the Baltic states and the
republics.
The Soviet Government
has returned control of
all buildings and other
property which it has
seized since January 1,
1991 within the Baltic
states to the
freely-elected
governments of those
states and other lawful
owners of such buildings
and other property;
The Soviet Government
has made assurances that
such assistance will be
distributed equitably
among the Baltic states
and the Soviet republics,
as shown through a
detailed plan of proposed
distribution.
The Soviet Government
has ceased the threat and
use of force against
democratic movements.
The Soviet Government
has entered into
meaningful negotiations
with leaders of the
Baltic states and the
republics to ensure a
smooth transition to
self-determination.
The people of the
Soviet Union have been
empowered to elect in
genuinely free, fair, and
open elections the
government that rules
them.
The Soviet Government
has not only codified but
honors in practice the
right of its citizens to
leave the Soviet Union
and to move freely within
its borders, consistent
with international
standards.
The Soviet Government
compels no republic or
historically recognized
nationality group with a
history of
self-determination to
remain part of the Soviet
Union involuntarily, and
fully respects the right
of self-determination
stipulated in the
Universal Declaration of
Human Rights, to which
the Soviet Union is a
party.
The Soviet Government
has withdrawn the
authorization issued by
Valentin Pavlov, the
prime minister,
permitting the police and
the KGB to raid the
offices of joint ventures
involving nationals of
Western European
countries and the United
States, in violation of
their civil rights;

That the threat to the United
States from the armed forces of
the Soviet Union has been
reduced, including —

that the Soviet Union
—

has adopted a
defense budget which will
draw down the percentage
of its gross national
product that is allocated
for military purposes to
levels approximating
those of the United
States, and
(is beginning to
implement this defense
budget; and

that the Soviet Union
has terminated the
modernization of its
strategic forces.

That the Soviet Union is no
longer engaged in acts of
subversion, or of support for
international terrorism, that are
directed at the United States or
its allies.
That the Soviet Union no
longer provides assistance in the
form of arms sales, military
assistance, or any kind of grant,
credit, commodity, or technology
transfer to other countries, such
as Cuba, North Korea, Afghanistan
and Vietnam that are engaged in
activities inimical to the
national interests of the United
States.
That the Soviet Union has
taken constructive steps toward
completing the Strategic Arms
Reduction Talks (START) and has
placed a high priority on
reaching an accord in the Defense
and Space Talks.
That full transparency exists
with respect to data necessary
for the United States to
determine the creditworthiness of
the Soviet Union and its ability
to repay debt, such as disclosing
data to permit a detailed
assessment of Soviet credits
similar to that provided by other
sovereign borrowers, including
disclosure of the sources and
uses of Soviet hard currency, the
value of the strategic gold
reserves of the Soviet Union, and
other key economic and financial
data.
That, in order to demonstrate
its creditworthiness and to
demonstrate a commitment to
economic reform, the Soviet Union
has adopted specific provisions
with strict, short timeliness for
deregulating most prices, selling
to privately owned entities most
government-owned assets, and
introducing genuine competition
into the Soviet economy.
That the Soviet Union is
committed to environmental
restoration and rehabilitation of
unsafe nuclear facilities that it
continues to operate.
That the Soviet Union will
not transfer to any country any
equipment, technology, or
services to build any VVERS
nuclear reactors. In particular,
that the Soviet Union will no
longer provide support in the
form of funds, equipment,
technology, or services for the
Cienfuegos project in Cuba.
That any assistance
otherwise prohibited by this
subsection will be provided,
whenever feasible, to the
democratically elected
governments of the Baltic states
and the republics.

(c) CERTAIN ASSISTANCE NOT
AFFECTED. — Subsection (b)
shall not prohibit assistance to the
government of, or through nongovernmental
organizations to, any of the Baltic
states or any eligible recipient in the
Soviet Union as defined in section
862(f).

(d) WAIVER IN THE
NATIONAL INTEREST. — The
President may provide assistance to the
Soviet Union notwithstanding subsection
(c) if–

he determines such assistance
to be in the national interest of
the United States;
he submits his determination,
together with the reasons
therefor, to the President of the
Senate and the Speaker of the
House of Representatives;
30 legislative days have
elapsed since the determination
is so submitted; and
in the case of credit
assistance, the United States
will retain collateral for the
full dollar amount of such
assistance.

Each submission under paragraph (2) shall
include a description of the progress of
the Soviet Union in meeting the
conditions set forth in subsection (b).