October 25, 2000 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S10989 bombed-out bridges, thereby reopening in the Balkans. The bombing campaign amount to little more than one percent vital trade links from Bulgaria and Ro- our government undertook in 1995 led of our total defense budget. This hardly mania to Western Europe. to the Dayton Accords for Bosnia. Op- constitutes a ‘‘hollowing out’’ of the Finally, we should strongly encour- eration Allied Force in 1999 forced military. age the European Union to make good Milosevic to withdraw his military and The argument that our commitment on this commitment to expand its paramilitary units from Serbia, de- to the Balkans is open-ended is equally membership to candidates as soon as stroying the myth in Serbia of his in- misleading. There are detailed mili- they meet the qualifications. In South- vincibility. This leadership goes be- tary, political, economic, and social eastern Europe this means Hungary yond the purely technical military as- benchmarks set in place. Our ‘‘exit and Slovenia. Brussels must not squan- sets that only the U.S. can deploy; it strategy’’ is crystal clear: a secure, der a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. also involves intangibles. SFOR in Bos- stable, democratic Balkans with a free- Mr. President, there is another rea- nia and KFOR in Kosovo contain thou- market economy that can join the rest son I wanted to take the floor today, sands of highly qualified soldiers from of the continent, a Europe ‘‘whole and one that touches on the future of our many countries, but the American free.’’ These are the ideals for which commitment to the Balkans and, in- troop presence on the ground gave the the greatest generation fought and deed, to a stable and secure Europe. mission its ultimate credibility with died. We dare not embark upon a policy As we continue to work towards a the Balkan peoples. This fact I have that fails to recognize the most impor- Serbia that will meet the necessary witnessed firsthand from my many tant international lesson of the twen- criteria to rejoin the community of trips to the region. tieth century: America’s national secu- western democracies, it is just as im- I am, therefore, alarmed by the re- rity is inextricably linked to the main- portant to remember why we are en- cent calls for a unilateral withdrawal tenance of a stable and peaceful Eu- gaged in the Balkans in the first place. of U.S. forces from the Balkans. Such a rope. This is, after all, an election year, a radical shift in our policy, I believe, To pull the plug on a Balkans policy time when Americans should rightly would have a catastrophic effect not that has finally begun to yield real question the policies and decisions of only on the very real progress we have dividends and at the same time to put the current administration when mak- made in stabilizing both Bosnia and NATO, the most successful alliance in ing their decision about the next. Kosovo, but on U.S. leadership in Eu- history, at risk would jeopardize Amer- U.S. military engagement on the Eu- rope and on the Atlantic Alliance as a ica’s national security. ropean continent since the end of whole. U.S. participation on the ground It would also betray the brave crowds World War II has provided the security in the Balkans is essential to our over- in Serbia, who have struggled to open umbrella under which democracy and up great possibilities for their country, free-market capitalism have been able all leadership in NATO, which is an al- the Balkans, and all of Europe. This is to develop and flourish. The Balkans, liance not only of shared values, but no time for Americans to retreat from however, are a world away from that also of shared risk and responsibility. the struggle out of ill-conceived, artifi- reality, the last remaining area of in- To begin a disengagement from the cially narrow definitions of national stability in Europe. During the last Balkans would not only guarantee the security. The American people have decade several hundred thousand peo- loss of American leadership in NATO, shown time and again that they lack ple have been killed in three bloody but also, I fear, lead to the premature neither vision nor patience when they wars there. The NATO-led peace- end of Western Europe’s commitment are convinced of the importance of a keeping operations in Bosnia and to stabilizing the Balkans. cause. A Europe unified by democracy Kosovo are designed to provide the As my colleagues surely know, the same kind of umbrella as in post-war vast majority of the troops in SFOR is such a cause. Western Europe to allow democracy, and KFOR—approximately eighty per- f cent—are European. Yet despite this civil society, and capitalism to take S. 1854, THE 21ST CENTURY ACQUI- minority participation, the United root and develop. SITION REFORM AND IMPROVE- States retains the command of both Without American leadership, this MENTS ACT OF 2000 region would most likely still be mired Balkan operations in the person of U.S. Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I was in civil war, ethnic cleansing, and General Joseph Ralston, the Supreme pleased that last Thursday the Senate ultra-nationalist aggression, with Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR). unanimously passed S. 1854, the ‘‘21st Milosevic firmly ensconced at the cen- Let me be blunt: it is naive to believe ter of it all. that we could retain command of these Century Acquisition Reform and Im- I remember well when in September operations—or, more importantly, provements Act of 2000.’’ I originally 1992, reacting to the mass murders an leadership of NATO itself—if we would introduced the bill last year with Sen- ethnic cleansing that Milosevic di- cavalierly inform our allies that we ators DEWINE and KOHL, and we are rected in Croatia and Bosnia, I called were unilaterally pulling out of the hopeful that it will be enacted into law for lifting the arms embargo against Balkans. It just won’t work. this year. I want to express my thanks Bosnia and, six months later, for hit- If the U.S. withdrew, like it or not, to Senator LEAHY, the Ranking Mem- ting the Bosnian Serbs with air strikes. the future of SFOR and KFOR would be ber of the Judiciary Committee, and to I was joined by Bob Dole and JOE in jeopardy, and the likelihood of re- Senators DEWINE and KOHL, the Chair- LIEBERMAN, but for three years ours newed hostilities and instability be- man and Ranking Member of the Anti- was a lonely fight. Finally, after hun- yond the borders of Bosnia and Kosovo trust Subcommittee, respectively, for dreds of thousands killed and mas- would greatly increase. their hard work and cooperation in de- sacres in Srebrenica and Sarajevo that We are entering into a very sensitive veloping and passing the bipartisan galvanized public opinion, our govern- period for the Balkans, one that could proposal that the Senate approved. The ment undertook a bombing campaign either strengthen or tear apart the reforms that will be put in place upon that led to the Dayton Accords. fragile peace that KFOR and SFOR enactment of this legislation are long Just as that American military ac- have helped secure. Local elections will overdue. Businesses, both small and tion in 1995 served as the catalyst for take place in Kosovo later this month, large, as well as the antitrust enforce- change in Bosnia, so did Operation Al- in Bosnia in November, and in Serbia ment agencies, have much to gain by lied Force in 1999 dash the myth in Ser- in December. The anti-democratic, its enactment. bia of Milosevic’s invincibility. If he ultra nationalist forces in the region As my colleagues know, the Hart- had gotten away with purging Kosovo are now no doubt biding their time and Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements of most of its ethnic Albanians, those hoping for a new administration that Act of 1976 requires companies contem- in Serbia who found Milosevic to be has already laid its withdrawal cards plating a merger or acquisition to file odious would have had no reason to be- on the table. a pre-merger notification with the lieve that anything could be done to The assertion that our Balkan oper- Antitrust Division or the Federal stop his immoral and ruinous policies. ations are a heavy drain on our re- Trade Commission if the size of the American leadership has been indis- sources is also completely off base. Our companies and the size of the proposed pensable for successful military action Bosnia and Kosovo operations together transaction are greater than certain

VerDate 25-OCT-2000 03:28 Oct 26, 2000 Jkt 089060 PO 00000 Frm 00039 Fmt 4624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A25OC6.029 pfrm01 PsN: S25PT1 S10990 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE October 25, 2000 monetary thresholds. These monetary other purpose of this legislation is to ship Grant Act of 2000, S. 2413, and sent thresholds, however, are seriously out- ensure that the Antitrust Division and it to the president for his signature. dated. They have not been changed— the FTC efficiently allocate their finite President Clinton has already endorsed even for inflation—since the legislation resources to those transactions that this legislation to support our nation’s was enacted more than two decades truly warrant antitrust scrutiny. To law enforcement officers and is eager ago. that end, one of its main objectives is to sign it into law. Because these monetary thresholds to achieve a more effective and effi- Senator CAMPBELL and I introduced are obsolete, businesses today often are cient merger review process by elimi- this bipartisan bill on April 12, 2000. required to notify the Antitrust Divi- nating unnecessary burden, costly du- The Senate Judiciary Committee sion and the FTC of proposed trans- plication and undue delay. In order to passed our bill unanimously on June actions that simply do not raise com- accomplish this objective, this legisla- 29. For the past four months, we have petitive issues. As a result, the agen- tion directs the Assistant Attorney been urging passage of the Bulletproof cies are required to expend valuable re- General and the FTC to conduct an in- Vest Partnership Grant Act of 2000. sources performing needless reviews of ternal review and implement reforms The Senate finally passed our bipar- transactions that were never intended of the merger review process, including tisan bill on October 11, 2000 by unani- to be reviewed. In short, current law the designation of a senior official for mous consent. senselessly imposes a costly regulatory expedited review of appeals regarding I want to thank Senators HATCH, and financial burden upon companies, the scope of and compliance with sec- SCHUMER, KOHL, THURMOND, REED, JEF- particularly small businesses, and ond requests. Fortunately, these re- FORDS, ROBB, REID, SARBANES, BINGA- needlessly drains the resources of the forms will be implemented quickly be- MAN, ASHCROFT, EDWARDS, BUNNING, agencies. Because of the unnecessarily cause, under this legislation, the As- CLELAND, HUTCHISON, ABRAHAM and low monetary thresholds, current law sistant Attorney General and the FTC GRAMS for cosponsoring and supporting fails to reflect the true economic im- will have 120 days to issue the guide- our bipartisan bill. pact of mergers and acquisitions in to- To better protect our Nation’s law day’s economy. lines and make the necessary changes enforcement officers, Senator CAMP- In addition, after a pre-merger notifi- to their regulations and policy docu- BELL and I introduced the Bulletproof cation is filed, the Hart-Scott-Rodino ments to implement the reforms, and Vest Partnership Grant Act of 1998. Act imposes a 30-day waiting period, they must report back to Congress President Clinton signed our legisla- during which the proposed transaction within 180 days. tion into law on June 16, 1998, pubic may not close and the Antitrust Divi- This legislation sets forth reforms to law 105–181. That law created a $25 mil- sion or the FTC conducts an antitrust the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act that are investigation. Prior to the expiration long overdue. It provides significant lion, 50 percent matching grant pro- of this waiting period, the agency in- regulatory and financial relief for busi- gram within the Department of Justice vestigating the transaction may make nesses, while ensuring that trans- to help state and local law enforcement a ‘‘second request’’—a demand for addi- actions that truly deserve antitrust agencies purchase body armor for fiscal tional information or documentary ma- scrutiny will continue to undergo re- years 1999–2001. According to the Federal Bureau of terial that is relevant to the proposed view. Again, I thank my colleagues transaction. Unfortunately, many sec- who joined me in supporting passage of Investigation, more than 40 percent of ond requests require the production of this legislation. In the waning hours of the 1,182 officers killed by a firearm in an enormous volume of materials, this Congressional Session, it is my in- the line of duty since 1980 could have many of which are unnecessary for tention to see this non-controversial been saved if they had been wearing even the most comprehensive merger consensus legislation enacted into law body armor. Indeed, the FBI estimates review. Complying with such second re- this year, and I will seek its attach- that the risk of fatality to officers quests has become extraordinarily bur- ment to one of the remaining ‘‘must- while not wearing body armor is 14 densome, often costing companies in pass’’ vehicles. times higher than for officers wearing excess of $1 million. Second requests Finally, I would like to recognize the it. also extend the waiting period for an hard work and efforts of several staff In its two years of operation, the additional 20 days, a period of time members of the Judiciary Committee Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant that does not begin to run until the who were instrumental in the success- Program funded more than 325,000 new agencies have determined that the ful passage of this legislation. On my bulletproof vests for our nation’s police transacting companies have ‘‘substan- staff, I particularly would like to officers, including more than 536 vests tially complied’’ with the second re- thank the Committee’s Chief Counsel for Vermont police officers with federal quest. This procedure results in many and Staff Director, Manus Cooney, the grant funds of $140,253 for Vermont law lawful transactions being unneces- lead counsels who worked on this enforcement agencies. More informa- sarily delayed for extended periods of measure, Makan Delrahim, Rene Au- tion about the Bulletproof Vest Part- time, causing an enormous strain on gustine, and Kyle Sampson, and legal nership Grant Program is available at the businesses, their employees, and fellow Thadd Prisco. On Senator the program’s web site at http:// their shareholders. LEAHY’s staff, I would like to recognize vests.ojp.gov/. The entire process of I am pleased that this legislation will the professional skills and input of the submitting applications and obtaining rectify many of the problems with the Minority Chief Counsel, Bruce Cohen, federal funds is completed through this 1976 Hart-Scott-Rodino Act. First, the and the Minority General Counsel, web site. legislation increases the size-of-trans- Beryl Howell. On the Antitrust Sub- The Bulletproof Vest Partnership action threshold from $15 million to $50 committee, I would like to thank Peter Grant Act of 2000 builds on the success million, effectively exempting mergers Levitas and Mark Grundvig, who are of this program by doubling its annual and acquisitions that would not pose Senator DEWINE’s able counsels, as funding to $50 million for fiscal years any competitive concerns from the well as Jon Leibowitz and Seth Bloom, 2002–2004. It also improves the program Act’s notification requirement. Such counsels to Senator KOHL, for their by guaranteeing jurisdictions with mergers make up over half of all trans- tireless efforts and input. Without the fewer than 100,000 residents receive the actions reported in 1999. Therefore, this assistance and hard work of these loyal full 50–50 matching funds because of legislation provides significant regu- public servants, the important reforms the tight budgets of these smaller com- latory and financial relief for all busi- in this legislation would not have been munities. In addition, under the Leahy- nesses, particularly small and medium- possible. Thank you. Campbell floor amendment to this bill, sized ones. In addition, the legislation f the purchase of stab-proof vests will be indexes the threshold for inflation, so eligible for grant awards to protect that the problem of an expanding econ- THE BULLETPROOF VEST corrections officers and sheriffs who omy outgrowing the statute’s mone- PARTNERSHIP GRANT ACT OF 2000 face violent criminals in close quarters tary threshold will not recur. Mr. LEAHY. I am pleased that the in local and county jails. In addition to providing regulatory House of Representatives tonight ap- More than ever before, police officers and financial relief for companies, an- proved the Bulletproof Vest Partner- in Vermont and around the country

VerDate 25-OCT-2000 03:28 Oct 26, 2000 Jkt 089060 PO 00000 Frm 00040 Fmt 4624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G25OC6.092 pfrm01 PsN: S25PT1