feh...
Posted on 06/26/2012 1:00:53 PM PDT by Whenifhow
TEXT OF A LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT TO THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AND THE PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
June 25, 2012
Dear Mr. Speaker: (Dear Mr. President:)
Pursuant to section 204(b) of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), 50 U.S.C. 1703(b), I hereby report that I have exercised my authority to declare a national emergency to deal with the threat posed to the United States by the risk of nuclear proliferation created by the accumulation in the Russian Federation of a large volume of weapons-usable fissile material.
In Executive Order 13159 of June 21, 2000, the President found that this same risk constituted an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States and declared a national emergency to deal with that threat. The United States and the Russian Federation had entered into a series of agreements that provide for the conversion of highly enriched uranium (HEU) extracted from Russian nuclear weapons into low enriched uranium (LEU) for use in commercial nuclear reactors. There were concerns that payments due to the Russian Federation under these agreements may be subject to attachment, garnishment, or other judicial process, in the United States, which could put implementation of such agreements at risk. In Executive Order 13159, the President therefore ordered blocked all property and interests in property of the Government of the Russian Federation directly related to the implementation of the HEU Agreements so that it would be protected from the threat of attachment, garnishment, or other judicial process.
In the Executive Order I have issued today, I find that the risk of nuclear proliferation created by the accumulation in the Russian Federation of a large volume of weapons-usable fissile material continues to constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States. I therefore declared a national emergency to address this threat and to continue the blocking of all property and interests in property of the Government of the Russian Federation directly related to the implementation of the HEU Agreements.
A major national security goal of the United States is to ensure that fissile material removed from Russian nuclear weapons pursuant to various arms control and disarmament agreements is dedicated to peaceful uses, subject to transparency measures, and protected from diversion to activities of proliferation concern. The United States and the Russian Federation entered into an international agreement in February 1993 to deal with these issues as they relate to the disposition of HEU extracted from Russian nuclear weapons (the "HEU Agreement"). The HEU Agreement provides for 500 metric tons of HEU to be converted to LEU over a 20-year period. This is the equivalent of 20,000 nuclear warheads.
Additional agreements were put in place to effectuate the HEU Agreement, including agreements and contracts on transparency, on the appointment of executive agents to assist in implementing the agreements, and on the disposition of LEU delivered to the United States (collectively, the "HEU Agreements"). Under the HEU Agreements, the Russian Federation extracts HEU metal from nuclear weapons. That HEU is oxidized and blended down to LEU in the Russian Federation. The resulting LEU is shipped to the United States for fabrication into fuel for commercial reactors.
The HEU Agreements provide for the Russian Federation to receive money and uranium hexafluoride in payment for each shipment of LEU converted from the Russian nuclear weapons. The money and uranium hexafluoride are transferred to the Russian Federation executive agent in the United States.
The executive branch and the Congress have previously recognized and continue to recognize the threat posed to the United States national security from the risk of nuclear proliferation created by the accumulation of weapons-usable fissile material in the Russian Federation. This threat is the basis for significant programs aimed at Cooperative Threat Reduction and at controlling excess fissile material. The HEU Agreements are essential tools to accomplish these overall national security goals. The Congress has repeatedly demonstrated support for these agreements.
Payments made to the Russian Federation pursuant to the HEU Agreements are integral to the operation of this key national security program. Uncertainty surrounding litigation and the possible attachment, garnishment, or other judicial process that could impede these payments could lead to a long term suspension of the HEU Agreements, which creates the risk of nuclear proliferation. This is an unacceptable threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States.
Accordingly, I have concluded that all property and interests in property of the Government of the Russian Federation directly related to the implementation of the HEU Agreements should remain protected from the threat of attachment, garnishment, or other judicial process. I have, therefore, exercised my authority and issued an Executive Order that provides:
except to the extent provided in regulations, orders, directives, or licenses that may be issued pursuant to the order, or that were issued pursuant to Executive Order 13159 of June 21, 2000, all property and interests in property of the Government of the Russian Federation directly related to the implementation of the HEU Agreements that are in the United States, that hereafter come within the United States, or hereafter come within the possession or control of any United States persons, including any foreign branch, are blocked and may not be transferred, paid, exported, withdrawn, or otherwise dealt in;
unless licensed or authorized pursuant to the order, any attachment, judgment, decree, lien, execution, garnishment, or other judicial process is null and void with respect to any property or interest in property blocked pursuant to the order; and
that all heads of departments and agencies of the United States Government shall continue to take all appropriate measures within their authority to further the full implementation of the HEU Agreements.
The effect of this Executive Order is limited to property that is directly related to the implementation of the HEU Agreements. Such property will be clearly defined by the regulations, orders, directives, or licenses that will be issued pursuant to this Executive Order. I have delegated to the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, the authority to take such actions, including the promulgation of rules and regulations, and to employ all powers granted to the President by IEEPA as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of the order. All agencies of the United States Government are directed to take all appropriate measures within their authority to carry out the provisions of the order.
I am enclosing a copy of the Executive Order I have issued.
Sincerely,
BARACK OBAMA
We have been in a state of national emergency almost continuously since 1933, when one expires the President (all of them) issues another one. I remember Quinn and Rose talking about it back when Clinton was President. You can google it and there are a lot of discussions.
So Obama just tore up the agreement with Arizona and now he's tearing up another one???
May I be broken into millions of pieces if have made the wrong call.
Sounds like he’s saying that money to be used to pay the Russians for converting their weapons-grade nukes to energy-grade is protected from lawsuits, garnishment, etc.
I suppose it’s probably just a continuation. Being government-speak, “national emergency” means the opposite (business as usual).
Clinton did this too, Obama is saying. Perhaps this is just the same old thing- and Bush may have done it too. Why is this in breaking?
Bush Continues Emergency Relating to Fissile Material in Russia
(June 19: Presidential message and notice to Congress) (950)
In a message to Congress June 18, President Bush enclosed a notice
stating that “the emergency declared with respect to the accumulation
of a large volume of weapons-usable fissile material in the territory
of the Russian Federation is to continue beyond June 21, 2002.”
That is the anniversary date of the executive order in 2000 that
declared a national emergency to deal with the threat of nuclear
proliferation created by the accumulation of weapons-usable fissile
material in the Russian Federation.
The executive order blocks the “property of the government of the
Russian Federation relating to the disposition of highly enriched
uranium extracted from nuclear weapons.”
Looks like nothing new but it must be Bush’s fault that Russia continues to stock pile highly enriched uranium.
“WTF?!? Nothing this guy says or does means what it appears on the surface. What could this really be about? Payback because Putin made him look foolish on the world stage? I wouldn’t put it past him. We might be lucky if that’s all it’s about this time.”
Bingo! I think we have a winner. It may not be new, but he certainly chose interesting timing. We need to look behind the curtain.
Barry-O is trying to take away Jimmuh's "Clueless Dweeb" award.
It’s probably just another yearly renewal of emergency powers, since it references Bush declaring the same thing in 2000. They do that, and then when it expires, they have to notify Congress they are renewing it for a year.
We’re are actually still in a state of emergency that was declared after 9/11. They’ve renewed it every year.
Has any one else noticed how his imperial majesty Comrade President Caliph Sheik Obama the First is the amalgamation of every bad President since Eisenhower? Lately, using Executive Privilege to cover up incompetence. Truly Nixonian (a committed elite Republican establishment type and a Progressive just like the rest of the elitist Republican establishment). He has forced healthcare down our throat just like Hill and Bill wanted to do. He has made us weaker militarily. I worry and wonder if it opens us up to another 9/11? Billy Boy holds the blame for that. Who knew he was not as smart as Bill and just bombed from 32,000 feet but left troops on the ground? Who would have thought (except for the splendid Freepers) that hope and change meant malaise and high unemployment? My God he is everything bad and stupid all rolled up in narcissistic arrogance that goes out of it’s way to destroy the Constitution. In my opinion, purge all the voter rolls and make it mandatory you take and pass a written test on American History in order to vote so at least the ignorant or uneducated have their influence trimmed.
But it is okay for the Japanese to acquire more fissionable material then any other country on the planet under the guise of building the impossible breeder reactor ? You know, the Japanese ? The people who attacked us at Pearl Harbor.
feh...
Doesn’t this guarantee that the material cannot be blocked from the US by (for example) a court, and that no lawsuit can be put against our payments for that material before that money gets into Russian hands? All it means is that the Russians will get paid and are immune from any kind of attachment.
Nut-job Conspiracy Theory Ping!
To get onto The Nut-job Conspiracy Theory Ping List you need to threaten to report me to the Admin if I don’t add you to the list...
OH BOY. I trust this radical wacko as far as I can throw him.
I’ve been reading peoples’ comments on another forum and the consensus seems to be (forum is TB2) that this is a re-do of something previously in existence and is no big deal. Of course being me, I have no idea at and am open to what smarter people think about it. I do think that 0bastard could sign or say something that in previous administrations was innocuous or a formality, but with 0 it could be something horribly malignant.
Probably the rest of the planet is undergoing ‘where the F is this guy coming from?!?’ like we were doing in ‘07.
God knows what deals this clown has made across the globe...
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