Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions S780

STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS

By Mr. GRASSLEY (for himself, Mr. BAUCUS, Mr. DEWINE, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. GREGG, Mr. BINGAMAN, Mr. FEINGOLD, Ms. SNOWE, Mr. ROCKFELLER, Mr. SANTORUM, and Mr. LEAHY):

S. 780. A bill to implement effective measures to stop trade in conflict diamonds, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Finance.
[CQ Editor's Note: In the paragraph above, the Congressional Record provided an incorrect bill number for S. 780 The correct bill number is S. 760.]

Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Clean Diamond Trade Act. Technically, this act will implement a certification process for imports of rough diamonds. But, as many of you know, this bill goes far beyond technicalities. This bill will help put an end to trade in conflict diamonds. As many of you know, conflict diamonds are diamonds mined and used by rebel movements in many African nations as a source of revenue to fuel armed conflict and the activities of rebel movements aimed at undermining or overthrowing legitimate governments in African countries. Millions of people have been driven from their homes by wars that have been fought for control of these diamonds. Families and entire countries have been torn apart.

That is why it is vitally important that we pass this legislation. Passage of this legislation would be a true bipartisan success and a significant step forward in stopping trade in conflict diamonds. And I would like to thank my colleagues for helping to develop the compromise legislation in this Act. I would especially like to recognize the hard work of Senators GREGG, DEWINE, DURBIN, BINGAMAN, and FEINGOLD, whose devotion and dedication to stopping trade in conflict diamonds is unsurpassed.

Prior attempts to move similar bills have stalled in both the House and the Senate. As Chairman of the Finance Committee, I took great care to try and achieve the right balance so that we might implement a certification process that meets our international responsibilities, that can pass the House and the Senate, and most importantly, that works.

The Clean Diamond Trade Act will implement the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme. This is an international agreement establishing minimal acceptable international standards for national certification schemes relating to cross-border trade in rough diamonds. It represents over two years of negotiations among more than 50 countries, human rights advocacy groups, the diamond industry and non-government organizations.

The next plenary session of the Kimberley Process is scheduled to convene in Johannesburg, South Africa, from April 28 to the 30, 2003. The U.S. played a leadership role in crafting the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, and it is critical that we implement the certification process before April 28 if we are to retain this leadership. We also need to do this to ensure that the flow of legitimate diamonds into and out of the United States will continue without interruption. Most important, we need to do everything we can to stop trade in conflict diamonds as soon as possible.

Mr. President, we plan to mark-up this legislation in the Finance Committee tomorrow morning. I am confident the bill will receive strong bipartisan support in committee and am hopeful we can pass this bill by unanimous consent in the full Senate before we adjourn for the April recess. The people and countries in Africa affected by the damage of conflict diamonds deserve our support. Passing this bill is the right thing to do.