Clean Diamond Trade Act

Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I rise today in strong support of the Clean Diamond Trade Act. Clean Diamond legislation passed unanimously through the Finance Committee on April 2, by a voice vote. The bill we are taking up today is nearly identical to the bill that passed the House of Representatives on April 8, 2003, by a vote of 419 to 2. Today, with the passage of this bill, the Senate is taking a step toward bringing our Nation into compliance with our responsibilities as a participating Nation in the Kimberly Process Certification Scheme.

Passage of this legislation is a true bipartisan success and a significant step forward in stopping trade in conflict diamonds. 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.

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 2 years of negotiations among more than 50 countries, human rights advocacy groups, the diamond industry and nongovernment organizations. The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme will help end the trade in conflict diamonds, which has been fueling conflicts in some African countries for many years, leading to human rights atrocities that are beyond anything we in America have ever experienced. I am pleased that we can help put an end to these atrocities with this legislation.

The next plenary session of the Kimberley Process is scheduled to convene in Johannesburg, South Africa, from April 28 to 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.

This is a trade issue, a consumer issue, and most of all, a human rights issue. Legitimate trade can elevate the standard of living for people all over. This bill sends a strong message that the benefits of trade in valuable natural resources like diamonds should accrue to the legitimate governments and their people in Africa.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the members of my staff whose hard work helped to get us to this point. First and foremost, my Finance Committee staff led by Kolan Davis, my Chief Trade Counsel Everett Eissenstat, along with Carrie Clark, Zach Paulsen and Nova Daly. And I would like to acknowledge Senator BAUCUS's staff Tim Punke and Shara Aranoff for their help in getting this bill through the Finance Committee and to the Senate floor. I hope this bill will receive wide support.