ABSTRACT
Congress, an institution with at times fuzzy jurisdictional boundaries among a welter of committees, looks at arms control from several different vantage points. Congress also has the power to influence arms control by changing the statutory charters of the appropriate executive branch agencies. Congress can express its concern over arms control in other ways. Congress has continued to revise the Arms Export Control Act to try to make the United States Foreign Military Sales program more consistent with our stated goal of limiting the international flow of conventional arms. Congress has also attempted to influence the complex field of nuclear exports, which means balancing such factors as the world energy supply, the nuclear industry’s commercial needs, trade relations, arms control, and security relationships. Congress has many tools with which to influence arms control. The device of the congressional resolution can also be used to suggest substantive approaches to arms control policy.
