Congress Issues Fierce, Yet Varied, Responses to North Korea Missile Launch
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee is introducing legislation that "conditions diplomatic relations" with North Korea on its abandoning its nuclear weapons program -- one of several congressional responses to news of the communist nation's defiant missile launch on Sunday.
Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., expressed grave concern over North Korea's continued missile tests, calling the country "a direct threat to U.S. forces stationed in the Pacific, to our South Korean and Japanese allies and to Americans living in the states of Alaska and Hawaii."
"Today's actions not only show North Korea's advancing military capabilities but also the growing and dangerous partnership between North Korea and Iran," she said in a press release issued Sunday.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The congresswoman is proposing legislation that "conditions diplomatic relations, non-humanitarian aid on abandonment of illicit nuclear and missile programs, human rights progress."
North Korea sent a rocket hurtling over the Pacific Ocean Sunday morning -- a launch President Obama called an illicit test of the regime's long-range missile technology that threatened the security of nations "near and far." His administration was consulting with both the U.N. Security Council and the other members of the six-party talks -- Russia, China, South Korea and Japan
Ros-Lehtinen's response is part of a flood of fierce reactions from members of Congress who were quick to condemn the Pyongyang's action.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Rep. Howard Berman, D-Calif. and chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said the launch was in "direct defiance" of the international community and called it an "unnecessary provocation."
Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry, D-Mass., also labeled North Korea's launch a "provocative act," and called for a "stern, unified response from the members of the six-party talks on the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula."
Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., asked the U.S. to place North Korea on a list of regimes designated terrorists by the U.S. government. That designation was removed by the Bush administration in 2008 when it sought to encourage North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons plan.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Brownback also called on the U.S. to tighten financial sanctions on the country.
"With this latest illegal missile launch, this administration now must decide whether hostile actions have real consequences. Rather than only seeking more U.N. sanctions that failed to stop this launch in the first place, the administration instead should return North Korea to the terrorism list, tighten financial sanctions, and commit publicly and forcefully to addressing the abysmal state of North Korean human rights," Brownback said in a statement Sunday.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, whose state is one that would be directly threatened by long-range North Korean weapons, turned her criticism not only on North Korea, but on efforts to stop the U.S. missile defense program.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"With this launch, I remain disappointed to hear continued rumors of budget cuts to our missile defense programs. The firing of this missile illustrates the critical role these systems play in our nation's defense. In light of the actions taken by North Korea, now is not the time to make cuts to these essential programs," she said.
FOX News' Chad Pergram and the Associated Press contributed to this report.