"Conservative" Jesse Helms Approved Deal
U.N. ENVIRONMENTAL TREATY SNEAKED THROUGH SENATE
By Cliff Kincaid
Members of Congress sometimes vote on legislation they haven't read. A concrete example is that of a major global environmental treaty passed by the U.S. Senate on October 18th. Called the "Convention to Combat Desertification" (CCD), it was passed by unanimous consent as no more than a few Senators were actually on the floor to vote on it. The document was introduced by Senator Craig Thomas.

This spectacle occurred when Thomas was handed a package of 34 treaties by the Senate leadership.Thomas thought they were non-controversial. Indeed, many are considered "housekeeping" treaties between the U.S.and other countries dealing with mundane subjects such as the return of stolen cars. But deep on the list was the treaty on deserts, whose ratification was been a goal of the radical environmental movement for years. Clinton had signed the treaty in 1994 and had sent it to the Senate in 1996. Now, suddenly, with no public debate on the Senate floor and no recorded vote, it's been ratified. Like Thomas, Senators who have been contacted about the treaty say they didn't realize what they were voting on.

In the name of fighting the degradation of land, the treaty creates a U.N. committee with the power to supervise and influence land use decisions in 110 nations, including the United States. U.N. watchdog Henry Lamb says this is one of several treaties that came out of the 1992 Earth Summit and were championed by then-Senator Albert Gore. Another, the Kyoto Protocol to the Climate Change Treaty, has been stalled in the Senate, even while Clinton has tried to implement its provisions through a series of executive orders. Taken together, Henry Lamb says these treaties give the U.N. jurisdiction "over virtually all of the land and all of the resources" on the planet.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee, chaired by Senator Jesse Helms, held what it called an "informal public hearing" on the treaty in July and recommended ratification with certain understandings. These include statements to the effect that the treaty would not dictate land use decisions by the U.S. and would not require more foreign aid spending. The committee also claims the treaty would not supersede the provisions of the U.S. Constitution.

That sounds great, except for the fact that all of this was done without the necessary public scrutiny, and that the treaty still carries the effect of law. Leading critics of the treaty did not realize what was being done. It appears none of them were invited to that "informal public hearing." On the other hand, radical environmental groups which are registered at the U.N. as NGOs, or non-governmental organizations, knew exactly what was happening.

One of them hailed the Senate vote on October 18th and said that two liberal Senators, Russ Feingold of Minnesota and James Jeffords of Vermont, had "led the push" for passage. The "Coalition for the UNCCD" called the document a "major global environmental treaty." The NGOs involved in its passage included the Center for International Environmental Law and something called "One World Now." It appears the Senate Republicans gave Al Gore, the presidential loser, a Christmas gift.

Note: Senator CraigThomas' office confirms that Senator Helms would have to approve such a deal on the Senate floor.
Call Helms' press secretary on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to protest. His name is Marc Thiessen. Contact him at: 202-224-4651. Ask why his boss slipped this dangerous treaty through the Senate.

America’s Survival, P.O. Box 146, Owings, MD 20736
www.usasurvival.org