[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 81 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. RES. 81
Relating to the establishment of a means for the Senate to provide
advice and consent regarding the form of an international agreement
relating to pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
February 28, 2023
Mr. Risch (for himself, Mr. Barrasso, Mr. Hagerty, Mr. Cruz, Mrs.
Blackburn, Ms. Lummis, Mr. Braun, Mr. Daines, Mr. Marshall, Mr.
Cassidy, Ms. Collins, Mr. Thune, Mr. Mullin, Ms. Ernst, and Mr. Cramer)
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee
on Foreign Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Relating to the establishment of a means for the Senate to provide
advice and consent regarding the form of an international agreement
relating to pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response.
Whereas clause 2 of section 2 of article II of the Constitution of the United
States empowers the President ``by and with the Advice and Consent of
the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two-thirds of the Senators
present concur'';
Whereas without appropriate and meaningful consultation with the Senate--
(1) the requirement for Senate advice and consent to treaties remains
unfulfilled; and
(2) in some cases, executive agreements, political agreements, and
other arrangements have been improperly used by the executive branch to
circumvent the appropriate review of significant agreements by Congress;
Whereas, as an appropriate exercise of the advice and consent power entrusted to
the Senate, the Senate may refuse to consider legislative measures
intended to authorize or appropriate funds to implement international
agreements which, in the opinion of the Senate, constitute treaties
under the Constitution of the United States to which the Senate has not
given its advice and consent to ratification;
Whereas clause 2 of section 5 of article I of the Constitution of the United
States, grants plenary power to the Senate to ``determine the Rules of
its Proceedings'';
Whereas an international agreement should take the form of a treaty requiring
Senate advice and consent and should be transmitted by the President to
the Senate for the Senate's consideration and approval if--
(1) the agreement involves commitments or risks affecting the Nation as
a whole;
(2) the agreement is intended to affect State laws;
(3) the agreement will not take effect until after subsequent
legislation is enacted by Congress;
(4) similar agreements were subjected to the advice and consent of the
Senate;
(5) similar agreements are typically subject to the approval of
national legislatures in other countries;
(6) Congress has expressed a preference regarding its involvement in
such type of agreement;
(7) the agreement involves a high degree of formality;
(8) the agreement is not routine, is not expected to have a short
duration, and does not need to be promptly concluded; or
(9) if the agreement is intended to implement an existing treaty or
make technical amendments to an existing treaty, the relevant Senate
committee has previously indicated that such implementation or amendments
are significant enough to require submission to the Senate for its advice
and consent:
Now, therefore, be it
Resolved,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Resolution may be cited as the ``World Health Organization
Pandemic Treaty Implementation Resolution''.
SEC. 2. PURPOSE.
The purpose of this Resolution is for the Senate, as the article I
branch of the United States Government that is entrusted with the
Advice and Consent power under clause 2 of section 2 of article II of
the Constitution of the United States, to establish, through the use of
the rulemaking authority of the Senate, a means for determining the
form that an international agreement, protocol, legal instrument or
agreed outcome with legal force, signed by the President or by his
designee, shall take and to which the President intends the United
States to become a Party or to otherwise be bound under international
law, in whole or in part.
SEC. 3. DECLARATIONS.
(a) In General.--Exercising the rulemaking authority of the Senate,
the Senate declares, under clause 2 of section 2 of article II of the
Constitution of the United States, that any international convention,
agreement, protocol, legal instrument, or agreed outcome with legal
force relating to pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response
drafted by the intergovernmental negotiating body of the World Health
Assembly that--
(1) is intended to be adopted pursuant to article 19 or any
other provision of the Constitution of the World Health
Organization; and
(2) establishes significant international commitments by
the United States under the authority of World Health Assembly
Decision SSA2(5) or any related decision,
meets 1 or more of the factors set forth in the last clause of the
preamble, indicating that such agreement should take the form of a
treaty requiring Senate approval.
(b) Limitation of Agreement.--The Senate declares that any
agreement described in subsection (a)--
(1) involves a significant political and economic
commitment of the United States to foreign countries; and
(2) does not legally bind the United States until after--
(A) the President transmits such agreement to the
Senate for its consideration as a treaty, subject to
the applicable constitutional advice and consent
procedures; and
(B) the Senate provides its consent to such treaty
through a resolution of ratification.
SEC. 4. ADVICE.
(a) Referral.--Any agreement described in section 3(a) that is
transmitted to the Senate pursuant to section 3(b)(2)(A) shall be
referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate for its
consideration.
(b) Consultation With the Committee on Foreign Relations of the
Senate.--
(1) Consultations during negotiations.--The Secretary of
State, or the designee of the Secretary, shall--
(A) at the request of the Chair or the Ranking
Member of the Committee on Foreign Relations of the
Senate, meet with any or all members of the Committee
regarding--
(i) negotiating objectives;
(ii) the status of negotiations in
progress; and
(iii) the nature of any potential changes
to the laws of the United States or the
administration of such laws that may be
recommended to Congress to carry out--
(I) an agreement described in
section 3(a); or
(II) any requirement of, amendment
to, or recommendation under, such
agreement; and
(B) consult closely and on a timely basis with, and
keep fully apprised of the negotiations, the Committee
on Foreign Relations of the Senate.
(2) Consultations before signing agreement.--Before signing
an agreement described in section 3(a), the President shall--
(A) consult closely, and on a timely basis, with
the members of the Committee on Foreign Relations of
the Senate; and
(B) keep such members fully apprised of the
measures other nations have taken to comply with the
provisions of such agreement that are to take effect on
the date on which such agreement enters into force.
(c) Designated Senate Advisors.--
(1) Designation.--The Secretary of State--
(A) shall designate not fewer than 2 members of the
Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate, on a
bipartisan basis, to serve as Senate advisors to the
negotiations regarding an agreement described in
section 3(a); and
(B) may designate additional members of the
Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate as Senate
advisors, after consultation with the Chair and Ranking
Member of the Committee.
(2) Consultations with designated congressional advisors.--
During negotiations regarding an agreement described in section
3(a), the Secretary of State or an officer of the Department of
State who has been confirmed to such position by the Senate and
designated by the Secretary, shall consult closely and on a
timely basis (including immediately before initialing any
agreement) with, and keep fully apprised of the negotiations,
the Senate advisors designated pursuant to paragraph (1).
(3) Accreditation.--Each Senator designated as a Senate
advisor pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be accredited by the
Secretary of State on behalf of the President as an official
advisor to the United States delegation to any relevant
international conferences, meetings, and negotiating sessions
relating to an agreement described in section 3(a).
SEC. 5. CONSENT.
(a) Submission of Treaty to the Senate.--An international
convention, agreement, protocol, legal instrument, or agreed outcome
with legal force relating to pandemic prevention, preparedness, and
response described in section 3(a) shall not become effective with
respect to the United States until after the President, not later than
60 days after such agreement is signed, submits to the Senate--
(1) such agreement, including all related materials,
annexes, and other relevant documents; and
(2) a certification that--
(A) the materials submitted pursuant to paragraph
(1) constitute the totality of such agreement in
question; and
(B) the adoption of the treaty is in the vital
national security interest of the United States.
(b) Declaration.--Exercising the rulemaking authority granted to
the Senate under clause 2 of section 5 of article I of the Constitution
of the United States, the Senate declares that it shall not be in order
for the Senate to consider any bill, any joint or concurrent
resolution, any amendment to such bill or amendment, or any conference
report authorizing or providing budget authority to implement, in whole
or in part, any international pandemic preparedness, prevention, and
response convention, agreement, protocol, legal instrument, or agreed
outcome with legal force of the World Health Assembly, the purpose of
which is to implement, in whole or in part, an agreement described in
section 3(a).
(c) Sunset.--This section shall remain in effect until the date on
which the President submits the agreement and certification required
under subsection (a) to the Senate as a treaty for its constitutional
advice and consent.
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