September 25, 2019 - Issue: Vol. 165, No. 155 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 1st Session

[Pages S5709-S5710]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SENATE RESOLUTION 337--EXPRESSING CONCERN ABOUT THE FIRES IN THE AMAZON 
                               RAINFOREST

  Mr. SCHATZ (for himself, Mr. Shelby, Mr. Kennedy, and Mr. Murphy) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
on Foreign Relations:

                              S. Res. 337

       Whereas the Amazon rainforest is the largest rainforest in 
     the world;
       Whereas almost 60 percent of the Amazon rainforest exists 
     within the borders of Brazil;
       Whereas the Amazon rainforest accounts for 25 percent of 
     the carbon that global forests absorb each year and has as 
     much as 140,000,000,000 tons of carbon sequestered in the 
     ground;
       Whereas the ecosystem of the Amazon rainforest is home to 
     over 2,000 species of animals, meaning that 1 in 10 known 
     species of animals is endemic to the region;
       Whereas 70 percent of the gross domestic product of South 
     America is generated in areas that receive rainfall or water 
     from the Amazon rainforest, and the trees of the Amazon 
     rainforest influence rainfall patterns as far away as the 
     United States;
       Whereas the National Institute for Space Research of Brazil 
     (referred to in this preamble as the ``INPE'') reported that, 
     between January and September of 2019, there were 87,257 
     fires in Brazil, including 62,034 fires in the Legal 
     Amazonia, more than double the number of fires that occurred 
     during the entire 2018 calendar year;
       Whereas the INPE reported that the Amazon rainforest shrank 
     1,330 square miles in the first 6 months of 2019, a 40 
     percent increase in deforestation from 2018;
       Whereas public records indicate that, from January 2019 to 
     June 2019, the number of enforcement actions taken by the 
     Government of Brazil aimed at curbing illegal deforestation 
     declined by 20 percent;
       Whereas fires and illegal deforestation in the Amazon 
     rainforest impact the benefits that the Amazon rainforest has 
     on regional and global climate stability;
       Whereas fires and illegal deforestation in the Amazon 
     rainforest pose a danger to indigenous communities;
       Whereas a recent poll conducted by the Brazilian Institute 
     of Public Opinion and Statistics found that 96 percent of the 
     people of Brazil partially or completely agreed with the 
     statement that ``President [Jair] Bolsonaro and the Federal 
     government should increase inspection measures to prevent 
     illegal deforestation in the Amazon'';
       Whereas the United States was the first country to 
     recognize the independence of Brazil in 1822 and has long 
     respected and championed the sovereignty of Brazil;
       Whereas the people of the United States have historic, 
     cultural, and familial ties to the people of Brazil; and
       Whereas the United States and Brazil share a common 
     interest in the sustainable management of the natural 
     resources of the Amazon rainforest: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) expresses bipartisan concern about the fires and 
     increased illegal deforestation in the Amazon rainforest;
       (2) recognizes that the fires and illegal deforestation in 
     the Amazon rainforest affect the whole world;
       (3) supports the proactive delivery of financial and 
     technical assistance from the United States to the Government 
     of Brazil and to Brazilian nongovernmental organizations to 
     mitigate the fires and curb illegal deforestation;
       (4) supports the reinstatement of protections for 
     indigenous communities stewarding the Amazon rainforest; and
       (5) supports the efforts of the Government of Brazil to 
     increase sustainable development of the Amazon rainforest by 
     strengthening environmental enforcement and ending illegal 
     deforestation.

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