[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 63 Introduced in House (IH)]

103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. CON. RES. 63

  Concerning the establishment of a North American Commission on the 
                              Environment.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 11, 1993

  Mr. Wyden (for himself and Mr. Richardson) submitted the following 
 concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 
                                Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
  Concerning the establishment of a North American Commission on the 
                              Environment.

Whereas the completion of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) will 
        strengthen economic links among the United States, Mexico and Canada;
Whereas such agreement will increase commerce, trade, and economic development 
        in and among the three nations;
Whereas expanded trade and economic development under NAFTA is likely to 
        increase transboundary environmental damage;
Whereas environmental needs must be addressed to protect public health, retain a 
        decent quality of life, and fulfill the promise of NAFTA to promote 
        sustainable development and ensure that environmental standards will be 
        a full part of, and not be sacrificed for, the economic development of 
        all NAFTA parties;
Whereas greater involvement by the Governments of the United States and Mexico 
        is necessary to address the environmental and public health problems in 
        the United States-Mexico border area;
Whereas there has been concern expressed in the United States and Mexico that 
        there are insufficient governmental financial resources committed to 
        meet the needs for environmental infrastructure in the United States-
        Mexico border region;
Whereas a valuable supplement to government funding for environmental cleanup 
        and protection projects in the United States-Mexico border region would 
        be access to funds in the international capital markets;
Whereas access to international capital markets will be facilitated by the 
        creation of independent, public and private, financial entities with the 
        power to incur and issue debt, backed by government guaranties, 
        supported by the right to collect user fees on facilities constructed, 
        and authorized to receive payments from governments;
Whereas there is an expressed need by the Government of Mexico for increased 
        technical assistance for training in environmental enforcement, 
        regulatory development, environmental impact assessment, and natural 
        resources management;
Whereas there is a need to promote greater pollution prevention, voluntary 
        service and corporate philanthropy in the United States-Mexico border 
        region;
Whereas to further protect the environment in the NAFTA region, there is a need 
        for a North American Commission on the Environment to complement the 
        work of the NAFTA Free Trade Commission on environmental aspects of the 
        NAFTA;
Whereas a lack of appropriate environmental laws, standards or enforcement could 
        lead to additional environmental damage or create an incentive for 
        companies to relocate operations in areas with relatively weaker 
        environmental laws, standards or enforcement;
Whereas there is a need to promote greater public participation in environmental 
        protection and stronger community right-to-know initiatives for the 
        residents in the NAFTA region; and
Whereas further study may reveal the need for a stronger bilateral program 
        between the United States and Canada to address environmental protection 
        issues related to NAFTA: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring),

SECTION 1. CREATION OF THE NORTH AMERICAN COMMISSION ON THE 
              ENVIRONMENT.

    (a) Not later than the date of the enactment of legislation 
implementing the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the 
President should reach agreement with the Governments of Mexico and 
Canada on the establishment of a North American Commission on the 
Environment (hereinafter referred to as the ``Commission'' or ``NACE'') 
to--
            (1) create and administer a Border Environmental Fund to 
        address the cleanup of environmental damage and the 
        construction of facilities to help prevent environmental and 
        related public health problems in the United States-Mexico 
        border region,
            (2) strengthen local environmental protection institutions 
        along the United States-Mexico border and create a United 
        States-Mexico Border Volunteer Corps,
            (3) participate as an equal partner with the NAFTA Free 
        Trade Commission on resolution of environmental disputes and 
        other environmental issues related to NAFTA,
            (4) establish a process to improve enforcement of 
        environmental laws not covered by NAFTA that may affect trade 
        or investment patterns, the global commons or transboundary 
        environmental conditions,
            (5) establish a process and timetable to raise and 
        harmonize environmental standards relating to products, as well 
        as production and process methods, and establish criteria for 
        the use of trade measures related to production and process 
        methods,
            (6) promote improved pollution prevention, increased public 
        participation in environmental protection, and community right-
        to-know principles,
            (7) develop, with strong public participation, a voluntary 
        code of environmental practices for companies operating within 
        the NAFTA region, and
            (8) serve as a forum for consideration of long-term 
        regional environmental issues and development of proposals to 
        continually improve the environment and public health in the 
        NAFTA region.
    (b) The Commission under subsection (a) should be established as 
follows:
            (1) The membership of the Commission shall be determined 
        through negotiation among the NAFTA parties, except that the 
        representatives shall be ministers responsible for the 
        environment or their designees. The Commission shall establish 
        its rules and procedures.
            (2) The Commission shall establish operating committees 
        with responsibility for the tasks described in subsection (a).

SEC. 2. BILATERAL UNITED STATES-MEXICO ACTIVITIES.

    (a) The Commission should create and administer a Border 
Environmental Fund (hereinafter referred to as the ``Fund'') to address 
cleanup of existing environmental problems and construction of 
facilities to help prevent future environmental and related public 
health problems in the United States-Mexico border region.
    (b) The Fund should be chartered by Congress to carry out the 
following:
            (1) Identify priorities and distribute funds for projects 
        to clean up environmental damage in the United States-Mexico 
        border region that are agreed to by the Governments of the 
        United States and Mexico:
                    (A) The Governments of the United States and Mexico 
                shall reach agreement on a financial commitment lasting 
                not less than five years for clean-up projects and 
                shall authorize the Fund to sell bonds in the amount of 
                the agreed financial commitment. Because cleanup 
                projects will not create revenue-generating facilities, 
                the bonds used to finance cleanup shall be jointly 
                guaranteed by the governments, and the governments 
                shall appropriate annually to the Fund the funds needed 
                to service and redeem the bonds.
                    (B) Each year, the Fund shall hold hearings in 
                Washington, DC, Mexico City and sites along the United 
                States-Mexico border area and shall receive public 
                comments on the priorities of clean-up projects. The 
                Fund shall issue a draft report identifying priorities 
                and shall provide a reasonable period of time for 
                further comments before issuing its final priorities 
                for the year. Spending on such projects shall then be 
                in accordance with such priorities.
            (2) Provide financial guarantees on the debt of public and 
        private financial entities in the United States-Mexico border 
        region with respect to projects to create, replace, or improve 
        environmental infrastructure. The charter related to this 
        subsection should include the following provisions:
                    (A) The obligations underwritten by the Fund shall 
                not have any guaranty, express or implied, of the 
                United States Government or any of its agencies.
                    (B) The Fund shall give preference to projects that 
                generate user fees to help retire debt issued to 
                construct facilities.
                    (C) The capital of the Fund contributed by the 
                Governments of the United States and Mexico shall be in 
                equal amounts and shall be not less than $200,000,000 
                and not more than $500,000,000.
                    (D) The guaranty of the Fund should confer on 
                underlying debt instruments issued by public and 
                private financial entities the lowest investment grade 
                ratings from independent and internationally recognized 
                securities ratings organizations for the purpose of 
                leveraging the Fund to the maximum extent possible so 
                that the greatest possible ratio exists between the 
                amount of debt guaranteed by the Fund and the amount of 
                capital in the Fund.
                    (E) The Fund shall have a board of directors 
                comprised of an equal number of members representing 
                the United States and Mexico. The members from the 
                United States shall be appointed by the President.
                    (F) The board of directors shall be charged with 
                the duty of financial management of the Fund and shall 
                report to the Commission.
                    (G) The board of directors should be provided with 
                an independent staff in order to discharge its 
                responsibilities.
                    (H) Each year, the Fund shall hold hearings in 
                Washington, DC, Mexico City and sites along the United 
                States-Mexico border area and shall receive public 
                comments on the priorities of environmental 
                infrastructure projects. The Fund shall issue a draft 
                report identifying priorities and shall provide a 
                reasonable period of time for further comments before 
                issuing its final priorities for the year. The final 
                report shall guide the Fund in providing guarantees for 
                that year.
    (c) The Commission should work with State and local officials, 
community groups, nongovernmental organizations, and local business 
groups to strengthen local initiatives along the United States-Mexico 
border area to protect and improve the environment, and to enhance 
cross-border cooperation for environmental protection. To help 
strengthen local initiatives, the Commission shall ensure that the 
United States and Mexico assign Federal environmental employees to deal 
solely with border environmental issues, and work closely and 
frequently with local representatives. The Commission shall also 
establish a United States-Mexico Border Volunteer Service, in 
cooperation with the Commission on National and Community Service, to 
expand volunteer assistance activity in the fields of public health, 
civil engineering, environmental sciences, urban planning and 
architecture, and to promote initiatives aimed at increasing the level 
of corporate philanthropy in the United States-Mexico border region.

SEC. 3. TRILATERAL ACTIVITIES.

    (a) The Commission should participate as an equal partner with the 
Free Trade Commission established by Chapter 20 of the North American 
Free Trade Agreement on environmental issues related to the following:
            (1) The implementation or further elaboration of the 
        Agreement.
            (2) The resolution of disputes that may arise regarding its 
        interpretation or application. The North American Commission on 
        the Environment (NACE) shall help identify what are 
        environmental disputes, and participate actively at each step 
        in the dispute resolution process. The NACE should maintain a 
        roster of capable and impartial environmental experts, 
        comparable to the roster of trade experts created by the Free 
        Trade Commission. Panels to resolve NAFTA environmental 
        disputes should contain an equal number of panelists from the 
        rosters of the Free Trade Commission and the NACE.
            (3) The supervision of work of all committees and working 
        groups established under the Agreement, referred to in Annex 
        2001.2.
            (4) Any other matter that may affect the operation of the 
        Agreement.
    (b) The Commission should establish a process to improve 
enforcement of environmental laws, standards, and regulations that 
affect trade or investment patterns, the global commons or 
transboundary environmental conditions, and which are not subject to 
NAFTA dispute settlement procedures. This process should include the 
following:
            (1) Public hearings, consultation with the parties, and 
        annual reports on each party's enforcement of relevant laws, 
        standards, and regulations.
            (2) Consultation between parties on enforcement 
        shortcomings identified by the Commission's reports.
            (3) If consultations do not resolve outstanding issues in a 
        timely fashion, the right for parties to request that the 
        Commission consider sanctions.
            (4) If the Commission agrees that issues not resolved by 
        consultation warrant financial penalties, it may authorize the 
        requesting party to levy a charge of not more than 1 percent ad 
        valorem on all imports from the other party with whom there had 
        been consultations. The funds collected shall be deposited in 
        an environmental protection fund administered by the Commission 
        and used to finance additional enforcement and remediation of 
        problems caused by lack of enforcement. The Commission should 
        seek to link the size of the levy to the financial needs 
        created by the lack of enforcement.
    (c)(1) The Commission should establish a process and timetable to 
raise and harmonize environmental standards relating to products and 
investments, as well as production and process methods, and to 
establish criteria for the use of trade measures related to production 
and process methods.
    (2) With respect to product and investment standards, the 
Commission shall work with the relevant NAFTA Committees to establish a 
timetable to harmonize standards to the highest level that exists among 
the parties, and a process to review and raise such standards over 
time.
    (3) With respect to standards and trade measures for production and 
process methods, the Commission shall establish a process and timetable 
which--
            (A) is consistent with guidelines being developed by the 
        OECD and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), 
        where appropriate;
            (B) seeks to enhance environmental protection while taking 
        into account the objective of minimizing negative trade 
        effects; and
            (C) includes a commitment to repeatedly review standards 
        with the intent to create additional environmental protection.
    (d)(1) The Commission should promote technical cooperation among 
the NAFTA parties, improved pollution prevention, increased public 
participation in environmental protection and community right-to-know 
principles, where such principles are not in place.
    (2) With respect to increased public participation in environmental 
protection, the Commission's work shall include--
            (A) serving as the inquiry point for NAFTA environmental 
        issues; and
            (B) developing, in conjunction with the Free Trade 
        Commission--
                    (i) opportunities for timely public comment on 
                NAFTA disputes that involve environmental issues;
                    (ii) publication, as appropriate, of transcripts of 
                dispute panel hearings and deliberations; and
                    (iii) a guarantee that final reports of dispute 
                panels shall be made public within 15 days after it is 
                transmitted to the Commission.
    (e) The Commission should develop, with strong public participation 
and close consultation with nongovernmental organizations, community 
groups, local official and business groups, a voluntary code of best 
environmental practices for multinational corporations operating within 
the NAFTA region, and a mechanism to certify and publicize compliance 
by companies.
    (f) The Commission should, with strong public participation, 
consider long-term regional environmental issues and develop proposals 
to continually improve the environment and public health in the NAFTA 
region, including--
            (1) developing a process to facilitate participation by 
        NAFTA parties in future environmental and conservation 
        agreements that may rely on measures which, on their face, 
        would conflict with the parties' obligations under NAFTA;
            (2) developing environmental guidelines for accession to 
        NAFTA by other countries;
            (3) reviewing United States-Canada environmental issues to 
        determine whether existing agreements are adequate to address 
        issues of transboundary environmental damage, threats to the 
        global commons or efforts to attract investment by relaxing 
        domestic health, safety or environmental measures;
            (4) initiating negotiations among NAFTA parties on possible 
        future changes to NAFTA to address environmental concerns not 
        envisioned by the current Agreement; and
            (5) developing a program to support the work and goals of 
        the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development.

SEC. 4. SECRETARIAT.

    (a)(1) The Commission shall establish and oversee a Secretariat 
comprising national sections.
    (2) Each party shall--
            (A) establish a permanent office of its section;
            (B) provide full-time staff in equal numbers to enable the 
        Commission to carry out its mandate;
            (C) be responsible for the operation and costs of its 
        section, and the remuneration and payment of expenses of 
        panelists and members of committees and scientific review 
        boards established;
            (D) designate an individual to serve as Secretary for its 
        section, who shall be responsible for its administration, 
        management, and coordination with the NAFTA Free Trade 
        Commission; and
            (E) notify the Commission of the location of its section's 
        office.
    (3) The Secretariat shall--
            (A) provide assistance to the Commission;
            (B) provide administrative assistance to dispute resolution 
        panels; and
            (C) as the Commission may direct, support the work of other 
        committees and groups established under the NAFTA and otherwise 
        facilitate the operation of the NAFTA.

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