[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 80 (Thursday, June 22, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Page S5710]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      REMOVAL OF INJUNCTION OF SECRECY--TREATY DOCUMENT NO. 106-32

  Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, as in executive session, I ask 
unanimous consent that the injunction of secrecy be removed from the 
following amendment transmitted to the Senate on June 22, 2000, by the 
President of the United States:
  Amendment to the Montreal Protocol (``Beijing Amendment'') (Treaty 
Document No. 106-32);
  I further ask unanimous consent that the amendment be considered as 
having been read the first time; that it be referred, with accompanying 
papers, to the Committee on Foreign Relations and ordered to be 
printed; and that the President's message be printed in the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The message of the President is as follows:

To the Senate of the United States:
  I transmit herewith, for the advice and consent of the Senate to 
ratification, the Amendment to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that 
Deplete the Ozone Layer (the ``Montreal Protocol''), adopted at Beijing 
on December 3, 1999, by the Eleventh Meeting of the Parties to the 
Montreal Protocol (the ``Beijing Amendment''). The report of the 
Department of State is also enclosed for the information of the Senate.
  The principal features of the Beijing Amendment, which was negotiated 
under the auspices of the United Nations Environment Program, are the 
addition of trade controls on hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), the 
addition of production controls of HCFCs, the addition of 
bromochloromethane to the substances controlled under the Montreal 
Protocol, and the addition of mandatory reporting requirements on the 
use of methyl bromide for quarantine and preshipment purposes. The 
Beijing Amendment will constitute a major step forward in protecting 
public health and the environment from potential adverse effects of 
stratospheric ozone depletion.
  By its terms, the Beijing Amendment will enter into force on January 
1, 2001, provided that at least 20 parties have indicated their consent 
to be bound. The Beijing Amendment provides that no State may become a 
party unless it previously has become (or simultaneously becomes) a 
party to the 1997 Montreal Amendment. The Montreal Amendment is 
currently before the Senate for its advice and consent to ratification 
(Senate Treaty Doc. No. 106-10).
  I recommend that the Senate give early and favorable consideration to 
the Beijing Amendment and give its advice and consent to ratification, 
at the same time as it gives its advice and consent to ratification of 
the Montreal Amendment.
                                                  William J. Clinton.  
The White House, June 22, 2000.

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