[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 5 (Monday, January 8, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S54-S55]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    REMOVAL OF INJUNCTION OF SECRECY

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, as in executive session, I ask unanimous 
consent that the injunction of secrecy be removed from the following 
treaty transmitted to the Senate on January 8, 2001, by the President 
of the United States: Protocol to Amend the 1949 Convention on the 
Establishment of an Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (Treaty 
Document 107-2).
  I further ask that the treaty 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 PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The message of the President is as follows:

To the Senate of the United States:
  With a view to receiving the advice and consent of the Senate to 
ratification, I transmit herewith the Protocol to Amend the 1949 
Convention on the Establishment of an Inter-American Tropical Tuna 
Commission, done at Guayaquil, June 11, 1999, and signed by the United 
States, subject to ratification, in Guayaquil, Ecuador, on the same 
date. In addition, I transmit, for the information of the Senate, the 
report of the Department of State with respect to the Protocol. The 
Protocol will not require implementing legislation.
  The Protocol amends the Convention for the Establishment of an Inter-
American Tropical Tuna Commission, done at Washington May 31, 1949, and 
entered into force March 3, 1950 (the ``Convention''), to allow the 
European Union to become a member of the Inter-American Tropical Tuna 
Commission (IATTC) created under the Convention. Presently, the 
Convention is only open to governments of states. The Protocol will, 
upon entry into force, allow regional economic integration 
organizations like the European Union to become a party to the 
Convention and a full member of the

[[Page S55]]

IATTC provided all parties to the Convention give their consent to such 
adherence. The Protocol also provides that the Member States of any 
regional economic integration organization that is allowed to adhere to 
the Protocol are barred from joining or continuing as a party to the 
Convention except with respect to the Member States' territories that 
are outside the territorial scope of the treaty establishing the 
regional economic integration organization.
  Allowing the European Union to accede to the Convention is important 
to the United States because it would mean that the vessels operating 
under the jurisdiction of the European Union and its Member States 
would be bound by the conservation and management measures adopted by 
the IATTC for the fishery resources of the eastern Pacific Ocean.
  I recommend that the Senate give early and favorable consideration to 
the Protocol and give its advice and consent to ratification.
                                                  William J. Clinton.  
                                      The White House, January 8, 2001.

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that two notices of 
hearings be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                           Notice of Hearings


               committee on energy and natural resources

  Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I would like to announce for the 
information of the Senate and the public that a hearing has been 
scheduled before the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
  The hearing will take place on Thursday, January 18, 2000, at 2:30 
p.m., in room SD-106 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building in 
Washington, DC, and will continue, if necessary, on Friday, January 19, 
2000, at 9 a.m., in room SH-216 of the Hart Senate Office Building in 
Washington, DC.
  The purpose of the hearing is to consider the intent to nominate Gale 
A. Norton to be the Secretary of the Interior.
  Those wishing to submit written statements on the nomination should 
address them to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, U.S. 
Senate, Washington, DC 20510-6150.
  For further information, please contact Vicki Thorne at (202) 224-
4103.


               committee on energy and natural resources

  Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I would like to announce for the 
information of the Senate and the public that a hearing has been 
scheduled before the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
  The hearing will take place on Thursday, January 18, 2000, at 9 a.m., 
in room SD-106 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, DC.
  The purpose of the hearing is to consider the intent to nominate 
Spencer Abraham to be the Secretary of Energy.
  Those wishing to submit written statements on the nomination should 
address them to the Committee on Natural Resources, U.S. Senate, 
Washington, DC 20510-6150.
  For further information, please contact Vicki Thorne at (202) 224-
4103.

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