[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 133 (Wednesday, December 6, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11388-S11389]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




ADMONISHING THE STATEMENTS MADE BY PRESIDENT HUGO CHAVEZ AT THE UNITED 
                        NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY

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   EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE THAT THE UNITED STATES SHOULD 
PROMOTE THE ADOPTION OF A RESOLUTION PROTECTING LIVING RESOURCES OF THE 
                               HIGH SEAS

  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee 
on Foreign Relations be discharged from further consideration and the 
Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. Res. 607 and S. 
Res. 610 en bloc.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The clerk will report the resolutions by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Res. 607) admonishing the statements made 
     by President Hugo Chavez at the United Nations General 
     Assembly on September 20, 2006, and the undemocratic actions 
     of President Chavez.
       A resolution (S. Res. 610) expressing the sense of the 
     Senate that the United States should promote the adoption of, 
     and the United Nations should adopt, a resolution at its 
     October meeting to protect the living resources of the high 
     seas from destructive, illegal, unreported, and unregulated 
     fishing practices.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
resolutions.
  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
resolutions be agreed to, the preambles be agreed to, and the motions 
to reconsider be laid upon the table, all en bloc.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The resolution (S. Res. 607) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:

                              S. Res. 607

       Whereas President Chavez referred to the President of the 
     United States as ``the devil'', and referred to the President 
     as ``the spokesman of imperialism'' for the efforts of the 
     United States to aid the citizens of Afghanistan and Iraq in 
     the goal of those citizens to create a permanent and viable 
     representative government;
       Whereas President Chavez made unsubstantiated claims that 
     the United States had set in motion a coup in Venezuela on 
     April 11, 2002, and continues to support coup attempts in 
     Venezuela and elsewhere;
       Whereas, to consolidate his powers, President Chavez--
       (1) continues to weaken the separation of powers and 
     democratic institutions of the Government of Venezuela;
       (2) survived a recall vote in August 2004 through 
     questionably undemocratic actions;
       (3) decreed that all private property deemed ``not in 
     productive use'' will be confiscated by the Government of 
     Venezuela and redistributed to third parties;
       (4) enacted a media responsibility law that--
       (A) placed restrictions on broadcast media coverage; and
       (B) imposed severe penalties for violators of that law;
       (5) used other legal methods to silence media outlets that 
     criticized his government; and
       (6) changed the penal code of Venezuela--
       (A) to restrict the rights of freedom of expression and 
     freedom of association once enjoyed by the citizens of 
     Venezuela; and
       (B) to increase jail terms for those convicted of 
     criticizing the government of that country;
       Whereas, in an effort to destabilize the democratic 
     governments of other countries in that region, President 
     Chavez continues to support anti-democratic forces in 
     Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Nicaragua, as well as radical 
     and extremist parties in those countries;
       Whereas President Chavez has repeatedly stated his desire 
     to unite Latin America to serve as a buffer against the 
     people and interests of the United States;
       Whereas President Chavez has aligned himself with countries 
     that are classified by the Department of State as state 
     sponsors of terrorism; and
       Whereas President Chavez has developed a close relationship 
     with the totalitarian regime in Cuba, led by Fidel Castro, 
     and has also associated himself with other authoritarian 
     leaders, including Kim Jong Il of North Korea and Mahmoud 
     Ahmadinejad in Iran: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate condemns--
       (1) the statements made by President Hugo Chavez at the 
     United Nations General Assembly on September 20, 2006; and
       (2) the undemocratic actions of President Chavez.

  The resolution (S. Res. 610) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:

                              S. Res. 610

       Whereas it is of paramount importance to the United States 
     and all nations to ensure the protection, conservation, and 
     sustainable management of high seas living marine resources;
       Whereas fisheries of the high seas annually generate 
     hundreds of millions of dollars in economic activity and 
     support thousands of

[[Page S11389]]

     jobs in the United States and its territories as well as 
     nations throughout the world;
       Whereas the high seas constitute a globally significant 
     reservoir of marine biodiversity, and compounds derived from 
     organisms found on the high seas show promise for the 
     treatment of deadly diseases such as cancer and asthma;
       Whereas the United Nations Food and Agriculture 
     Organization reports that a growing number of high seas fish 
     stocks important to the United States and the world are 
     overfished or depleted;
       Whereas the United Nations has called for urgent action to 
     address the impact of high seas fishing practices that have 
     adverse impacts on vulnerable marine species and habitats;
       Whereas destructive, illegal, unreported, and unregulated 
     fishing by vessels flying non-United States flags threatens 
     high seas fisheries and the habitats that support them;
       Whereas nations whose fleets conduct destructive, illegal, 
     unreported, and unregulated high seas fishing enjoy an unfair 
     competitive advantage over United States fishermen, who must 
     comply with the rigorous conservation and management 
     requirements of the Magnuson Stevens Fishery Conservation and 
     Management Act and other laws in order to conserve 
     exhaustible natural resources; and
       Whereas international cooperation is necessary to address 
     destructive, illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing 
     which harms the sustainability of high seas living marine 
     resources and the United States fishing industry: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that--
       (1) the United States should continue to demonstrate 
     international leadership and responsibility regarding the 
     conservation and sustainable use of high seas living marine 
     resources by vigorously promoting the adoption of a 
     resolution at this year's 61st session of the United Nations 
     General Assembly calling on all nations to protect vulnerable 
     marine habitats by prohibiting their vessels from engaging in 
     destructive fishing activity in areas of the high seas where 
     there are no applicable conservation or management measures 
     or in areas with no applicable international fishery 
     management organization or agreement, until such time as 
     conservation and management measures consistent with the 
     Magnuson-Stevens Act, the United Nations Fish Stocks 
     Agreement, and other relevant instruments are adopted and 
     implemented to regulate such vessels and fisheries; and
       (2) the United States calls upon the member nations of the 
     United Nations to adopt a resolution at its October meeting 
     to protect the living resources of the high seas from 
     destructive, illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing 
     practices.

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