[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 33 (Monday, February 22, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Page S774]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   SENATE RESOLUTION 68--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE THAT THE 
 PRESIDENT SHOULD SUBMIT THE PARIS AGREEMENT TO THE SENATE FOR REVIEW 
                           AND CONSIDERATION

  Mr. DAINES (for himself, Mr. Crapo, Mr. Barrasso, Ms. Lummis, Mr. 
Marshall, Mr. Moran, Mrs. Blackburn, Mr. Cruz, Mr. Wicker, Mr. Paul, 
and Mr. Toomey) submitted the following resolution; which was referred 
to the Committee on Foreign Relations:

                               S. Res. 68

       Whereas, in August 2016, President Obama entered the United 
     States into the decision by the 21st Conference of Parties of 
     the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in 
     Paris, France, adopted December 12, 2015 (referred to in this 
     preamble as the ``Paris Agreement''), without the advice and 
     consent of the Senate as required by section 2 of article 2 
     of the Constitution of the United States;
       Whereas President Trump announced that the United States 
     would cease all implementation of the Paris Agreement in June 
     2017, and formally withdrew the United States from the Paris 
     Agreement in November 2019, which withdrawal became effective 
     in November 2020;
       Whereas, according to a report, by 2035, the Paris 
     Agreement will result in--
       (1) an aggregate gross domestic product loss of over 
     $2,500,000,000,000;
       (2) a 13 to 20 percent increase in household electricity 
     expenditures; and
       (3) the loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs;
       Whereas the Paris Agreement, and cumbersome regulations 
     associated with the Paris Agreement, put the economy of the 
     United States at a competitive disadvantage and risk even 
     greater job loss and energy rate increases at a time when the 
     economy of the United States is already hurting from the 
     COVID-19 pandemic;
       Whereas, in addition to the economic costs of the Paris 
     Agreement, the Paris Agreement obligates United States 
     taxpayer dollars towards a $100,000,000,000 fund to assist 
     climate change mitigation and adaptation in other countries 
     with minimal oversight or transparency;
       Whereas, according to a report, if every signatory of the 
     Paris Agreement fulfills their--
       (1) commitment under the Paris Agreement, the Paris 
     Agreement will have a negligible impact on climate change, 
     reducing global average temperatures by just 0.086 degrees 
     Fahrenheit by 2100; or
       (2) commitment under the Paris Agreement if the Paris 
     Agreement were extended another 70 years, average global 
     temperatures would be reduced by just 0.306 degrees 
     Fahrenheit by 2100;
       Whereas, through free-market innovation and investments in 
     clean, efficient energy, the United States has seen the 
     largest absolute decline in emissions globally while 
     emissions from several signatories of the Paris Agreement 
     continue to increase;
       Whereas clause 2 of section 2 of article 2 of the 
     Constitution of the United States provides that the President 
     may only enter into a treaty ``provided two thirds of the 
     Senators present concur'';
       Whereas section 723.3 of chapter 11 of the Foreign Affairs 
     Manual of the Department of State provides that, ``[i]n 
     determining whether any international agreement should be 
     brought into force as a treaty or as an international 
     agreement other than a treaty, the utmost care is to be 
     exercised to avoid any invasion or compromise of the 
     constitutional powers of the Senate, Congress as a whole, or 
     the President'';
       Whereas, given the historical precedents, the potential 
     costs and benefits, and the fact that the Paris Agreement 
     could in future decades result in stronger obligations for 
     the United States than the Senate anticipated when it gave 
     its consent to ratifying the United Nations Framework 
     Convention on Climate Change, done at New York May 9, 1992, 
     and entered into force March 21, 1994, the Paris Agreement is 
     a treaty; and
       Whereas, on January 20, 2021, President Biden announced his 
     intent to reenter the United States into the Paris Agreement 
     without seeking the advice and consent of the Senate: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that--
       (1) the decision by the 21st Conference of Parties of the 
     United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in 
     Paris, France, adopted December 12, 2015 (referred to in this 
     resolution as the ``Paris Agreement''), is considered a 
     treaty requiring the advice and consent of the Senate; and
       (2) President Biden should immediately submit the Paris 
     Agreement to the Senate.

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