[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 1]
[Senate]
[Pages 605-606]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




REMOVAL OF INJUNCTION OF SECRECY--TREATY DOCUMENTS NOS. 110-11, 110-12, 
                               AND 110-13

  Mr. CASEY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Injunction 
of Secrecy be removed from the following treaties transmitted to the 
Senate on January 22, 2008, by the President of the United States: 
Extradition Treaty with Romania and Protocol to the Treaty on Mutual 
Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters with Romania, Treaty Document No. 
110-11; Extradition Treaty with Bulgaria and an Agreement on Certain 
Aspects of Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters with Bulgaria, 
Treaty Document No. 110-12; and International Convention on Control of 
Harmful Anti-Fouling Systems on Ships, Treaty Document No. 110-13; I 
further ask that the treaties be considered as having been read the 
first time; that they be referred, with accompanying papers, to the 
Committee on Foreign Relations and ordered to be printed; and that the 
President's messages be printed in the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The messages of the President are 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 Extradition Treaty between the 
United States of America and Romania (the ``Extradition Treaty'' or the 
``Treaty'') and the Protocol to the Treaty between the United States of 
America and Romania on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters (the 
``Protocol''), both signed at Bucharest on September 10, 2007. I also 
transmit, for the information of the Senate, the reports of the 
Department of State with respect to the Extradition Treaty and 
Protocol.
  The Extradition Treaty would replace the outdated Extradition Treaty 
between the United States and Romania, signed in Bucharest on July 23, 
1924, and the Supplementary Extradition Treaty, signed in Bucharest on 
November 10, 1936. The Protocol amends the Treaty Between the United 
States of America and Romania on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal 
Matters, signed in Washington on May 26, 1999 (the ``1999 Mutual Legal 
Assistance Treaty''). Both the Extradition Treaty and the Protocol also 
fulfill the requirements for bilateral instruments (between the United 
States and each European Union (EU) Member State) that are contained in 
the Extradition and Mutual Legal Assistance Agreements between the 
United States and the EU currently before the Senate.
  The Extradition Treaty follows generally the form and content of 
other extradition treaties recently concluded by the United States. It 
would replace an outmoded list of extraditable offenses with a modern 
``dual criminality'' approach, which would enable extradition for such 
offenses as money laundering and other newer offenses not appearing on 
the list. The Treaty also contains a modernized ``political offense'' 
clause, and it provides that neither Party shall refuse extradition 
based on the citizenship of the person sought. Finally, the new Treaty 
incorporates a series of procedural improvements to streamline and 
speed the extradition process. The Protocol primarily serves to amend 
the 1999 Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty in areas required pursuant to 
the U.S.-EU Mutual Legal Assistance Agreement, specifically: mutual 
legal assistance to administrative authorities; expedited transmission 
of requests; use limitations; identification of bank information; joint 
investigative teams; and video conferencing.
  I recommend that the Senate give early and favorable consideration to 
the Extradition Treaty and the Protocol, along with the U.S.-EU 
Extradition and Mutual Legal Assistance Agreements and the other 
related bilateral instruments between the United States and European 
Union Member States.
                                                      George W. Bush.  
The White House, January 22, 2008.
                                  ____

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 Extradition Treaty between the 
Government of the United States of America and the Government of the 
Republic of Bulgaria (the ``Extradition Treaty'' or the ``Treaty'') and 
the Agreement on Certain Aspects of Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal 
Matters between the Government of the United States of America and the 
Government of the Republic of Bulgaria (the ``MLA Agreement''), both 
signed at Sofia on September 19, 2007. I also transmit, for the 
information of the Senate, the report of the Department of State with 
respect to the Extradition Treaty and the MLA Agreement.
  The new Extradition Treaty would replace the outdated Extradition 
Treaty between the United States and Bulgaria, signed in Sofia on March 
19, 1924, and the Supplementary Extradition Treaty, signed in 
Washington on June 8, 1934. The MLA Agreement is the first agreement 
between the two countries on mutual legal assistance in criminal 
matters. Both the Extradition Treaty and the MLA Agreement fulfill the 
requirements for bilateral instruments (between the United States and 
each European Union (EU) Member State) that are contained in the 
Extradition and Mutual Legal Assistance Agreements between the United 
States and the EU currently before the Senate.
  The Extradition Treaty follows generally the form and content of 
other extradition treaties recently concluded by the United States. It 
would replace an outmoded list of extraditable offenses with a modern 
``dual criminality'' approach, which would enable

[[Page 606]]

extradition for such offenses as money laundering, and other newer 
offenses not appearing on the list. The Treaty also contains a 
modernized ``political offense'' clause, and it provides that 
extradition shall not be refused based on the nationality of a person 
sought for any of a comprehensive list of serious offenses. Finally, 
the new Treaty incorporates a series of procedural improvements to 
streamline and speed the extradition process.
  Because the United States and Bulgaria do not have a bilateral mutual 
legal assistance treaty in force between them, the MLA Agreement is a 
partial treaty governing only those issues regulated by the U.S.-EU 
Mutual Legal Assistance Agreement, specifically: identification of bank 
information, joint investigative teams, video-conferencing, expedited 
transmission of requests, assistance to administrative authorities, use 
limitations, confidentiality, and grounds for refusal. This approach is 
consistent with that taken with the other EU Member States (Denmark, 
Finland, Malta, Portugal, Slovak Republic, and Slovenia) with which the 
United States did not have an existing mutual legal assistance treaty.
  I recommend that the Senate give early and favorable consideration to 
the Extradition Treaty and MLA Agreement, along with the U.S.-EU 
Extradition and Mutual Legal Assistance Agreements and the other 
related bilateral instruments between the United States and European 
Union Member States.
                                                      George W. Bush.  
The White House, January 22, 2008.
                                  ____

To the Senate of the United States:
  I transmit herewith, for the advice and consent of the Senate to its 
ratification, the International Convention on the Control of Harmful 
Anti-Fouling Systems on Ships, 2001 (the ``Convention'').
  The Convention aims to control the harmful effects of anti-fouling 
systems, which are used on the hulls of ships to prevent the growth of 
marine organisms. These systems are necessary to increase fuel 
efficiency and minimize the transport of hull-borne species; however, 
anti-fouling systems can also have negative effects on the marine 
environment, including when a vessel remains in place for a period of 
time (such as in port).
  To mitigate these effects, the Convention prohibits Parties from 
using organotin-based anti-fouling systems on their ships, and it 
prohibits ships that use such systems from entering Parties' ports, 
shipyards, or offshore terminals. The Convention authorizes controls on 
use of other anti-fouling systems that could be added in the future, 
after a comprehensive review process.
  The Convention was adopted at a Diplomatic Conference of the 
International Maritime Organization in October 2001 and signed by the 
United States on December 12, 2002. The United States played a 
leadership role in the negotiation and development of the Convention. 
With Panama's ratification of the Convention on September 17, 2007, 25 
States representing over 25 percent of the world's merchant shipping 
tonnage have now ratified the Convention. Therefore, the Convention 
will enter into force on September 17, 2008. Organotin-based anti-
fouling systems are specifically regulated through the Organotin Anti-
Fouling Paint Control Act of 1988 (OAPCA), 33 U.S.C. 2401-2410. New 
legislation is required to fully implement the Convention and will take 
the form of a complete revision and replacement of OAPCA. All 
interested executive branch agencies support ratification. I recommend 
that the Senate give early and favorable consideration to the 
Convention and give its advice and consent to its ratification, with 
the declaration set out in the analysis of Article 16 in the attached 
article-by-article analysis.
                                                      George W. Bush.  
The White House, January 22, 2008.

                          ____________________