[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Page 5597]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




      REMOVAL OF INJUNCTION OF SECRECY--TREATY DOCUMENT NO. 114-2

  Mr. McCONNELL. 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 April 27, 2015, by the 
President of the United States: Protocol to the Treaty on a Nuclear-
Weapon-Free Zone in Central Asia, Treaty Document No. 114-2. 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 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 its 
ratification, the Protocol to the Treaty on a Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone 
in Central Asia, signed at New York on May 6, 2014 (the ``Protocol''). 
I also transmit for the information of the Senate the Treaty on a 
Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone in Central Asia (the ``Treaty'') to which the 
Protocol relates, and the Department of State's Overview of the 
Protocol, which includes a detailed article-by-article analysis of both 
the Protocol and the Treaty.
  Ratification of the Protocol is in the best interest of the United 
States, as it will enhance U.S. security by furthering our objective of 
preventing the proliferation of nuclear weapons, strengthen our 
relations with the states and the people of Central Asia, demonstrate 
our commitment to the decision taken at the 1995 Review and Extension 
Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of 
Nuclear Weapons that helped secure that Treaty's indefinite extension, 
and contribute significantly to the continued realization of the 
Central Asian Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone in all its aspects. As the 
Department of State's Overview of the Protocol explains, entry into 
force of the Protocol for the United States would require no changes in 
U.S. law, policy, or practice.
  I recommend that the Senate give early and favorable consideration to 
the Protocol and give its advice and consent to its ratification, 
subject to the statements contained in the Department of State's 
Overview of the Protocol.
                                                        Barack Obama.  
The White House, April 27, 2015.

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