Fellow Conservative,
Another day, another Obama administration ploy to implement a UN treaty without Congressional approval.
No, I am not talking about the UN Arms Trade Treaty or the UN Climate Treaty or the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty…
The administration has signed onto yet another treaty without seeking the “advice and consent” of Congress as the Constitution requires.
Yesterday, John Kerry met with world leaders in Kigali, Rwanda. After all-night negotiations, nearly 200 nations (including the United States) agreed to further cut greenhouse gases. They did so by amending the Montreal Protocol, an international climate treaty that the United States ratified back in 1988.
The Obama administration believes that by drastically editing a treaty that Congress ratified almost three decades ago, they can get around having to seek Congressional approval again. The White House has even admitted that they have no intention of putting this to a ratification vote in Congress.
The meaning of the 1988 treaty has been substantially altered. Congress never approved this new framework. What the President is doing is unconstitutional!
As I always explain, isn’t an issue of merit. Regardless of whether you support the issue of greenhouse gas reduction, what the Obama administration is doing is unconstitutional.
The Founders included the Treaty Clause into the Constitution for a reason. If an international treaty or agreement is going to become binding US law, then the branch of government responsible for writing the laws (Congress) must approve of it first.
That is why the Constitution requires that the President receive the “advice and consent” of Congress on international treaties. If the President is allowed to just sign and implement treaties on his own, then it would completely eliminate Congress' power. Signing a piece of paper abroad does not surpass the power of legislative action.
So, how on earth could John Kerry sign onto a binding UN agreement without Congressional input?
The short answer: He can’t.
Anytime an international treaty is substantially altered, it requires ratification by the United States Congress.
When the 100th United States Congress ratified the Montreal Protocol in 1988, they were approving specific provisions. They did not give future Presidents the authority to edit the treaty however they might see fit.
The President believes that he has discovered a loophole to implement his own agenda without Congressional approval. If this is allowed to stand, there is no telling what he might try to inject into previously-ratified treaties in order to cement his agenda. Gun control? Amnesty?
He absolutely must be stopped!
Sincerely,
Joe Otto
Conservative Daily
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