WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) today sent a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry warning him about the United States becoming a signatory nation to the United Nations’ Arms Trade Treaty.
“Sec. Kerry and President Obama are at it again,” said Inhofe. “As we saw in 2009 with cap-in-trade in Copenhagen, Sec. Kerry and President Obama are being dishonest by telling the United Nations that we’ll be a part of the U.N. Arms Trade Treaty. This treaty is already dead in the water in the Senate, and they know it. On March 23, I was able to force the last vote on the Senate Budget resolution to be on my amendment to block the U.S. from joining the U.N. Arms Trade Treaty. Fifty-three Senators from both parties went on the record and voted against the treaty, meaning the President does not have the majority for ratification. The Administration is wasting precious time trying to sign away our laws to the global community and unelected U.N. bureaucrats.”
A copy of the letter is available below or by clicking here:
September 24, 2013
The Honorable John Kerry
Secretary of State
U.S. Department of State
2201 C St, NW
Washington, DC 20520
Dear Secretary Kerry:
It is my understanding that you have decided for the United States to become a signatory nation to the United Nation’s Arms Trade Treaty as early as this week. I am extremely disappointed to learn of this decision as this treaty is destined to meet the same fate as other U.N.-sponsored treaties which threaten our country’s sovereignty. It will collect dust alongside the Law of the Sea Treaty, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and the Kyoto Protocol, to name a few, which have all been rejected by the U.S. Senate and the American people.
It has been made clear on several occasions that the President does not have the support of the Senate when it comes to the U.N. Arms Trade Treaty. Mostrecently, it was made clear at 5:00 AM on March 23, 2013, when 53 Senators from both parties went on record to vote for my amendment to the Budget Resolution preventing the United States from entering into the treaty.
In December of 2009, you, along with President Obama, then-Secretaries Clinton, Salazar, Chu, then-EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and others attended COP-15 in Copenhagen to deliberately mislead the 191 countries in attendance. You assured them that if a deal was reached in Copenhagen the U.S. Congress would “100% …pass major climate and energy legislation” the next year. I too made the trip to Copenhagen on a one-man truth squad to make sure that those attending COP-15 would not be deceived into thinking the U.S. would pass cap-and-trade legislation. I told them under no circumstances would the Senate ratify a treaty too costly and unworkable for the United States to accept.
The same thing is happening again, the U.N. should not be deceived into thinking the U.S. will ratify a treaty just because it has been signed by the President or someone in his Administration. As you know, under the U.S. Constitution two-thirds of the Senate must agree to the ratification of a treaty. Attached you will find a list of the Senators who are on record this year as being opposed to the U.N. Arms Trade Treaty. The Administration wastes its time, the United Nations’ time, and the Senate’s time by signing a treaty which does not have the support of the Senate or the American people.
Sincerely,
James M. Inhofe
United States Senator