OFF THE WIRE
WASHINGTON — Representative Mike Kelly (R-PA) issued the following
statement today after the House Appropriations Committee approved the
State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations bill for
Fiscal Year 2014 which imposes a one-year ban on the use of federal
funds for the implementation of the United Nations Arms Trade Treaty
(ATT) by the State Department. The ban is based on language from a bipartisan letter which Rep. Kelly authored and submitted to the State and Foreign Operations subcommittee on April 18, 2013.
“I am thrilled to see the House once again
take action to stop the ATT from ever shackling our liberty at home or
our indispensable leadership abroad. This treaty remains as much a
threat to American freedom and sovereignty as ever. Even as the Obama
administration shamefully pledges to eventually sign the ATT, the
American people deserve assurance that their Second Amendment rights
will not be allowed to be endangered by unaccountable international
bureaucrats at any time. As events on the global stage continue to grow
more dangerous and unpredictable, our nation must never permit any
entity to undermine our status as the world’s greatest defender of peace
and freedom, or the alliances which ensure both. It is my sincere hope
that President Obama and Secretary Kerry will respect the will of the
American people as represented by Congress and abandon their support for
this harmful and needless treaty.”
NOTE: The U.N. Arms Trade Treaty opened for national
signatures on June 3, 2013, and will enter into force for its
signatories 90 days after the 50th nation-state has ratified the treaty.
In order to take domestic effect, the ATT must be signed by the
president, receive the advice and consent of the Senate, and be the
subject of implementing legislation by the Congress.
Rep. Kelly is a national leader of the movement to stop the ATT. On March 15, 2013, he introduced H. Con. Res. 23, a bipartisan concurrent resolution expressing opposition to the treaty, which currently has 148 co-sponsors in the House and 36 supporters in the Senate.
On June 14, 2013, Rep. Kelly introduced an amendment
to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014 (NDAA)
to prohibit federal funding for the implementation of the United Nations
Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) for one year by the Department of Defense. The
amendment was adopted unanimously by a voice vote and included in the
final passage of the NDAA by the House of Representatives.
