PAUSE Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 4304 To prohibit actions to terminate or withdraw the United States from certain international agreements without a joint resolution of approval, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JULY 23, 2020 Mr. VAN HOLLEN (for Mr. MARKEY (for himself and Mr. VAN HOLLEN)) in- troduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Com- mittee on Foreign Relations A BILL To prohibit actions to terminate or withdraw the United States from certain international agreements without a joint resolution of approval, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Preventing Actions 4 Undermining Security without Endorsement Act’’ or the 5 ‘‘PAUSE Act’’. 6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 7 Congress makes the following findings: 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:59 Aug 10, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4304.IS S4304 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 4304 IS (1) The COVID–19 global pandemic has high- 1 lighted the need for United States leadership to ad- 2 dress the full range of international security chal- 3 lenges, which the Government of the United States 4 can do by reaffirming its steadfast commitment to 5 those mutually beneficial treaties and agreements 6 forged with its European and Indo-Pacific allies, 7 along with other states parties. 8 (2) For more than 70 years, the United States 9 has shown a bipartisan commitment to the North 10 Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), specifically to 11 the principle of collective defense enshrined in Arti- 12 cle 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, signed at Wash- 13 ington April 4, 1949. 14 (3) Section 1242 of the National Defense Au- 15 thorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 (Public Law 16 116–92) prohibited the use of funds for the United 17 States withdrawal from the North Atlantic Treaty in 18 recognition that the NATO alliance remains a cor- 19 nerstone for peace and prosperity throughout the 20 world. 21 (4) On January 22, 2019, the House of Rep- 22 resentatives passed H.R. 676 (116th Congress) on a 23 357–22 vote, prohibiting the use of funds for the 24 United States withdrawal from the North Atlantic 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:59 Aug 10, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4304.IS S4304 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 4304 IS Treaty, and on December 17, 2019, the Committee 1 on Foreign Relations of the Senate reported out 2 S.J. Res. 4 (116th Congress), which, if enacted into 3 law, would require approval of two-thirds of the Sen- 4 ate, or both Houses of Congress, before the Presi- 5 dent could withdraw the United States from the 6 treaty. 7 (5) The Treaty on Open Skies provides a crit- 8 ical confidence-building measure for Euro-Atlantic 9 security to the mutual benefit of the 34 States Par- 10 ties to the treaty, and the Open Skies Consultative 11 Commission (OSCC) is one of the few remaining 12 operational diplomatic forums from which the 13 United States can engage with the Russian Federa- 14 tion. 15 (6) Although the Government of the United 16 States is right to diplomatically press the Govern- 17 ment of the Russian Federation to return to full 18 compliance with its obligations under the Treaty on 19 Open Skies, withdrawal or termination of the treaty 20 would deprive United States allies and partners of 21 the benefits derived from observation missions over 22 Russian territory and Russian-occupied Eastern 23 Ukraine, missions that have vastly outnumbered 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:59 Aug 10, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4304.IS S4304 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 4304 IS Russian overflights of United States territory since 1 entry into force of the treaty. 2 (7) On May 22, 2020, President Trump sub- 3 mitted notice of the decision to withdraw the United 4 States from the Treaty on Open Skies, and, in doing 5 so, failed to comply with section 1234(a) of the Na- 6 tional Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 7 2020 (Public Law 116–92), requiring the President 8 to provide notification to Congress 120 days before 9 the provision of notice of intent to withdraw the 10 United States from that treaty. 11 (8) On July 7, 2020, Secretary of State Mike 12 Pompeo formally submitted a notice of the United 13 States decision to withdraw from the World Health 14 Organization, which, if such decision takes effect 1 15 year after that date and in accordance with other re- 16 quirements under law, will deprive the World Health 17 Organization of robust financial and technical con- 18 tributions from the United States needed to 19 strengthen the global response to the COVID–19 20 pandemic and address other health challenges. 21 (9) The Mutual Defense Treaty Between the 22 United States and the Republic of Korea, signed at 23 Washington October 1, 1953, the ratification of 24 which the Senate advised and consented to on Janu- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:59 Aug 10, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4304.IS S4304 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 4304 IS ary 26, 1954, was born from mutual sacrifice during 1 the Korean War, is based on shared values and in- 2 terests, and remains critical to the national security 3 of the United States nearly 7 decades after its sign- 4 ing. 5 (10) A February 2020 report from the Depart- 6 ment of State confirmed, in part, that verifiable lim- 7 its on ‘‘Russia’s strategic nuclear force’’ under the 8 New START Treaty ‘‘currently contribute to the na- 9 tional security of the United States’’. 10 (11) A decision by the President to allow the 11 New START Treaty to expire on February 5, 2021, 12 without the United States having first successfully 13 concluded a verifiable and binding agreement in its 14 place, would lead to the United States losing visi- 15 bility into the location, movement, and disposition of 16 the strategic arsenal of the Russian Federation to 17 the detriment of the national security of the United 18 States and its allies. 19 (12) The Constitution of the United States pro- 20 vides Congress an important role in the treaty proc- 21 ess, requiring the advice and consent of two-thirds 22 of the Senate for approval of a resolution of ratifica- 23 tion. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:59 Aug 10, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4304.IS S4304 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 4304 IS SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 1 In this Act: 2 (1) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CON- 3 GRESS.—The term ‘‘appropriate committees of Con- 4 gress’’ means— 5 (A) the Committee on Armed Services, the 6 Committee on Foreign Relations, and the Com- 7 mittee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pen- 8 sions of the Senate; and 9 (B) the Committee on Armed Services, the 10 Committee on Foreign Affairs, and the Com- 11 mittee on Education and Labor of the House of 12 Representatives. 13 (2) CONSTITUTION OF THE WORLD HEALTH 14 ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘‘Constitution of the 15 World Health Organization’’ means the Constitution 16 of the World Health Organization, done at New 17 York July 22, 1946 (62 Stat. 2679; TIAS 1808). 18 (3) COVERED INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENT.— 19 The term ‘‘covered international agreement’’ 20 means— 21 (A) any international treaty to which the 22 Senate has given its advice and consent to rati- 23 fication; or 24 (B) the Constitution of the World Health 25 Organization. 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:59 Aug 10, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4304.IS S4304 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 4304 IS (4) NEW START TREATY.—The term ‘‘New 1 START Treaty’’ means the Treaty between the 2 United States of America and the Russian Federa- 3 tion on Measures for the Further Reduction and 4 Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms, signed at 5 Prague April 8, 2010 (TIAS 11–205). 6 (5) TREATY ON OPEN SKIES.—The term ‘‘Trea- 7 ty on Open Skies’’ means the Treaty on Open Skies, 8 signed at Helsinki March 24, 1992. 9 SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 10 It is the sense of Congress that— 11 (1) the President should refrain from taking 12 any action to withdraw or terminate any covered 13 international agreement without proper consultation 14 with, and affirmative approval from, Congress; 15 (2) the 1979 Supreme Court decision in Gold- 16 water v. Carter, 444 U.S. 996 (1979), is not control- 17 ling legal precedent with respect to the role of Con- 18 gress in the withdrawal or termination of the United 19 States from an international treaty, as the Court di- 20 rected the lower court to dismiss the complaint and 21 did not address the constitutionality of the decision 22 by President Carter to terminate the Mutual De- 23 fense Treaty between the United States of America 24 and the Republic of China, signed at Washington 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:59 Aug 10, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4304.IS S4304 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •S 4304 IS December 2, 1954 (commonly referred to as the 1 ‘‘Sino-American Mutual Defense Treaty’’); 2 (3) the United States should take every action 3 to reinforce its global reputation as a country that 4 fully complies with its obligations under the inter- 5 national treaties to which it is a party; and 6 (4) although Congress authorized the President 7 to accept membership for the United States to the 8 World Health Organization in 1948 through the 9 Joint Resolution entitled ‘‘Joint Resolution pro- 10 viding for membership and participation by the 11 United States in the World Health Organization and 12 authorizing an appropriation therefor’’, approved 13 June 14, 1948 (22 U.S.C. 290 et seq.), that Resolu- 14 tion did not address whether affirmative approval by 15 both Houses of Congress may be required for a 16 United States withdrawal from the Constitution of 17 the World Health Organization to take effect. 18 SEC. 5. JOINT RESOLUTION OF APPROVAL FOR TERMI- 19 NATION OR WITHDRAWAL FROM CERTAIN 20 INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS. 21 No action to terminate or withdraw the United States 22 from any covered international agreement may occur un- 23 less— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:59 Aug 10, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4304.IS S4304 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •S 4304 IS (1) the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary 1 of State, or the Secretary of Health and Human 2 Services in the case of the Constitution of the World 3 Health Organization, meet the requirements under 4 section 6; and 5 (2) there is enacted into law a joint resolution 6 that approves such action. 7 SEC. 6. SUBMISSION ON NOTICE OF INTENT TO TERMINATE 8 OR WITHDRAW THE UNITED STATES FROM 9 CERTAIN INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS. 10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not less than 120 days before the 11 provision of notice of intent to terminate or withdraw the 12 United States from a covered international agreement, the 13 Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of State, or the 14 Secretary of Health and Human Services in the case of 15 the Constitution of the World Health Organization, in con- 16 sultation with the Director of National Intelligence, shall 17 each submit to the appropriate committees of Congress— 18 (1) a detailed justification for the withdrawal 19 from or termination of the agreement; 20 (2) if the justification described in paragraph 21 (1) includes that a state party to the agreement is 22 in material breach of one or more obligations under 23 the agreement, a detailed explanation of the steps 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:59 Aug 10, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4304.IS S4304 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •S 4304 IS taken by that state party to return to compliance 1 with such obligations; 2 (3) a certification that— 3 (A) all other state parties to the agreement 4 have been consulted with respect to the jus- 5 tification described in paragraph (1); 6 (B) withdrawal from or termination of the 7 agreement would be in the best national inter- 8 ests of the United States; and 9 (C) all steps taken for withdrawal from or 10 termination of the agreement are in compliance 11 with the agreement; and 12 (4) a comprehensive strategy to mitigate 13 against lost capacity of benefits, including plans for 14 a superseding agreement or potential new bilateral 15 or multilateral confidence-building measures. 16 (b) FORM.—The submission required by subsection 17 (a) shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may in- 18 clude a classified annex. 19 (c) APPLICABILITY TO NEW STRATEGIC ARMS RE- 20 DUCTION TREATY.—This section shall apply to a decision 21 by the President to not renew the New START Treaty 22 for up to an additional 5 years. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:59 Aug 10, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4304.IS S4304 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •S 4304 IS SEC. 7. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 1 Nothing in section 5 or 6 shall be construed as elimi- 2 nating any requirement set out in— 3 (1) the Joint Resolution entitled ‘‘Joint Resolu- 4 tion providing for membership and participation by 5 the United States in the World Health Organization 6 and authorizing an appropriation therefor’’, ap- 7 proved June 14, 1948 (22 U.S.C. 290 et seq.), relat- 8 ing to United States withdrawal from the World 9 Health Organization; or 10 (2) section 1234(a) of the National Defense Au- 11 thorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 (Public Law 12 116–92), relating to United States withdrawal from 13 the Treaty on Open Skies. 14 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:59 Aug 10, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S4304.IS S4304 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS