Proposed Amendments to Article XIII: Amendment No. 41 (Bartlett, Hansen), April 7, 1978-Tabled 40–33. Article XIV.----. Proposed Amendment to Article XIV: Amendment No. 90 (Stevens, et al.), April 12, 1978-Tabled 53-40- Page 461 462 464 464 D. RESOLUTION OF RATIFICATION FOR THE PANAMA CANAL TREATY Resolution of Ratification as Reported from the Senate Foreign Proposed Reservations, Understandings and Conditions to the Resolution Reservation No. 99 (Long, et al.), April 17, 1978-Adopted 65-27--. 467 467 468 Unprinted Understanding No. 26 (Brooke, Byrd of Va.), April 17, 1978-Adopted_-- 469 Unprinted Understanding No. 27 (Brooke, Byrd of Va.), April 17, 1978-Adopted 84-3-- 470 Unprinted Reservation No. 28 (Brooke, et al.), April 17, 1978- 471 Unprinted Reservation No. 29 (McClure), April 17, 1978-Tabled 56-31 472 473 475 Reservation No. 18 (Helms), April 17, 1978-Tabled 56-39_ Reservation No. 20 (DeConcini), April 17, 1978-Adopted 92–6.. 475 477 477 479 Understanding No. 10 (Sarbanes for Sparkman), April 17, 1978- 479 Unprinted Reservation No. 33 (Dole), April 18, 1978-Tabled 56-42. Understanding No. 16 (Thurmond), April 18, 1978-Tabled 56–42- Proposed Amendments to Byrd-Baker-DeConcini Unprinted Amendment No. 104 (Allen, et al.) to Byrd-Baker-DeConcini 479 481 482 483 483 484 486 Amendment No. 105 (Allen, et al.) to Byrd-Baker-DeConcini 487 Unprinted Amendment No. 37 (Cannon) to Byrd-Baker- 488 Amendment No. 103, as Modified (Griffin, Wallop), April 18, 1978- 489 Unprinted Reservation No. 39 (Cannon, et al.), April 18, 1978- 490 The Resolution of Ratification, as Amended.--- Vote on the Resolution of Ratification, April 18, 1978-Adopted 68-32_ 493 495 IV. A CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS RELATING TO CONGRESSIONAL CONSIDERATION OF THE PANAMA CANAL TREATIES, V. PROTOCOL OF EXCHANGE OF INSTRUMENTS OF RATIFICA- A. Protocol of Exchange of Instruments of Ratification_. B. U.S. Instrument-Panama Canal Treaty.. C. Panamanian Instrument-Panama Canal Treaty.. D. U.S. Instrument-Neutrality Treaty.. E. Panamanian Instrument-Neutrality Treaty-- Page 499 502 506 512 515 516 521 525 533 540 541 545 546 549 552 556 I. INTRODUCTION 1 A. THE SENATE'S ROLE AND PROCEDURES IN TREATY RATIFICATION 2 The Senate's role in the formulation and approval of treaties stems directly from Article II, Section 2(2) of the Constitution, which provides that the President "shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two-thirds of the Senators present concur." This section of the Constitution grants to the President the power to make treaties, but it requires that the Senate approve such treaties by a two-thirds vote. In U.S. practice, a number of steps are involved in the making of treaties. These generally include negotiation, signing, approval by the Senate, ratification by the President, exchange of ratifications by the parties, and proclamation, after which the treaty becomes legally binding. The Senate is formally involved in this process only at the "advice and consent" to ratification stage; the President is responsible for all other stages, including ratification. Contrary to popular impression, the Senate does not ratify treaties. The President ratifies treaties after receiving the Senate's advice and consent. However, since the Senate must give its approval by a two-thirds vote, it exercises considerable influence in the conclusion of treaties. In the process of exercising its advice and consent powers the Senate has a number of options. Although the available options vary greatly, the main options in rising order of severity are as follows: (1) The Senate may give approval to a treaty by adopting a clean resolution of ratification without any conditions; (2) the Senate may advise and consent to ratification while making its views known in a committee report; (3) the Senate may include in the resolution of ratification various "understandings" or "interpretations" with the implication that the contractual relationship of the treaty is being clarified, not changed; (4) the Senate may add "reservations" to the resolution of ratification with the purpose of modifying or limiting the substantive effect of the treaty on the United States; (5) the Senate may "amend" various provisions of the treaty, making substantive changes that require the agreement of the other party if the treaty is to be legally binding; (6) the Senate may fail to take action on a treaty, thereby blocking ratification; and (7) the Senate may reject a treaty outright. Since the beginning of World War II the Senate has rarely amended treaties and only occasionally has it insisted on reservations to treaties. The more customary practice has been to approve the treaty unconditionally or to approve the treaty subject to certain understandings or interpretations. Prepared by K. Larry Storrs, Analyst in Latin American Affairs. This section relies heavily on U.S. Congress. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. The Role of the Senate in Treaty Ratification: A Staff Memorandum to the Committee on Foreign Relations." 95th Congress, 1st session, November 1977. Washington, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1977. |