III 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 90 

Expressing the sense of the Senate regarding the Fifth Summit of the 

Americas, held in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, April 17, 18, 

and 19, 2009. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 30, 2009 

Mr. KERRY (for himself, Mr. LUGAR, Mr. DODD, Mr. MENENDEZ, and Mr. 

NELSON of Florida) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

MARCH 31, 2009 

Reported by Mr. KERRY, without amendment 

APRIL 3 (legislative day, APRIL 2), 2009 

Considered and agreed to 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing the sense of the Senate regarding the Fifth Summit of the Americas, held in Port of Spain, Trinidad 

and Tobago, April 17, 18, and 19, 2009. 

Whereas the First Summit of the Americas, held in December 1994 in Miami, Florida, resulted in a comprehensive 

Plan of Action, issued by the region’s democracies, which 

included initiatives on strengthening democracy, promoting human rights, combating corruption, furthering 

sustainable economic development, encouraging environmental conservation, and committing to access to uniVerDate Nov 24 2008 04:49 Apr 03, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR90.ATS SR90

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SRES 90 ATS 

versal basic education and health care throughout the 

Americas; 

Whereas 3 Summits of the Americas and 2 Special Summits 

of the Americas have been convened since 1994, resulting 

in additional initiatives on sustainable development, 

strengthening democratic practices and good governance, 

the environment, economic relations, combating HIV/ 

AIDS and other diseases, and numerous other areas of 

mutual interest and shared responsibility throughout the 

Western Hemisphere; 

Whereas on July 21, 2008, the Draft Declaration of Commitment by the Summit Implementation Review Group proposed an agenda for the Fifth Summit of the Americas 

to discuss promoting human prosperity, energy security, 

environmental sustainability, public security, democratic 

governance, and the Summit’s implementation and review 

process; and 

Whereas on February 10, 2009, President Barack Obama 

stated that he would attend the Fifth Summit of the 

Americas to ‘‘create the kind of partnership based on respect that the people of Latin America are looking for 

and that will be beneficial to the United States’’: Now, 

therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate— 

2 (1) to express support for the Fifth Summit of 

3 the Americas as an effective multilateral forum, con4 vened in the spirit of cooperation and partnership 

5 for the 34 democratically elected heads of state of 

6 the region to address shared challenges and foster 

7 collaboration throughout the Western Hemisphere; 


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1 (2) that the Fifth Summit provides the United 

2 States with an early opportunity to reinvigorate and 

3 strengthen its engagement with the countries of the 

4 Western Hemisphere, especially in— 

5 (A) finding common solutions to the global 

6 economic crisis; 

7 (B) promoting energy security; and 

8 (C) combating threats to public and per9 sonal security, including threats from terrorism, 

10 international narcotics cartels, and organized 

11 criminal groups; 

12 (3) that the United States is prepared to work 

13 with the countries of the Western Hemisphere on 

14 advancing an agenda of human prosperity, includ15 ing— 

16 (A) encouraging multilateral development 

17 institutions to invest in micro- to medium-sized 

18 enterprises; 

19 (B) continuing the fight against HIV/ 

20 AIDS, vector-borne, and noncommunicable dis21 eases; 

22 (C) raising the standard of living of the 

23 people in the region who currently live in pov24 erty; 

25 (D) eradicating child labor; 


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1 (E) recommitting to the Millennium Devel2 opment Goals; and 

3 (F) supporting investment in public health 

4 and education throughout the Western Hemi5 sphere; 

6 (4) that the United States should use the Fifth 

7 Summit of the Americas to strengthen cooperation 

8 by working with other nations to formulate and im9 plement a regional energy strategy to promote— 

10 (A) increased technology and information 

11 sharing; 

12 (B) regulatory harmonization; 

13 (C) integration; and 

14 (D) renewable and alternative energy 

15 sources; 

16 (5) to welcome civil society and nongovern17 mental organizations at the Fifth Summit, and to 

18 encourage their observation and active participation 

19 in the Summit’s decision-making process to 

20 strengthen democratic governance, the rule of law, 

21 freedom of the press, and civil society in the West22 ern Hemisphere; and 

23 (6) to set achievable and measurable goals, 

24 based on areas of consensus, and to strengthen folVerDate Nov 24 2008 04:49 Apr 03, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR90.ATS SR90

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1 lowup mechanisms to review the implementation, re2 porting, and progress of Summit initiatives. 

Æ 


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