III 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 68 

Expressing the sense of the Senate that the President should submit the 

Paris Agreement to the Senate for review and consideration. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 22, 2021 

Mr. DAINES (for himself, Mr. CRAPO, Mr. BARRASSO, Ms. LUMMIS, Mr. MARSHALL, Mr. MORAN, Mrs. BLACKBURN, Mr. CRUZ, Mr. WICKER, Mr. 

PAUL, and Mr. TOOMEY) submitted the following resolution; which was 

referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing the sense of the Senate that the President should 

submit the Paris Agreement to the Senate for review 

and consideration. 

Whereas, in August 2016, President Obama entered the 

United States into the decision by the 21st Conference of 

Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on 

Climate Change in Paris, France, adopted December 12, 

2015 (referred to in this preamble as the ‘‘Paris Agreement’’), without the advice and consent of the Senate as 

required by section 2 of article 2 of the Constitution of 

the United States; 

Whereas President Trump announced that the United States 

would cease all implementation of the Paris Agreement in 

June 2017, and formally withdrew the United States 


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•SRES 68 IS 

from the Paris Agreement in November 2019, which 

withdrawal became effective in November 2020; 

Whereas, according to a report, by 2035, the Paris Agreement will result in— 

(1) an aggregate gross domestic product loss of over 

$2,500,000,000,000; 

(2) a 13 to 20 percent increase in household electricity expenditures; and 

(3) the loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs; 

Whereas the Paris Agreement, and cumbersome regulations 

associated with the Paris Agreement, put the economy of 

the United States at a competitive disadvantage and risk 

even greater job loss and energy rate increases at a time 

when the economy of the United States is already hurting 

from the COVID–19 pandemic; 

Whereas, in addition to the economic costs of the Paris 

Agreement, the Paris Agreement obligates United States 

taxpayer dollars towards a $100,000,000,000 fund to assist climate change mitigation and adaptation in other 

countries with minimal oversight or transparency; 

Whereas, according to a report, if every signatory of the 

Paris Agreement fulfills their— 

(1) commitment under the Paris Agreement, the 

Paris Agreement will have a negligible impact on climate 

change, reducing global average temperatures by just 

0.086 degrees Fahrenheit by 2100; or 

(2) commitment under the Paris Agreement if the 

Paris Agreement were extended another 70 years, average global temperatures would be reduced by just 0.306 

degrees Fahrenheit by 2100; 


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•SRES 68 IS 

Whereas, through free-market innovation and investments in 

clean, efficient energy, the United States has seen the 

largest absolute decline in emissions globally while emissions from several signatories of the Paris Agreement 

continue to increase; 

Whereas clause 2 of section 2 of article 2 of the Constitution 

of the United States provides that the President may 

only enter into a treaty ‘‘provided two thirds of the Senators present concur’’; 

Whereas section 723.3 of chapter 11 of the Foreign Affairs 

Manual of the Department of State provides that, ‘‘[i]n 

determining whether any international agreement should 

be brought into force as a treaty or as an international 

agreement other than a treaty, the utmost care is to be 

exercised to avoid any invasion or compromise of the constitutional powers of the Senate, Congress as a whole, or 

the President’’; 

Whereas, given the historical precedents, the potential costs 

and benefits, and the fact that the Paris Agreement could 

in future decades result in stronger obligations for the 

United States than the Senate anticipated when it gave 

its consent to ratifying the United Nations Framework 

Convention on Climate Change, done at New York May 

9, 1992, and entered into force March 21, 1994, the 

Paris Agreement is a treaty; and 

Whereas, on January 20, 2021, President Biden announced 

his intent to reenter the United States into the Paris 

Agreement without seeking the advice and consent of the 

Senate: Now, therefore, be it 

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


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•SRES 68 IS 

1 (1) the decision by the 21st Conference of Par2 ties of the United Nations Framework Convention 

3 on Climate Change in Paris, France, adopted De4 cember 12, 2015 (referred to in this resolution as 

5 the ‘‘Paris Agreement’’), is considered a treaty re6 quiring the advice and consent of the Senate; and 

7 (2) President Biden should immediately submit 

8 the Paris Agreement to the Senate. 

Æ 


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