IA
103D CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. J. RES. 166
Providing for the United States to assume a strong leadership role in imple-
menting the decisions made at the Earth Summit by developing a na-
tional strategy to implement Agenda 21 and other Earth Summit agree-
ments through domestic policy and foreign policy, by cooperating with
all countries to identify and initiate further agreements to protect the
global environment, and by supporting and participating in the high-
level United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 29, 1993
Ms. PELOSI (for herself, Mr. ACKERMAN, Mr. BACCHUS of Florida, Mr. BEIL-
ENSON, Mr. BLACKWELL, Mr. BROWN of California, Mrs. COLLINS of Illi-
nois, Mr. DELLUMS, Mr. EDWARDS of California, Mr. EVANS, Mr. FOGLI-
ETTA, Mr. FLAKE, Mr. FROST, Mr. GILCHREST, Mr. GILMAN, Mr.
HOCKBRUECKNER, Mr. HUGHES, Mr. JEFFERSON, Mr. LANTOS, Mr.
LEHMAN, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr. MACHTLEY, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. MAZ-
ZOLI, Mr. MILLER of California, Mr. MORAN, Mrs. MORELLA, Ms. NOR-
TON, Mr. OWENS of New York, Mr. PORTER, Mr. SANDERS, Mrs.
SCHROEDER, Mr. SCHUMER, Mr. STUDDS, Mr. TOWNS, and Mrs.
UNSOELD) introduced the following joint resolution; which was referred
to the Committee on Foreign Affairs
JOINT RESOLUTION
Providing for the United States to assume a strong leader-
ship role in implementing the decisions made at the
Earth Summit by developing a national strategy to im-
plement Agenda 21 and other Earth Summit agreements
•HJ 166 IH
through domestic policy and foreign policy, by cooperat-
ing with all countries to identify and initiate further
agreements to protect the global environment, and by
supporting and participating in the high-level United Na-
tions Commission on Sustainable Development.
Whereas the United Nations Conference on Environment and
Development (hereinafter in this resolution referred to as
‘‘UNCED’’), known as the Earth Summit, assembled in
June of 1992 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the largest sum-
mit of heads of state in history and outlined a com-
prehensive action plan (hereinafter in this resolution re-
ferred to as ‘‘Agenda 21’’) for environmentally sustain-
able development (hereinafter in this resolution referred
to as ‘‘sustainable development’’);
Whereas the United States has a strong national interest in
the environmental sustainability of global economic devel-
opment;
Whereas Agenda 21 offers a significant starting point for
continuing progress in avoiding environmental degrada-
tion and social and economic disintegration in the 21st
century;
Whereas the role of the United States should be one of lead-
ership and positive action in the implementation process
of Agenda 21 and all other decisions of UNCED;
Whereas Agenda 21 urges all governments to adopt national
strategies for sustainable development;
Whereas Agenda 21 urges all countries to ‘‘make significant
progress’’ in incorporating environmental costs into eco-
nomic decisions, to undertake research on sustainable
production methods and consumption patterns, and to
•HJ 166 IH
undertake other actions to make their economies more
environmentally sustainable;
Whereas Agenda 21 calls for a ‘‘supportive international cli-
mate for achieving environment and development goals’’
by ‘‘providing adequate financial resources to developing
countries and dealing with international debt’’ and calls
for ‘‘the reallocation of resources presently committed to
military purposes’’ to support United States policies and
the efforts of developing countries to implement Agenda
21;
Whereas UNCED recommended that a high-level United Na-
tions Commission on Sustainable Development (herein-
after in this resolution referred to as the ‘‘Commission’’)
be established by the 47th United Nations General As-
sembly to provide a vital forum to review progress made
by considering reports from national governments, inter-
national organizations, and nongovernmental organiza-
tions;
Whereas many opportunities for agreements concerning more
extensive actions on critical sustainable development is-
sues remained unresolved at UNCED and will require
further attention by the nations of the world; and
Whereas the ultimate success of achieving sustainable devel-
opment and a healthy environment at the national and
international levels depends upon actions taken at the
State and local community levels, and on actions by
schools, public offices, businesses, citizens, and citizen or-
ganizations: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives
of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
That effective follow-up to achieve the many goals of the
•HJ 166 IH
agreements reached at UNCED will depend on the overall
direction and action by the President and the Congress
on the following:
(1) The President and the Congress should
adopt a national strategy for environmentally sus-
tainable development, based on an extensive process
of nationwide consultations with all interested orga-
nizations and individuals, including State and local
governments, nongovernmental organizations, busi-
nesses, and labor groups.
(2) The President and the Congress should en-
courage and facilitate, at all levels of community and
sectors of society, appropriate means for adopting
individual Agenda 21 plans of action, including the
establishment of local, county, State, business, and
other boards and commissions for achieving sustain-
able development. Each member of the Congress
should help initiate this process within their States
or districts.
(3) The President, Secretary of State, and the
Congress should formulate initiatives and policies to
help developing countries develop the capacity to im-
plement Agenda 21. The Congress should restruc-
ture United States foreign assistance to provide a
fundamental mandate for sustainable development.
•HJ 166 IH
(4) The President should establish an effective
mechanism to plan, initiate, and coordinate United
States policy for implementing Agenda 21. Respon-
sibility should be vested in a duly constituted office,
headed by an appropriate high level official, and the
necessary staff support structure should be provided.
(5) In order to contribute to a transition to an
environmentally sustainable United States economy,
the research and policy initiatives urged in Agenda
21 should be pursued, including research on environ-
mentally sustainable consumption patterns, identi-
fication of a strategy to eliminate or reduce sub-
sidies for unsustainable natural resource exploi-
tation, and move toward pricing policies that more
truly reflect environmental costs.
(6) The Congress should adopt a system to re-
allocate an appropriate amount of savings from re-
duced defense spending in order to achieve the goals
of Agenda 21 for global environmental protection
and sustainable development over the next decade.
(7) The President should promote and actively
participate in new and existing multilateral efforts
aimed at creating a more favorable international eco-
nomic climate for developing countries to practice
•HJ 166 IH
sustainable development. Such efforts should in-
clude—
(A) reduction in developing country debt,
linked with environmental policy reforms;
(B) focusing the work of multilateral donor
consultative groups which now exist for each of
some 80 developing countries on evaluation of,
and support for, their national sustainable de-
velopment strategies; and
(C) increasing loans and concessional as-
sistance to developing countries where imple-
mentation of national sustainable development
strategies are underway.
(8) The United States should actively support
the Commission authorized by the 47th United Na-
tions General Assembly. The United States should
seek a strong role for the Commission in the United
Nations system to monitor and evaluate progress in
meeting the goals identified in Agenda 21 and other
decisions at UNCED. The United States should pur-
sue a strong sustainable development mandate for
all relevant activities of the United Nations and a
catalytic role for the Commission in coordinating
and facilitating the implementation of that mandate.
•HJ 166 IH
(9) The President should affirm strong United
States commitment to the Commission by—
(A) appointing a high-level representative
or delegation from the United States to the
Commission, including, as appropriate, rep-
resentation at the ministerial level and Congres-
sional and non-government observers, and
(B) supporting the Under Secretary Gen-
eral for Policy Coordination and Sustainable
Development in coordinating the implementa-
tion of Agenda 21 in the United Nations system
and heading the secretariat support structure
for the Commission.
(10) The President should submit a national re-
port to the Commission on—
(A) activities the United States has under-
taken to implement Agenda 21, both domesti-
cally and internationally, on progress made to-
ward fulfilling other commitments undertaken
at UNCED; and
(B) other environmental and developmental
activities the United States has undertaken to
strengthen agreements reached at UNCED.
The President should strongly encourage all United
Nations members to submit such national reports.
•HJ 166 IH
(11) The United States should support rules of
procedure for the Commission which ensure the ac-
tive participation of nongovernmental organizations,
based on the procedures used in UNCED as agreed
in paragraphs 38.11 and 38.44 of Agenda 21, and
should also encourage the active participation in the
Commission of representatives of the international
financial 
institutions, 
GATT, 
regional 
and
subregional development banks and financial institu-
tions, and regional economic integration organiza-
tions.
(12) The President should submit an annual re-
port to the Congress on the steps taken by the Unit-
ed States to implement Agenda 21 and the rec-
ommendations made by this resolution, and should
make information regarding such steps available to
members of the Congress upon their request.
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