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Action alert! White House Blocks U.S. POPs Treaty Ratification November, 5 2002 In an unwelcome and damaging development, the White House is blocking progress in the Senate toward U.S. ratification of the Stockholm Convention. The Convention is a new international treaty that phases out production and use of "persistent organic pollutants" (POPs) worldwide. POPs are a dangerous class of chemicals - including DDT, toxaphene and many other notorious pesticides - that are wreaking havoc around the globe. There are 12 chemicals on the initial list targeted for global elimination under the treaty, nine of which are pesticides. Over the past six months, the Senate has been negotiating implementing legislation for the Stockholm Convention, which must be passed before U.S. ratification can move forward. A key point of negotiation has been how new chemicals will be targeted for elimination in the U.S. when they are added to the list for global phase out under the treaty. NGOs support a streamlined approach closely linked to the international process, like the one proposed by Sen. Jim Jeffords (I-Vt.) in his POPs Implementation Act of 2002 (S.2118). In the critical final days of this legislative session when agreement in the Senate was within reach, the Bush Administration proposed unreasonable new hurdles for addition of new chemicals for U.S. phaseout, effectively killing the bill and blocking progress toward treaty ratification. A year and a half ago, President Bush made a public commitment to rapid U.S. ratification of the POPs treaty. Since then 24 countries including U.S. neighbors Canada and Mexico - have ratified the treaty, while the U.S. Administration continues to stall. Please email or fax the message below - or your own letter - to President Bush, demanding that the White House stop blocking progress toward ratification of this important international agreement.
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