00HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 37                                                                                           
01 Encouraging the United States Senate to ratify the Chemical Weapons Convention                                          
02 at the earliest possible date.                                                                                          
03 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                               
04  WHEREAS President Ronald Reagan, President George Bush, and President Bill                                             
05 Clinton have all supported the Chemical Weapons Convention, an international agreement to                               
06 ban the development, stockpiling, transfer, and use of chemical weapons; and                                            
07  WHEREAS there are many Alaskans with family members who are in the Armed                                               
08 Services that risk coming into contact with chemical weapons; and                                                       
09  WHEREAS the Chemical Weapons Convention is supported by General John                                                   
10 Shalikashvili, General Colin Powell, General Norman Schwarzkopf, and former United States                               
11 Senator Bob Dole; and                                                                                                   
12  WHEREAS the United States is in the process of destroying its stockpile of chemical                                    
13 weapons; and                                                                                                            
14  WHEREAS the Pentagon recently acknowledged that troops in the Persian Gulf War                                         

01 may have been exposed to chemical weapons; and                                                                          
02  WHEREAS it is noncombatants, such as women and children, who often suffer the                                          
03 most significant exposure to chemical weapons either during or after warfare; and                                       
04  WHEREAS the Chemical Weapons Convention represents the first global effort to rid                                      
05 the world of chemical weapons; and                                                                                      
06  WHEREAS 160 nations have signed the treaty to not develop, stockpile, transfer, or                                     
07 use chemical weapons and to destroy existing chemical weapons and chemical weapons                                      
08 production facilities; and                                                                                              
09  WHEREAS the treaty will isolate nonparticipating countries, such as Libya, North                                       
10 Korea, and Iraq, and impose strict restrictions on their chemical imports and exports; and                              
11  WHEREAS the Chemical Manufacturers Association supports the treaty, indicating                                         
12 that, if the United States does not ratify the Chemical Weapons Convention, this lack of action                         
13 could cost the industry hundreds of millions of dollars; and                                                            
14  WHEREAS a recent public opinion survey showed 84 percent of Americans are in                                           
15 support of the treaty; and                                                                                              
16  WHEREAS, if the United States Senate does not ratify the Chemical Weapons                                              
17 Convention, the United States would not be involved in the implementation of the treaty,                                
18 would not serve on the executive committee, or have members on the inspection teams; and                                
19  WHEREAS Senator Ted Stevens has indicated his strong support for the Chemical                                          
20 Weapons Convention;                                                                                                     
21  BE IT RESOLVED by the Alaska State Legislature that the United States Senate is                                        
22 strongly encouraged to ratify the Chemical Weapons Convention at the earliest possible date.                            
23  COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Ted Stevens and the                                           
24 Honorable Frank Murkowski, U.S. Senators, and the Honorable Don Young, U.S.                                             
25 Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in Congress.