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New Chairmen for U.S. House International Relations and
Senate Foreign Relations Committees
Fundamental changes in the 110th Congress will affect environmental policy
not only in the United States, but around the world. This Congress is
at least beginning to dedicate itself to the rule of law and its own rules
of procedure, to science's preeminent place in policy, and to addressing
the United States' responsibilities as an integral member of the community
of nations. For example, Tom Lantos (Democrat of California), the new
chair of the House International Relations Committee, not only has a strong
record on the environment but was born in Hungary and survived the holocaust.
He is acutely aware of the benefits that international law and diplomacy
can bring to the world. In the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations,
Richard Lugar of Indiana, the ranking Republican and former committee
chair, and the committee's current chair, Joe Biden (Democrat of Delaware),
are internationalists who led the committee's approval of the Convention
on Biological Diversity by a vote of 16-3 in 1994. That vote occurred
just before Senator Jesse Helms (Republican of North Carolina) prevented
ratification of the treaty by threatening to bring all Senate action to
a halt. Helms is now retired.
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