John Ensign: “to wrap up this debate, let me address, first of all, the whole idea that changing this treaty in any way kills the…”

“to wrap up this debate, let me address, first of all, the whole idea that changing this treaty in any way kills the treaty. Under the Constitution, certainly it is the President's role, the administration's role, to negotiate the treaties. We all recognize that. But under the Constitution, the Senate is tasked with advice and consent. That means we are to look at the treaties, and if we think they should be changed--and we have changed treaties over the years--then we are free to change the treaties. That is why there is a process set up, such as this amendment process, to change the treaties. So if we have fundamental objections to the treaty, I think we can have a debate on whether we should, on a particular amendment, change the treaty on the merits of the amendment, but we shouldn't just say we can't change any part of a treaty because it kills the treaty, because we have a constitutional role in advice and consent on whether we approve treaties.”