William Helms: “many Americans may not realize that the Rome Treaty can apply to Americans even without the U.S. ratifying the treaty.…”

“many Americans may not realize that the Rome Treaty can apply to Americans even without the U.S. ratifying the treaty. This bewildering threat to America's men and women in our Armed Forces must be stopped. And that is precisely what my amendment proposes to do--it protects Americans in several ways: (1) It will prohibit cooperation with this kangaroo court, including use of taxpayer funding or sharing of classified information. (2) It will restrict a U.S. role in peacekeeping missions unless the U.N. specifically exempts U.S. troops from prosecution by this international court. (3) It blocks U.S. aid to allies unless they too sign accords to shield U.S. troops on their soil from being turned over to the ICC. And (4) It authorizes any necessary action to free U.S. soldiers improperly handed over to that Court. My amendment to the Defense authorization bill incorporates changes negotiated with the executive branch giving the President the flexibility and authority to delegate tasks in the bill to Cabinet Secretaries and their deputies in this time of national emergency. The Bush administration supports this slightly revised version of the American Service Members Protection Act. Nothing is more important than the safety of our citizens, soldiers, and public servants. The terrorist attacks of September 11 have made that fact all the more obvious.”