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National Sovereignty Index Reveals Congressional Failure to Address Essential Sovereignty Issues

Washington, DC - A review of the voting records of the 435 members of the House of Representatives reveals that 44% have failed to support legislation to protect America's national sovereignty. The publication of the American Policy Center's first annual edition of a National Sovereignty Vote Index was announced by Tom DeWeese, president of the Center.

In the midst of the United Nation's Millennium Summit, designed to expand its role in global governance, the American Policy Center's study demonstrates that legislation to protect American sovereignty lacks the support of nearly half of the elected representatives of the American people.

"This nation fought a Revolution to insure that the consent of the governed would be the basis for our national government," said DeWeese. "Today, our national sovereignty is under attack by the United Nations and legislation to protect it is being ignored by an appallingly high number of those whom we elected to public office."

Five key pieces of legislation form the basis for the sovereignty vote index. They are H.R. 1146, the American Sovereignty Restoration Act; House Amendment 844 to H.R. 4276, striking funding for payment of arrearages to meet obligations of membership in the United Nations and to pay assessed expenses of international peacekeeping activities; H.J. Resolution 90, to withhold the approval of the US from the agreement establishing the World Trade Association; House Amendment 412 to H.R. 2670, an amendment to prohibit the use of funds for any activity in support of any World Heritage site in the United States; and House Amendment 306 to H.R. 2414, an amendment sought to eliminate the authorization of funding for any United Nations program.

"This is a growing national crisis," said DeWeese, "yet the American public remains largely unaware of the UN's objectives and the need to assert the supremacy of the Constitution over the actions of any international organization."

"Not one single member of the House from the State of Massachusetts, where the Pilgrims first landed has shown any support for legislation to protect the sovereignty of this nation," said Tom DeWeese. "Not one representative from the State of Connecticut supports these legislative initiatives. Only two of thirteen members from New Jersey delegation support sovereignty issues. Of California's delegation, fully 14 out of 24 have failed to act. Thirteen of the eighteen Representatives from New York State have not taken action to support sovereignty initiatives. Thirteen of the 21 House members from Pennsylvania, where the nation's Constitution was written, have failed to protect it.

"There are some heroes in the House, however," said DeWeese, citing Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) the author of H.R. 1146, the American Sovereignty Restoration Act, and Rep. Jack Metcalf (R-WA) with whom he teamed to introduce H.J. Resolution 90, a bill to withdraw from the World Trade Organization. Rep. Roscoe Bartlett (R-MD) also received a pro-sovereignty rating of 100%. He has authored H.R. 346, to fight over-payments to the UN. Rep. Helen Chenoweth-Hage (R-ID) has sponsored H.R. 4669, the Citizen-Soldier Protection Act which insures no member of the US Armed Forces will be forced to fight under the command of the UN or other foreign body.

Rep.Tom Delay (R-TX) was lauded for his legislation, H.R. 4654, the American Service Member's Protection Act of 2000 protecting military personnel from criminal prosecution by the UN's proposed International Criminal Court whose jurisdiction would pre-empt the jurisdiction of the United States' Supreme Court.