Earlier this week, the United Nations agreed to the Arms Trade Treaty. Disappointingly, but not surprisingly, the Obama Administration voted in support of the misguided treaty.

Fortunately, in order for any treaty to take effect, it must be ratified by two-thirds of the U.S. Senate. Based on previous statements and the fact that 53 Senators went on record a few weeks ago supporting an amendment to stop the State Department from negotiating this treaty, I do not believe the votes are there for ratification.

The administration is well aware of where the Senate stands on the issue.  Last year, I joined 57 other Senators in sending a letter to President Obama and then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton reminding them that the Senate has final say on treaties, and stated our unequivocal opposition to any treaty that would affect civilian ownership of firearms, challenge the authority of Congress to regulate firearms within the United States, or call for an international gun registry. 

Now that the Obama Administration helped pass the treaty, it is important to reiterate that we will fight ratification. It is the reason why I support a concurrent resolution that was introduced in the Senate stating the treaty should not be ratified. This treaty puts us on the same level as global bad actors, those countries that abuse human rights and arm terrorists, and a backdoor way to chip away at every law abiding citizen’s right to keep and bear arms.  The Obama Administration should have recognized that to begin with, but clearly protecting the Second Amendment rights of every law abiding American is not on its priority list.  It remains on mine. I will work to ensure that this treaty never gets ratified.  

Here’s a recap of some of this week’s posts in case you missed them.

• Senate Passes Two Boozman Amendments:  While the Senate Majority’s budget was deeply flawed, I did get my colleagues to agree to two of my amendments to the resolution. The first on would ease regulatory burdens imposed on community banks caused by the Dodd-Frank bill. The second one aims to protect private property rights. Read about them both here.
  
  
• Advice & Consent:  Senator Boozman recently met with President Obama’s nominee to head the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Gina McCarthy. Hear what I have to say about the role of the Senate in confirming presidential nominees in the latest edition of “From the Mailbag.” 

• Upcoming Opportunity to Improve Arkansas’s Waterways: In the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, we are working on a new “Water Resources Development Act.”  This bipartisan legislation would improve our nation’s water resources policy to expand opportunity, promote commerce, and reduce flood risks. I am working to includes reforms that speed up project delivery and provide new ways to finance water projects. My goal is to protect taxpayers and improve our water resources. Read how here. 

• Talking Budget & Sequestration with KASU: For the first time in four years the Senate debated a budget resolution. I talked about the importance of this basic responsibility of governing as well as ways Washington is working to cut the budget and give flexibility to our federal agencies so they can eliminate the waste and abuse with KASU morning show host Mark Smith. You can listen to the interview here.

For the first time in four years the Senate debated a budget resolution. We talked about the importance of this basic responsibility of governing as well as ways Washington is working to cut the budget and give flexibility to our federal agencies so they can eliminate the waste and abuse.  You can listen to the interview here.

President Obama arrived in Israel today for his first official visit as commander in chief. Before he left, 77 of my colleagues and I sent the President a letter urging him to (1) reaffirm his commitment to working closely with the new government of Israel (2) support unconditional direct negotiations between both the Israelis and Palestinians (3) oppose Palestinian efforts to circumvent direct negotiations or efforts to isolate or delegitimize Israel (4) reiterate the United States’ support for a negotiated two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and (5) identify policy solutions to address the other urgent and important threats facing Israel and the United States today. 

The overwhelming support in the Senate for this letter demonstrates that the unshakeable bond with our strongest ally in the volatile Middle East isn’t a partisan issue. Thankfully, in Congress there is unity on this issue.

The letter references a Senate-passed resolution—that 89 of my colleagues and I cosponsored—reaffirming our commitment to a negotiated two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. We agree that a clear pathway for peace is through unconditional direct negotiations between both the Israelis and Palestinians. Efforts by the Palestinians to circumvent direct negotiations must continue to be opposed.

These Palestinian efforts are often coupled with campaigns to isolate or delegitimize Israel. In our letter, we thanked President Obama for actively standing by Israel at the UN to try to block such efforts during his first term and called on him to make clear that our relationship with Palestinians will be jeopardized if they seek action against Israel at the International Criminal Court. These attempts to delegitimize Israel are counterproductive to the peace process.

As the shifting landscape of the Middle East continues to rapidly change, it is more important than ever for President Obama to seize this moment to reaffirm our strong support for Israel and revitalize the stalled peace process.

Read the letter by following the link below.