NEWSMAX.COM-Executive orders are presently being used at the domestic level to promote a broad international agenda. The current administration has an unfortunate pattern of using executive orders to circumvent the Senate ratification process and enact individual provisions of treaties bit by bit.

As an example, in 1993 President Clinton signed an executive order setting up the President's Council on Sustainable Development. Sustainable development is a notion that sprang forth from the United Nations Commission on Environment and Development. It reached a pinnacle of prominence in a document called Agenda 21, a consensus statement that came out of the Earth Summit of 1992.

This document, along with the unratified Biodiversity and Global Warming Treaties, created an expansive, international legal platform that seeks to modify the fundamental habits, customs, and culture of American life. Agenda 21and an assortment of international documents are being used as templates to formulate local, state, and federal policy. The ultimate goal is to set up a lifestyle that is "sustainable within environmental strictures" in order to achieve conformance with extreme elements of the environmental movement.

Some of the most radical components of Agenda 21 have actually become determinant factors for various environmental policies that have been advanced by the Clinton administration. In fact, the President's Council on Sustainable Development is aggressively implementing as many aspects of this "soft law" as possible throughout agencies of government.

The strategy of piecemeal treaty implementation has also been utilized in the human rights arena. In December of 1998, President Clinton signed an executive order entitled Implementation of Human Rights Treaties. The language of the executive order seems to have been carefully chosen. It makes the implementation of human rights "obligations" the official policy of the United States government. No distinction was made between obligations that were already duly ratified and those that were not.

There are a whole host of conventions that have never been approved by the Senate that this executive order purports to implement. The danger lies in the fact that many of the rudimentary components of so-called human rights treaties are purposely designed to pierce privacy barriers and influence the most intrinsically personal dimensions of our lives - the relationships between parents and children, husbands and wives, and families and homes.

Despite growing opposition from various factions, President Clinton continues to hold fast to the theme of promoting the international agenda domestically via stealth treaty implementation. In June of 1999, he signed an executive order called " Greening the Government through Efficient Energy Management." This executive order specifically instructs federal agencies to begin implementation of the controversial Global Warming Treaty within the federal government. The order does not limit its scope merely to the government itself, but reaches out to all entities with whom the government conducts business.

It describes the federal government as the "nation's largest energy consumer" and specifically requires the restrictions enumerated to be applied to all those contracting with the federal government for products or services. The long-range effect that the imposition of such requirements would have upon our nation's economy or our ability to compete fairly has not been given adequate consideration.

As we delve deeper into the misuse of executive authority, one thing becomes more and more apparent. A portion of our system is broken. However, as serious as the issues may seem, there are dedicated men and women who have been working diligently to reverse the damage that we have sustained. So much can be done and there is great reason for optimism.

Citizen action is playing a vital role in the restoration effort. As awareness grows and public involvement increases, changes are steadily occurring. For the first time since the 1970s, hearings on the subjects of executive orders and emergency powers were held in Congress. Remarkably, three pieces of legislation that seek to restore constitutional integrity are presently under consideration.

H. Con. Res. 30 is a strongly worded resolution sponsored by Representative Jack Metcalf. It states that any executive order, which infringes on the power of Congress or requires the expenditure of unappropriated funds, is advisory only and has no force or effect.

H.R. 3131 is a bill sponsored by Representative Bob Barr, which requires that Congress be given copies of any executive order and also be allowed thirty days to accept, reject, or modify the order.

H.R. 2655 is the most comprehensive piece of legislation on this subject. Sponsored by Representative Ron Paul, it terminates all existing states of national emergency, removes from the executive branch any power to declare national emergencies, denies executive orders any force of law, gives individual citizens the right to bring lawsuits objecting to executive orders, and repeals the 1973 War Powers Resolution.

We are making headway, but a steady monitoring of events and a continued willingness to accept our civic challenges are essential ingredients for achieving success. What we will receive in return for our efforts is peace of mind, knowing that we have preserved the fundamental components of a free system, and joy in recognizing that the considerable blessings of our nation have been rescued for our posterity.

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