US Congress is currently pushing the government via a resolution recently introduced to them to ban the export of environmentally damaging electronic waste to developing countries.
Commonly referred to as House Resolution 1395, if successful, this would place the US alongside the countries that ratified the Basel Convention. The Basel Convention is an agreement between 170 countries seeking to regulate the international shipment of toxic waste.
The US, although part of the member countries who took part in signing the Convention, failed to ratify it and still has many agreements with countries that receive its electrical waste.
This Resolution is symbolic. However, unlike concurrent or joint congressional resolutions which are advanced by both houses, single hose resolutions are not signed by the president and does not become law. They are more often used to express the general opinion of a house on a matter.
The ratification of the Bassel Convention by the US is viewed by many as a huge step in lessening the harmful effects brought about by these electronic wastes.
