Diplomatic Initiative for Regional East Caribbean Trade Act

[Q]

Diplomatic Initiative for Regional East Caribbean Trade Act (DIRECT Act)
Originally introduced by Ernest.
Reintroduced by MasterJedi.

§1. Findings
(a) The Organization of East Caribbean States (OECS), consisting of Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, the British Virgin Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, is a collection of nine small democratic island nations that have a common currency and judicial system.
(b) Because of their small size, it has been traditional for Atlasia to handle relations with these states by our Ambassador to Barbados, in part because of Barbados proximity to the OECS states, but also because Barbados was the seat of a number of bodies of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) of which the OECS states are all members.
(c) With the designation of Liliendaal, Guyana as the site of the Caricom headquarters and Port-of-Spain, Trindad and Tobago as the site of the Caribbean Court of Justice, the bureaucratic factors that favored dealing with the OECS states via Barbados no longer apply.

§2. OECS Embassy
(a) The Secretary of State is directed to acquire, using funds already appropriated to his department, a site suitable for an embassy in Castries, Saint Lucia where the secretariat of the OECS is located.
(b) The Secretary is further directed to construct on said site, using funds already appropriated to his department, an embassy suitable for handling the diplomatic and consular relations of Atlasia towards the OECS states, and with sufficient space to accomodate the transfer of consular activities for Saba, Sint-Eustatius, Sint-Martin/Saint-Martin, and/or Saint-Barthélemy to the embassy at Castries as may seem proper following potential political realignments among those Dutch and French overseas possessions.
(c) The Secretary is additionally directed to promptly separate the functions of the staff of our embassy in Bridgetown, Barbados relating to our relations with the OECS states from the other functions of that staff and operate them effectively as a separate embassy, either within our current embassy in Bridgetown or in temporary accomodations in either Bridgetown or Castries until a permanent embassy in Castries can be opened.

§3. Ambassador to Saint Lucia
(a) Until such time as either a temporary or permanent embassy shall have opened in Castries, Saint Lucia, the President shall not appoint an ambassador to Saint Lucia.
(b) Our ambassador to Barbados shall remain our accredited representative to Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines until an ambassador to Saint Lucia has been nominated and confirmed by the Senate.
(b) Upon the appointment and confirmation of an ambassador to Saint Lucia, said Ambassador shall also be the accredited representative of Atlasia to Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and shall oversee our consular activites for the British possessions of Anguilla, the British Virgin Islands, and Montserrat.

[Peter]

Could somebody tell me why this is a good idea.

[Bacon King]

Well, I don't necessarily see any reason why it's a bad idea.

[Bono]

Well, I don't necessarily see any reason why it's a bad idea.

Presumption of error, Bacon.

[Gabu]

Could somebody tell me why this is a good idea.

Could somebody tell me what this is even doing?

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

It is creating another ambassadorial post and a new embassy to go with it in the balmy Caribbean.  It's a piece of trivial legislation intended purely as an end of session time filler.

[Democratic Hawk]

I'd like to know the Secretary of State's opinion on this

'Hawk'

[The Dowager Mod]

Why should we take up slots trying to fix the deficit when something as important as this is around?

[MasterJedi]

I hereby open up the final vote on this bill. Please vote Aye, Nay or Abstain.

[MasterJedi]

Aye

[Bacon King]

Aye.

[WMS]

Abstain.

[The Dowager Mod]

Nay.

[Gabu]

Abstain, as I still have no real clue what the heck this would do.

[CheeseWhiz]

Abstain, as I still have no real clue what the heck this would do.

^^^^^

Abstain.

[MasterJedi]

Ernest already said what it would do so you should kinda know what it's about.

[CheeseWhiz]

Ernest already said what it would do so you should kinda know what it's about.

Yes, what it will do, but not what positive and negative effects it would have on what.

[Gabu]

Ernest already said what it would do so you should kinda know what it's about.

Ernest said what it would literally do, but he said nothing about why we would do it or what effect it would have on anything.

Plus, I still can't work out just from the text of the bill how it will do exactly what he said it would do.  Way too much legalese and stuff.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

It will strengthen our diplomatic ties to the OECS nations by treating them with a little more respect than we do now.  It's a minor bill; it was always a minor bill.

[Peter]

Given that some positive has been identified for the bill and because I do not anticipate any negative other than marginal spending at State, I am prepared to support the bill.

Aye

[MasterJedi]

Current Tally:

3 Aye (MasterJedi, Bacon King, Peter Bell)
1 Nay (Texasgurl)
3 Abstain (Gabu, CheeseWhiz, WMS)

[Democratic Hawk]

Abstain

'Hawk'

[MasterJedi]

*bump*

Come on people vote Aye and change your votes to Aye!

[The Dowager Mod]

Change mine to Aye.

[MasterJedi]

This bill has enough votes to pass. Senators now have 24 hours to change their votes.