Law of the Sea Treaty deep sixed for now; Center’s Gaffney, others credited

The Washington Post reported on Sunday that Senate Majority leader Bill Frist (R-TN) is not likely to schedule a vote this year on the ratification of the Law of the Sea Convention, better known as the Law of the Sea Treaty (LOST).

As reported by the Post, Center President Frank Gaffney has warned that adherence to this U.N. treaty "would entail history’s biggest and most unwarranted voluntary transfer of wealth and surrender of sovereignty." In particular, the Center for Security Policy has argued that U.S. endorsement of the International Seabed Authority (I.S.A.) – a supranational organization with unprecedented powers to regulate seven-tenths of the earth’s surface, levy taxes, govern ocean research and exploration, and create a multinational court to render and enforce its judgments – would significantly erode U.S. sovereignty.

In March 2004, Mr. Gaffney appeared before the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works to voice opposition to U.S. accession to LOST. He testified that the treaty is "incompatible with U.S. national interests" and he urged Senators "to reject this clearly defective treaty on national security, sovereignty and economic, as well as environmental, grounds."

Sunday’s Post credited the work of Eagle Forum’s Phyllis Schlafly, Free Congress Foundation’s Paul Weyrich, and Center President Frank Gaffney for the ratification delay.