At least I got one of the two on our side....Reid is another story...........


Dear Ms. XXXXX:

Thank you for contacting me regarding the United Nation Convention on the Law of the Sea Treaty (LOST). I appreciate your taking the time to share your thoughts with me, and I value the opportunity to address them.

When LOST was opened for signature in the early 1980s, President Ronald Reagan declined to sign it on behalf of the United States due to serious flaws. President Clinton, however, claiming to have repaired those flaws, approved LOST for the United States and, on October 7, 1994, transmitted it to the Senate. No Senate consensus for action on the Convention, however, has formed during the last ten years.


LOST raises critical domestic and international issues, including but not limited to national security; United Nations direct taxation; United Nations jurisdiction over the United States, the high seas, and our Navy; Native American and other fisheries; and the Senate's constitutional treaty powers. President Reagan recognized, and it still holds true, that ratifying LOST would result in handing some our sovereignty over to the United Nations and the third world. I am concerned about the unusual manner in which the Convention is being rushed out of committee and prepared for the Senate floor. I am also concerned about the substance of the Convention itself and the lack of careful scrutiny which this vast and complex agreement has received in the Senate.


A fresh look at it should be a fundamental prerequisite to any Senate action. At a minimum, all Committees of jurisdiction, including the Armed Service Committee, must have an opportunity to conduct hearings and otherwise complete independent assessments of this unprecedented Convention's likely consequences for the United States. Given these concerns, Republican Leadership, of which I am a member, sent a letter to Democratic Leadership asking them to postpone a vote until more hearings could be held. Additionally, I signed a letter to President Bush asking that he withdraw his endorsement of the treaty until a further vetting occurs. Please rest assured that I will continue to oppose any effort to ratify this treaty.

Thank you again for sharing your thoughts with me. Please feel free to contact me in the future on matters of importance to you. Should you have any other questions or comments or would like to signup for my weekly newsletter, please do not hesitate to either write or e-mail me via my website at http://ensign.senate.gov.

Sincerely,

JOHN ENSIGN

United States Senator