Letter to The Honorable Harry Reid, Majority Leader, Senate

Letter

Cornyn Joins Senate Republican Leaders in Urging Delay of Law of The Sea Treaty

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn joined the Senate Republican leadership team on Thursday in urging Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., not to bring the Law of the Sea Treaty (LOST) to the Senate floor until after a more thorough and rigorous examination. In a recent column, Sen. Cornyn expressed his opposition to the treaty, saying it would greatly undermine U.S. sovereignty. Sen. Cornyn also signed a letter along with several Senate colleagues urging President Bush to withdraw his support for the Law of the Sea Treaty until the agreement can be looked at further.

Below is the text of the letter:

Dear Senator Reid:

As you know, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC) has been considering the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Some press reports have suggested that you may bring the resolution of ratification for this treaty to the Senate for a vote within the next few weeks. We write to you, as the elected leadership of the Senate Republican Conference, to urge you not to bring this treaty forward until the Senate has conducted a more thorough and rigorous examination of the treaty.

The SFRC has held two hearings on UNCLOS with a total of ten listed witnesses. Eight of those witnesses were supporters of the treaty and only two were opposed. No other hearings in any other committee have been held in this session of Congress. With such a complex treaty and so many new members of the Senate who have not had the opportunity to study it, the Senate's advice and consent role would be greatly marginalized if this treaty were approved based solely on the present record.

The UNCLOS has many broad ranging provisions that span the jurisdiction of numerous committees in the Senate. In fact, there are few committees of the Senate whose jurisdiction is not implicated given the expansive scope of the UNCLOS. Before this treaty is brought to the Senate floor, we believe it is vital that other committees hold hearings to investigate matters within their purview.

The Republican leadership in the Senate respectfully requests that you carefully protect the prerogatives of the Senate. We stand ready to work with you and assist you in ensuring that the Senate fulfills its responsibility for treaty consideration under the Constitution.
The letter to Sen. Reid was also signed by U.S. Sens. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., Trent Lott, R-Miss., Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, John Ensign, R-Nev.