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Update on Law of the Sea Treaty in the Senate May 13, 2004 from The Liberty Committee
Since our last update, March 16, 2004, both the Senate Committee on Armed Services and the House Committee on International Relations have held hearings on LOST. Congressman Ron Paul and 13 of his House colleagues sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist pointing out threats to American sovereignty and national security problems contained in this "terribly flawed treaty." The Bookings Institution sponsored a briefing. The gloves are off! Pro-LOST forces are fighting back with display ads in Capitol Hill newspapers urging ratification of LOST. Pro-LOST lobbyists have picked up their pace in the halls of Congress. House members who favor LOST have circulated a letter urging quick ratification by the Senate, and the pro-U.N. Citizens for Global Solutions (formerly known as the World Federalist Society) is pushing hard for ratification. Hearing first hand what the pro-LOST forces said in their formal presentations, as well as overhearing some "off-the-record" comments, I can tell you that they are not happy. They expected the Senate to have quietly ratified LOST by now. They never expected Americans who live outside Washington's Beltway to know what was going on and get in their way. What you do matters! Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist has yet to schedule a vote on ratification of LOST, but "Frist spokeswoman Amy Call said the Senate leader might schedule a ratification vote if it could be handled 'quickly and easily.'" (The Washington Post, April 25, 2004) Our job, of course, is to make sure a ratification vote is neither quick nor easy -- and if held, fails. Our sources in the U.S. Senate are alert for a short-notice, midnight vote to try to slip LOST through the back door. We'll let you know as soon as we hear anything. In the meantime, don't let up on the pressure. Those same Senate sources have asked us to continue urging our U.S. senators to oppose ratification as a countermeasure to the pro-LOST campaign. Learn why, as Steve Forbes recently wrote, "Sensible senators should strangle this resurrected beast." Then, take action to counter the pro-LOST propaganda. Go to http://www.thelibertycommittee.org/lost.htm Keep up the pressure! Kent Snyder
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