CQ TODAY ONLINE NEWS
May 22, 2012 – 11:16 p.m.
Despite Push, Sea Treaty Likely for Lame Duck
By Emily Cadei, CQ Staff
In a potential replay of the contentious 2010 New START agreement ratification process, Senate approval of a multilateral treaty governing nations’ use of the oceans is likely to come down to a lame-duck battle for votes — and floor time.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will begin consideration of the treaty, known formally as the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (
The treaty is also supported by an unusually broad coalition of interests, from environmental groups to the oil industry and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Advocates have expressed hope in recent weeks that the long-stalled treaty can win the support of two-thirds of the current Senate, but many Senate Republicans have signaled they do not want to deal with the matter until after the November election. That would delay it until a post-election session already shaping up as packed with votes on extending tax cuts and fending off budget cuts mandated by last year’s debt ceiling deal (PL 112-25).
“To be candid, I think we have a lot of other issues that we ought to be addressing,” Foreign Relations member
Corker indicated he has yet to make a firm decision on the treaty itself. “I have a lot of questions,” he said. “I am no place on Law of the Sea.”
The treaty, written in the 1980s, came into force in 1994. It provides a framework for commercial and military use of the open seas and establishes environmental responsibilities nations must adhere to when operating in the world’s oceans. To date, 161 countries and the European Union have ratified it.
GOP Opposition
Despite the international support, many Republicans in the Senate do not share McCain’s openness to it.
Sen.
It takes a two-thirds majority of the Senate to ratify a treaty. Most Senate Democrats are expected to vote in favor of ratification, although it’s not guaranteed that all 53 members of the Democratic caucus will do so.
Despite Push, Sea Treaty Likely for Lame Duck
Advocates of the treaty say they may lose a few Democrats, and then would need about 16 Republican votes.
The ace in the hole for treaty backers in the Senate, however, may be the powerful business interests lobbying in its favor. Groups such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and American Petroleum Institute were not engaged on New START, but their efforts on behalf of Law of the Sea could have an important influence on Senate Republicans this time around. Last week, Lockheed Martin CEO Robert J. Stevens sent a letter to Kerry throwing his company’s considerable clout behind the treaty as well.
“Ratification is now critical to the important U.S. economic and national security interests advanced by access to the vast mineral and rare earth metals resources on the ocean floor,” Stevens wrote, adding that the United States cannot sponsor claims to the right to exploit these minerals — or to shape the international rules governing use of the deep seabed — unless it ratifies the treaty.
Upcoming Hearings
Kerry plans to tap those supporters as he lays out the argument for treaty ratification in the Senate.
Kerry, who successfully shepherded New START through the chamber two years ago, plans a similarly intensive series of hearings on the Law of the Sea treaty over a couple of months.
“Next month, we’re going to have 24 stars of military people testifying,” Kerry said Tuesday, referring to the number of three- and four-star rankings of the generals scheduled to attend the hearing. In addition to major military figures, the committee also plans to invite representatives from many major companies to testify about the treaty’s importance. “The Chamber of Commerce will talk about why this in our economic interest,” Kerry said.
The goal, he said, is to dispel the “mythology surrounding this treaty.
“The most important thing is to get engaged in the issue, for people to have the chance to really hear the facts,” Kerry said.
As for those claiming that process should be delayed due to other items on the Senate agenda, Kerry replied: “The Senate isn’t exactly working at a barn-burning speed. I think we can handle the schedule.”