This President has a regular penchant for expanding the size, scope, and cost of American government. New bureaucracies, regulations, and government initiatives have sprung up like weeds on his watch. But it appears that creating massive domestic bureaucracies simply wasn’t enough for Bush. The President has now decided to try his hand at subjecting Americans to the jurisdiction of a massive, international governmental body. 

Because the United Nations simply isn’t causing us enough trouble lately. 

The Bush Administration has renewed its request that the Senate ratify a treaty with a long and boring name: the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. The name may be tedious, but ratification of the Law of the Sea Treaty (aptly known as LOST) could have immense implications for Americans’ ability to govern themselves. 

LOST has been signed by more than 150 nations, but the United States has so far declined to follow suit. In the 1980s, Ronald Reagan did not support it, citing free market concerns. Amendments were made to the Treaty during Bill Clinton’s tenure, but the Senate still opted not to ratify. Most recently, Senators refused President Bush’s push for ratification in 2004. Unfortunately, Bush has decided to try again now that Democrats are in charge of the Senate. 

What a wonderful recommendation for the Treaty, by the way. Ted Kennedy supports it. Every American should get behind this effort without delay! 

Among other provisions, LOST creates the International Seabed Authority. Menacingly, this international body is known as “The Authority.” (Readers should hear Darth Vader’s Theme in the background whenever THE AUTHORITY is mentioned.) 

The alleged purpose of The Authority is to manage the ocean and its resources. A lofty enough goal, of course, but the actual impact of The Authority is far greater. The Authority’s existence undermines the sovereignty, national defense decisions, and economic interests of the nations under its jurisdiction. After all, it has jurisdiction over and the ability to regulate about 70 percent of the Earth’s surface. 

Consider just a handful of powers that would be given to The Authority if the Senate ratifies LOST: The Authority would have the power to require American companies to pay fees on certain commercial activities. These fees (which amount to a system of international taxation) could be levied with or without congressional approval. Moreover, the Authority would be able to restrict the free market by denying or regulating access to minerals. In 2004, former U.N. ambassador Jeane Kirkpatrick noted that The Authority could have a devastating impact on gas prices, as OPEC could proliferate under The Authority’s reign.

 But the Authority’s power over American interests would go far deeper. The Authority could claim authority over air and space travel (because planes and space shuttles fly over water), and it could claim authority over global warming initiatives (because land-based operations impact the climate in and around the oceans). The Authority could restrict American intelligence-gathering (because many of these operations require American troops to cross oceans), and it could hamper U.S. military and national defense efforts in many respects. Consider, for instance, provisions in LOST that would limit U.S. efforts to pursue terrorists or weapons of mass destruction in international waters.

But it gets worse. LOST also creates an international court, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. The Tribunal has jurisdiction over any matter included in LOST. No appeal from these decisions is possible. It is not hard to imagine a world in which this Tribunal would be composed largely or completely of judges with an anti-American bias. How would American interests fare in such a court system? Americans wary of subjecting the country to the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court should be just as worried about this Tribunal.

The Bush administration defends itself by touting the Navy’s support for the Treaty. The Navy wants LOST ratified because it codifies certain navigation rights for the U.S, a codification that would understandably make naval officers feel more comfortable. But this benefit is small compared to the many other bad aspects of LOST, and the trade-off is a bad one for Americans overall. Moreover, the United States already has (and often exercises) the navigation rights in question based on something called customary international law. If these rights were ever seriously threatened, one would think that the world’s most powerful Navy would be able to defend its prerogatives.

Next, the Bush administration argues that LOST would give private companies more legal protection over their deep-sea mining and oil production activities. The administration wrongly assumes that U.S. companies will be treated equitably under the Treaty. To the contrary, LOST shuns a capitalist, free market mentality, instead contemplating a socialist system in which wealth is transferred from prosperous countries (read: America) to other countries.  LOST describes ocean resources as the “common heritage of mankind,” and it encourages The Authority to make certain accommodations to developing states. Worse, LOST promotes the transfer of technology from advanced mining companies to their less advanced counterparts in other countries. What American company would choose to give away its hard-earned technological advances? No rational CEO will want to engage in mining operations under the oversight of The Authority—particularly when he sees the tax bill. 

Finally, the Bush administration seems to think that U.S. participation in LOST will give it a strong enough influence over The Authority to prevent decisions that are adverse to American military, intelligence, and economic interests. This proposition is so absurd as to be laughable. Yeah, right. Because this tactic has worked so well in other international bodies? Has the administration learned nothing from America’s long and frustrating experience with entities such as the U.N. Commission on Human Rights? 

The Bush administration has a long and ignoble history of giving away American rights, placing them, instead, in the hands of government bureaucrats. The votes of 34 Senators will be needed to squash this latest effort. Texans should encourage Senators Kay Bailey Hutchison and John Cornyn to be among the 34 that stand up for American freedom and sovereignty.

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