Conservative Leader Warns of Lame-Duck Law of the Sea Treaty Action

The chairman of the caucus of House conservatives warned that Republicans need to be watching for the Law of the Sea Treaty to resurface.

The UN treaty, pushed hard by Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry (D-Mass.), failed to secure enough support for a ratification vote after Sens. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) and Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) indicated Monday that they’re “no” votes – pushing the number of committed Republicans high enough to block the treaty.

Republican Study Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) praised the latest rejection of the treaty.

“The United States has rejected this treaty for three decades. It is bad for our economy, erodes our national sovereignty, and would further drain our Treasury. My thanks go out to the members of the Republican Study Committee and the Senators who led the defense against this treaty,” he said.

“I urge my colleagues to keep their guard up, however,” Jordan added. “By his own admission, Senator John Kerry hopes to sneak this treaty through the Senate during a lame-duck session after the elections.”

Jordan advocated a “sunset law” that would place a time limit on treaty ratification.

“It is undemocratic that Americans can repeatedly reject a treaty, only to see it resurrected year after year,” he said.