Rep. Hyde Plans Hearing on U.N.'s Controversial Sea Treaty

Rep. Hyde Plans Hearing on U.N.'s Controversial Sea Treaty

Wes Vernon, NewsMax.com
Thursday, April 22, 2004

WASHINGTON – Chairman Henry Hyde, R-Ill., has ordered his staff to prepare for hearings by his House International Relations Committee on the controversial Law of the Sea Treaty.

Committee spokesman Sam Strapman confirmed information NewsMax.com had heard from a House leadership source that the hearing would likely be held May 12.

Strapman said Chairman Hyde had not made up his mind on the pros and cons of the treaty, which is aptly known as LOST. “That’s the purpose of the hearing,” his spokesman said.

No one is taking the conservative Hyde’s view for granted. More than one colleague has observed, “Sometimes, Henry can surprise you.”

There is reason to believe, however, that the lawmaker intends to put the proponents in the position of proving that the treaty is not a mischievous “entangling alliance” that is harmful to America.

A veteran of nearly 30 years in the House, Hyde has demonstrated a knack for piercing the intellectual pretensions of those who come before congressional committees with specious arguments. Best known for chairing the Judiciary Committee’s impeachment hearings on Bill Clinton, he is also remembered for his participation in the Iran-Contra hearings in the late 1980s, where his questioning reduced to irrelevance the arguments of liberal colleagues who tried to use that witch hunt to bring down President Ronald Reagan.

The Law of the Sea Treaty was rejected by the Reagan administration over 20 years ago and was blocked for years by former Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jesse Helms, R-N.C. Given that background, one can expect Chairman Hyde to demand a lot of explaining.

But he will not be alone. The 49-member panel includes such skeptics as Dan Burton, R-Ind.; Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif.; Ed Royce, R-Calif.; House Majority Whip Roy Blunt, R-Mo.; Tom Tancredo, R-Colo.; and the ultimate skeptic of treaties, Ron Paul, R-Texas.

NewsMax was in the forefront of those who have blown the whistle on the effort of the current chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Richard Lugar, R-Ind., to slip the treaty through in the dead of night before opponents could notice what’s going on. Since then, two other Senate committees have held hearings, which we covered, just as we will be there for Hyde's hearing.

Midlevel officials of the Bush administration have argued at the hearings that LOST provides rules for settling international disputes and that we “need to be at the table” when such decisions are made.

Opponents, on the other hand, have noted that by signing on to the treaty, the U.S. would be agreeing to a structure that, to name just a few of its problems:

Would unwisely further empower the United Nations, including a taxing authority - long the dream of one-worlders.

Could override U.S. environmental concerns and practices.

Is an invitation to world-class graft.

Would erode America’s rule of law.

William J. Middendorf, whose background includes a long list of services to several administrations, one of which was a stint as Ambassador to the Organization of American States, told a Senate hearing two weeks ago that “even the proponents of the treaty, both inside the administration and outside it, have publicly acknowledged a number of dangers” in it. Before any Senate vote, Middendorf warned, “all senators should fully understand the dangers posed by these provisions.”

Meanwhile, there are other developments on the seemingly relentless threats to America’s sovereignty:

A House resolution backed by 60 lawmakers attempts to halt the efforts of six U.S. Supreme Court justices, a comfortable majority, who have said they are prepared “to scrap the U.S. Constitution and let foreigners tell us how to run our country,” to quote the American Conservative Union.

Justice Sandra Day O’Connor has said she expects that over time, the high court will rely increasingly “on international and foreign courts in examining domestic issues.”

The House Reaffirmation Resolution, written by Reps. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., and Tom Feeney, R-Fla., aims to reverse that trend. But it has been stalled on Capitol Hill. Conservative groups are urging their members to convey their concerns to all members of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees.

The New York Times on April 18 front-paged a spotlight on hitherto obscure international tribunals created by the North American Free Trade Agreement, the so-called “NAFTA courts.”

Already, one of these new tribunals has declared a Mississippi court’s judgment contrary to “international law,” leaving the U.S. government (i.e., American taxpayers) potentially liable for hundreds of millions of dollars.

One Massachusetts judge was shocked to learn at a dinner party that her ruling against a Canadian real estate firm, a judgment not overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court, was under review by one of the NAFTA courts.

Editor's note:

The UN`s Dangerous Agenda – read NewsMax`s special report – Click Here

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