February 26, 2009

Mr. Grant Hunter

1508 N 1057 E

Terreton, Idaho 83450

Dear Grant:

Thank you for contacting me regarding the United Nations (UN) Convention on the
Law of the Sea. I appreciate hearing from you and welcome the opportunity to
respond.

As you may know, the Convention establishes a legal regime governing activities
on, over, and under the world's oceans. The Convention was signed by President
Clinton and presented to the Senate for consideration and ratification in 1994.

Although the Convention entered into force in July 1996, the U.S. has not ratified
the agreement. Unresolved questions regarding the administration of the
International Seabed Authority (ISA), the body created to interpret the
Convention, and other issues, have delayed ratification since 1994.

On May 15, 2007, the President urged the Senate to ratify the Law of the Sea
Convention. However, the United States and several other countries have expressed
reservations with some provisions relating to the ISA and minerals protection in
the Agreement. The Administration is currently in discussions with other nations
in mutually-agreeable ways to address these issues. The Senate Foreign Relations
Committee voted to ratify the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea on October 31,
2007. The Treaty has been sent to the Senate floor where it awaits full
consideration.

I oppose relinquishing our sovereignty to any foreign entity, whether it is

through a specific UN program or any other organization. For years, there has been
a debate about whether UN treaties are fundamentally at odds with our
Constitutional rights as American citizens. The UN Charter and many of its
conventions have been criticized for operating under the philosophy that rights
are conditional and bestowed upon the people by the government. Our Declaration of
Independence, however, states, "men.are endowed by their Creator with certain
unalienable rights."

Our Founding Fathers formulated our laws to make government the servant and not
the master of the people. While I am for cooperation and good relations between
nations, I oppose treaties and other arrangements that would bind America to
values that conflict with our own. As a member of the House of Representatives, I
supported several bills, including the United Nation's Withdrawal Act, which would
have removed the United States from the UN and the UN from New York.

I have long opposed U.S. subordination to the UN and continue to support

legislative efforts to assert U.S. sovereignty in international relations.
Although the U.S. can benefit from participating in certain international
organizations and activities, these must be consistent with our national security
interests and reflect the goals of the American people. Please rest assured that I
will continue to work with my colleagues in Congress to protect U.S. sovereignty
in our foreign policies.

Again, thank you for contacting me. Please feel free to contact me in the future
on this or other matters of interest to you. For more information about the issues
before the U.S. Senate as well as news releases, photos, and other items of
interest, please visit my Senate website, http://crapo.senate.gov.

Sincerely,

Mike Crapo

United States Senator

MDC:KC

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