What process did the Senate Foreign Relations Committee follow in considering the Convention?
A. The SFRC took up the Convention in 2003 in response to the Bush Administration’s placement of Law of the Sea in the uppermost “urgent” category on its most recent Treaty Priority List. The Committee held two public hearings on the Convention in October 2003, at which Administration and private witnesses testified. Between October and February, the SFRC held four briefings on Law of the Sea for Committee staff and the staff of all Committee members. Two of these briefings were headlined by an Administration interagency team. In February, the Committee met to vote on the Law of the Sea. The treaty was approved 19-0.
