February 19th, 2008 by Steve Farrell

This week, leaders of the United States Senate signaled that they are
intent on giving more power to the United Nations, including the power
to impose taxes, paving the way for ratification of the Law of the Sea
Treaty. Wednesday, February 13, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee
passed by voice vote the Global Poverty Act (S. 2433), sponsored by Senator Barack Obama (D-IL).

This feel good legislation commits the U.S. to spending 0.7
percent of gross national product on foreign aid, over and above what
we already spend. The bill references the UN’s Millennium
Declaration (from 2000) which calls for countries to dramatically
increase foreign aid and sign on to many dangerous treaties, including
the International Criminal Court, Kyoto Protocol, CEDAW, and the
Convention on the Rights of the Child.

The U.S. should have nothing to do with these awful treaties or the UN
Law of the Sea Treaty (LOST). One of the worst aspects of LOST is the
mechanism for imposing a global tax by requiring companies to pay a
portion of their profits to the International Seabed Authority.

If the Senate passes the Obama global tax bill, LOST can’t be
far behind. Since President Bush has made his support for LOST well
known, we imagine he would be willing to sign the global tax
legislation, hoping to speed up ratification of LOST.

In fact, in his 2009 budget request, President Bush included a
request for $5 million for LOST and the international tribunal
established by the treaty. Senator David Vitter (R-LA)
questioned Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice at Wednesday’s committee
hearing as to why taxpayer dollars should be going to “a new
bureaucratic international organization that has not been endorsed by
the U.S. Senate.” Secretary Rice reiterated the administration’s
commitment to ratification of LOST.

Take Action

The Obama global tax bill or the Law of the Sea Treaty could come up on the Senate floor anytime! Be sure to contact your Senators
today and tell them to oppose both pieces of legislation. Also,
Senators will be in their home offices the week of February 18. Please
stop by or schedule an appointment with them to let them know you are
watching their position on LOST!!

 Obama’s Global Tax Proposal Up for Senate Vote

Used with the permission of Eagle Forum

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