12 



beginning, it's really important to us that we act and make sure 

 that everybody else does as well. 



The Chairman. A number of the parties have overlapping claims 

 to portions of the Antarctic. Can you tell us how the Protocol ad- 

 dresses those overlapping jurisdictions? 



Ms. Claussen. I think the Protocol has a very clever way of sort 

 of side-stepping all of those issues and making sure that everything 

 is done on a cooperative basis. 



You know, of course, that we, ourselves, have not put forward a 

 claim, and the way that we have handled it is to make sure we still 

 have the ability to do that, should it become necessary. 



But what we really have here is a genuinely cooperative process 

 and the claims are sort of set aside and everyone is working to- 

 gether to do what really needs to be done here. It's a model. 



The Chairman. In your view, does U.S. prestige internationally 

 suffer if we go yet another year without implementing the provi- 

 sions? 



Ms. Claussen. Well, I am a strong believer in becoming a part 

 of things so that we can in fact lead and make sure that they are 

 sensible, so I believe if we don't move forward, we just move back 

 a little bit in our ability to really ensure that the right things take 

 place here. 



So from our point of view, please do it. 



The Chairman. Are there any changes in the bill that you think 

 need to be made at this point? 



Ms. Claussen. We are happy to accept the bill as it is. 



The Chairman. Okay, very good. We don't often get that, and 

 so 



[Laughter.] 



Ms. Claussen. I hardly ever say it either. 



[Laughter.] 



The Chairman. Well, there's been a lot of good work going on 

 amongst all the parties concerned to try to produce that kind of 

 bill, and we thank you for that. 



Dr. Lane, you mentioned this briefly in your remarks, but I won- 

 der if you would just reiterate what impact this particular legisla- 

 tion might have on U.S. research efforts in Antarctica? 



Dr. Lane. Chairman Walker, we believe this bill really does 

 strike the right balance. The science that goes on down there is 

 completely consistent with keeping the environment in a pristine 

 state. And so we already operate our program in such a way that, 

 as I indicated earlier, that we are consistent with the Protocol and 

 with NEPA as well. 



We're very anxious to have this legislation in place. We think 

 that the role that it provides the NSF is a good one, and the part- 

 nership that it establishes with other federal agencies will also en- 

 sure the best possible protection of the environment while carrying 

 out the important science. 



The Chairman. Let me throw you a softball. You won't get many 

 of those either, but the research down there is expensive. It's 

 logistically taxing to do work in Antarctica. 



Why is it important to continue to fund a significant U.S. pres- 

 ence in research in Antarctica? 



