63 
calf questioning the position the State Department would anticipate 
toward U.S. nationals who express an intention to exploit minerals 
from the deep seabed, Mr. John R. Stevenson, Legal Advisor, De- 
partment of State replied : 
The Department does not anticipate any efforts to discourage U.S. nationals 
from continuing with their current exploration plans. In the event that U.S. 
nationals should desire to engage in commercial exploitation prior to the es- 
tablishment of an internationally agreed regime, we would seek to assure 
that their activities are conducted in accordance with relevant principles of 
international law, including the freedom of the seas and that the integrity 
of their investment receives due ‘protection in any subsequent international 
agreement.” 
Two of the major tasks the report of the Subcommittee on Outer 
Continental Shelf outlined for further development in the 92nd 
Congress were: 
1. A continuing extensive review of the working paper intro- 
duced by the U.S. Delegation at the August 1970 session of the 
United Nations Seabed Committee with a view toward seeking 
modifications of it to conform to our interpretation of the Presi- 
dent’s intent and with our recommendations outlined above. 
2. An investigation of the special problem of an interim policy 
which would insure continued exploration and exploitation of the 
natural resources of our continental margin under present law; 
and would establish appropriate protection for investments re- 
lated to mineral recovery by U.S. nationals in areas of the deep 
seabed beyond the limits of exclusive national jurisdiction. 
LEGISLATIVE CONCERN IN THE 92D CONGRESS 
The Special Subcommittee on Outer Continental Shelf went out of 
existence at the end of the 91st Congress but its Members continued 
to be concerned with deep seabed mineral exploitation. Pursuing the 
tasks outlined in the Subcommittee report, Senator Lee Metcalf asked 
Senator Henry M. Jackson, Chairman of the full committee to direct 
staff members to attend the July-August 1971 sessions of the United 
Nations Seabed Committee and to report their analysis and findings. 
Their report, The Law of the Sea Crisis, noted with concern that 
most developing nations generally favored some form of international 
seabed development monopoly and generally opposed the idea of a 
system of licensing or concessions advanced by developed countries. 
The staff report also expressed the fear that the U.S. delegation was 
placing major emphasis on military objectives in negotiations, and 
sacrificing United States interests in seabed resources. The report 
stated : 
We recognize that the U.S. free transit proposal was admittedly designed by 
the Defense Department to enhance U.S. military security. We are also aware of 
the committee’s unfaltering support of the necessity of U.S. naval mobility. We. 
call this fact to the attention of the Committee because we believe that the U.S. 
free transit proposal may be unattainable and because we fear that the Defense 
Department might urge the administration to abandon its deep seabed mining 
12 Tbid., p. 28. 
18 Tbid., p. 33. 
14U.S. Congress. Senate. Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs. The law of the sea 
crisis. A staff report on the United Nations Seabed Committee, the outer continental shelf, 
and marine mineral development. 92d Cong., 1st sess., Committee print, December 1971, 
Washington, U.S. Govt. Print. Office, 1972, 328 p. 
