; Whereas the President and the Chief Executive Officer of the United States Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Thomas J. Donahue, further stated, “the benefits of joining cut across many important industries including telecommunications, mining, shipping, and oil and natural gas”, and, “joining the Convention will provide the U.S. a critical voice on maritime issues—from mineral claims in the Arctic to how International Seabed Authority (ISA) funds are distributed”, on June 28, 2012, before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations; Whereas the past Commander of United States Pacific Command, Admiral Samuel J. Locklear, stated that UNCLOS is “widely accepted after a lot of years of deliberation by many, many countries, most countries in my Area of Responsibility (AOR)”, and, “when we're not a signatory, it reduces our overall credibility when we bring it up as a choice of how you might solve a dispute of any kind”, on April 16, 2015, before the Senate Armed Services Committee; Whereas the Commandant of the United States Coast Guard, Admiral Paul Zukunft, stated on February 12, 2016, state that “With the receding of the icepack, the Arctic Ocean has become the focus of international interest”, and “All Arctic states agree that the Law of the Sea Convention is the governing legal regime for the Arctic Ocean … yet, we remain the only Arctic nation that has not ratified the very instrument that provides this accepted legal framework governing the Arctic Ocean and its seabed”, and “Ratification of the Law of the Sea Convention supports our economic interests, environmental protection, and safety of life at sea, especially in the Arctic Ocean”