DATE=10/8/1999
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=TEST BAN DEBATE (L)
NUMBER=2-254817
BYLINE=DAVID SWAN
DATELINE=CAPITOL HILL
CONTENT=

VOICED AT: 


INTRO: Debate on the nuclear test ban treaty is 
underway in the U-S Senate, but the arguing may not 
end in a ratification vote as planned.  President 
Clinton's Democratic Party colleagues hope to shelve 
the accord rather than see it defeated on the floor of 
the Republican Party-controlled Senate.  V-O-A's David 
Swan has details.

TEXT: Democrats concede they have little, if any, 
chance of building the bipartisan two-thirds majority 
needed for ratification in the Senate.  Nearly all 
Republicans oppose the treaty, which they say will not 
stop the nuclear arms race but put U-S security at 
risk.  Republican Senator John Kyl sums up the case 
against the test ban.

            // Kyl act //

      It will jeopardize rather than enhance our 
      national security.  It will undermine our vital 
      nuclear deterrent by jeopardizing the 
      reliability of our nuclear stockpile.  It will 
      prevent us from making our weapons as safe as 
      they can be and it will not stop nuclear 
      proliferation and is not verifiable.


            // end act //

Faced with defeat, Democrats will try to call off next 
Tuesday's planned vote.  The lawmakers say they will 
use a parliamentary tactic that, if successful, would 
set the treaty aside.

The White House had previously hoped for an outright 
victory on ratification.  Administration officials say 
U-S approval would spur other countries to follow 
suit, which would hopefully slow the spread of nuclear 
weapons.  Senate Minority (Democratic) Leader Tom 
Daschle points to an appeal issued by Britain, Germany 
and France in support of the treaty.

            // Daschle act //

      But they are lobbying today, saying what the 
      Senate is doing is nuts, is wrong. It is 
      pigheaded for us to be taking an action like 
      this with so little deliberation, with so little 
      concern for the ramifications worldwide.  I 
      think it's nuts.


            // End act //

A similar call for ratification came from Vienna, the 
scene of an international conference on the test ban.  
But in Washington, both political parties say the 
treaty has nowhere near enough backing to pass.  It is 
not yet clear if the Senate will agree to put off the 
vote. (Signed)

Neb/ds/rrm




08-Oct-1999 13:25 PM EDT (08-Oct-1999 1725 UTC)
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Source: Voice of America
.