[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 176 (Wednesday, November 8, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Page S16831]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      CHEMICAL WEAPONS CONVENTION

 Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, a constituent of mine who 
teaches at Rutgers University in New Jersey, Adjunct Professor Leonard 
A. Cole, recently joined in organizing an appeal calling on the Senate 
to ratify the Chemical Weapons Convention. I believe the Senate should 
debate this convention without delay and ask that the text of a letter 
from Mr. Cole, along with a news article on the appeal he helped to 
organize be printed in the Congressional Record.
  The material follows:

                                               Rutgers University,


                              Department of Political Science,

                                                       Newark, NJ.
       Dear Senator: Having organized the effort to produce the 
     enclosed statement in The New York Times, I wanted to bring 
     the matter to your attention. The statement urges support for 
     the Chemical Weapons Convention, a treaty to ban chemical 
     weapons from the face of the earth. It was paid for and 
     signed by 64 leaders from every sector with a close interest 
     in chemical weapons issues--from the scientific, 
     intelligence, military, diplomatic, arms control, and 
     business communities. The list includes eight Nobel 
     laureates.
       The terms of the treaty were negotiated with scrupulous 
     care by nations around the world, and received input from 
     every affected U.S. interest group. It enjoys broad support. 
     Before the U.S. signed in 1993, 75 senators went on record in 
     favor of the treaty. Nevertheless, as you may know, the 
     chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, Jesse Helms, has 
     expressed reluctance to allow a vote on ratification.
       Current U.S. inaction on the treaty sends a very dangerous 
     message to the rest of the world. By our failing to ratify, 
     other countries can only believe the U.S. does not think 
     banning these weapons important. U.S. leadership is crucial 
     to maintaining a moral atmosphere that does not allow for 
     these weapons. Without the treaty, more and more countries 
     are likely to arm themselves with these low-cost, low-tech 
     weapons of terror and mass destruction.
       In the interest of this nation, indeed of all humanity, we 
     hope you will join in a vigorous effort to press for 
     ratification of the Chemical Weapons Convention. If you would 
     like to talk further about this, please do not hesitate to 
     contact me. Thank you.
           Sincerely,
                                                  Leonard A. Cole,
     Adjunct Professor.
                                                                    ____


           [From Chemical & Engineering News, Oct. 23, 1995]

     Scientists, Others Urge Senate To Ratify Chemical Arms Treaty

       Sixty-four prominent scientists, military and government 
     officials, academicians, and business figures have endorsed 
     an appeal in the form of an ad, for the U.S. Senate to ratify 
     the Chemical Weapons Convention. The treaty bans the 
     production, use, storage, and distribution of chemical 
     weapons. The U.S. is among 159 countries that have signed the 
     treaty. Forty nations--but not the U.S. or Russia--have 
     ratified it. ``Many countries are waiting for the U.S. to 
     act,'' says Leonard A. Cole; an adjunct professor at Rutgers 
     University. Cole and prominent Harvard University biochemist 
     Matthews S. Meselson, who are among those signing the appeal, 
     spearheaded the ad effort. The treaty has the support of the 
     Clinton Administration, the Pentagon, intelligence community 
     spokesmen such as former CIA Director William E. Colby, arms 
     control experts, and the Chemical Manufacturers Association 
     (CMA). It also has the bipartisan support of a large number 
     of senators. Among the ad's signers are Nobel Laureate 
     chemists David Baltimore, Ronald Hoffmann, and Glenn T. 
     Seaborg, Will D. Carpenter, who represented CMA during treaty 
     negotiations, has also signed the appeal, Sen. Jesse Helms 
     (R-N.C.), chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, is 
     holding the treaty hostage.

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