[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 134 (Wednesday, September 25, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11277-S11278]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   WORLD LEADERS SIGN TEST BAN TREATY

  Mr. PELL. Mr. President, I was fortunate to be in New York at the 
United Nations yesterday with President Clinton for the signing of the 
Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.
  I can report to you that there is a tremendous sense of gratification 
of achievement in the United Nations with regard to this treaty. It was 
finally approved last week by an overwhelming majority of the Members 
in a 158-to-3 vote.
  I will be serving this fall at the United Nations as a Member of the 
United States delegation. Fifty-one years ago, I had the honor of 
serving on the International Secretariat of the San Francisco 
Conference that drew up the United Nations' Charter. I was one of those 
flushed with youthful enthusiasm with regard to the potential future of 
the United Nations. In the years since, there have been excellent 
achievements and some disappointments. I must say that I rank the 
united effort that led to the comprehensive test ban as one of the 
paramount successes.
  President Clinton has been able to bring to fruition an effort begun 
more than three decades ago by Presidents Eisenhower and Kennedy. The 
first test ban was negotiated under the direct and forceful leadership 
of President Kennedy, who drew upon the workable aspects of the Russian 
position in order to help bring about the Limited Test Ban Treaty of 
1963, which restricted nuclear testing to underground environs.
  The next test ban treaty came in 1974 under President Nixon's 
leadership, when the Threshold Test Ban Treaty was negotiated. The 
companion Peaceful Nuclear Explosions Treaty was signed in 1976 in the 
Ford administration.
  President Carter attempted to achieve agreement on a comprehensive 
test ban, but lacked sufficient time to do so. President Clinton played 
a leading role in bringing the comprehensive test ban, which represents 
the culmination of those earlier efforts, to conclusion this summer.
  Under this treaty, the parties will be obligated not to conduct any 
nuclear weapon test explosion or any other nuclear explosion. This very 
strong prohibition is a direct result of President Clinton's forward-
thinking decision on August 11, 1995, not to agree to any exceptions to 
this ban, but instead to negotiate a true zero yield comprehensive test 
ban treaty.
  Bringing this to fruition was a very high priority of Secretary of 
State Warren Christopher and ACDA Director John Holum. It involved 
years of painstaking work at the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva by 
Ambassador Stephen Ledogar and his delegation and in Washington by the 
backstopping team led by Dr. Pierce Corden of the Arm Control and 
Disarmament Agency.
  There is no question in my mind that this treaty from this date 
forward will constrain the qualitative development of nuclear weapons. 
International controls and the inspection regime will become active 
upon entry into force. It will serve to ban the development of advanced 
new types of nuclear weapons and it will serve to demonstrate to the 
world that the declared nuclear powers--United States, Great Britain, 
France, Russia, and China--are truly committed to control their nuclear 
arsenals and genuinely desire to contribute to the prevention of 
nuclear proliferation.
  This treaty truly represents a significant step toward nuclear 
disarmament.
  Mr. President, we would be deluding ourselves if we thought that 
gaining Senate advice and consent to a comprehensive test ban treaty is 
going to be easy. It will not be. Once the treaty is submitted by the 
President, the Committee on Foreign Relations, of which I have been 
chairman or ranking member since 1981, will hold thorough and wide-
ranging hearings. It is a process that I would enjoy very much, but 
will instead be viewing from a distance as a retired Senator.
  The degree of contentiousness that is possible can be seen in the 
simple fact that the treaty was achieved by a Democratic President with 
the support of his party and is rejected in the Republican Party 
platform adopted this summer.
  I hope that the hearings to be held by the Committee on Foreign 
Relations will serve to bring the sides together and will serve to 
assuage the fears and concerns of those who fear the possible 
consequences to our national security of a comprehensive ban on nuclear 
testing.
  I believe that, since nuclear weapons design clearly is a mature 
science, we do not need further testing to assure that our scientists 
have done their work well and that we can move into a future without 
nuclear testing secure in the knowledge that we have a fine and 
reliable nuclear arsenal deterrent that will serve us well so long as 
we rely upon nuclear weapons to protect us.
  Experts will testify that there are no safety and reliability issues 
that would necessitate further testing. Experts will also assure us 
that the restraints that this treaty will place on other nations are 
very much in our national security interests. Moreover, I would expect 
there will be expert testimony from the intelligence community that 
will provide the necessary reassurance to the Senate.

[[Page S11278]]

  When all of that happens, I would expect that the Senate will, 
indeed, determine that it can proceed ahead with the comprehensive test 
ban without any jeopardy to our national security. That step forward 
will bring us well- deserved commendation from other nations and it 
will be a gift beyond value to the generations that will succeed us.
  Mr. INHOFE addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oklahoma.

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