[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 113 (Tuesday, September 1, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9731-S9733]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      FOREIGN OPERATIONS, EXPORT FINANCING, AND RELATED AGENCIES 
                        APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 1999

  The Senate continued with the consideration of the bill.


                           Amendment No. 3506

  (Purpose: To provide funding for the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban 
                     Treaty Preparatory Commission)

  Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I send an amendment to the desk and ask 
for its immediate consideration.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. If there is no objection, the pending 
amendment is set aside. The clerk will report.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Pennsylvania [Mr. Specter], for himself 
     and Mr. Biden, proposes an amendment numbered 3506.
       At the appropriate place in the bill, insert the following:
       Sec.   . Of the funds appropriated by this Act, or prior 
     Acts making appropriations for foreign operations, export 
     financing, and related programs, not less than $28,900,000 
     shall be made available for expenses related to the 
     Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Preparatory Commission; 
     Provided, That such funds may be made available through the 
     regular notification procedures of the Committee on 
     Appropriations.

  Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, this funding is very important so that 
the processing of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty may go forward. 
This treaty is an important component of nuclear arms control and 
nonproliferation policy.
  On behalf of the United States, President Clinton signed the treaty 
on September 24, 1996, the day it was open for signature, and 
thereafter transmitted it to the Senate on September 22, 1997, for 
advice and consent or ratification.
  The treaty has been signed by 149 nations, ratified by 15. The treaty 
will enter into force after 44 states specified in the treaty have 
ratified it. The initial signatories to the Comprehensive Test Ban 
Treaty established a preparatory commission to carry out the necessary 
preparations for implementation of the treaty as its entry into force. 
The preparatory commission will ensure that a verification regime is 
established that can meet the treaty's requirements.
  The need for this treaty came into very, very sharp focus earlier 
this year when on May 12 of 1998 we had the detonation of nuclear 
devices--actually it was on May 11--by India and two more on May 13. 
Then Pakistan responded with five tests on May 28 and one on May 30. 
The issues posed by India and Pakistan engaging in nuclear tests is one 
of overwhelming importance to the feuding which has been going on 
between those two countries for years and the possibility of nuclear 
war being initiated as a result of those two nations now having 
publicly announced their nuclear powers, having tested nuclear devices.
  I saw firsthand the issues relating to these two countries when 
Senator Hank Brown and I visited both India and Pakistan back in August 
of 1995. On August 28, 1995, Senator Brown and I sent the following 
letter to President Clinton:

       Dear Mr. President: I think it important to call to your 
     personal attention the substance of meetings which Senator 
     Hank Brown and I have had in the last two days with Indian 
     Prime Minister Rao and Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir 
     Bhutto.
       Prime Minister Rao stated that he would be very interested 
     in negotiations which would lead to the elimination of any 
     nuclear weapons on his subcontinent within ten or fifteen 
     years including renouncing first use of such weapons. His 
     interest in such negotiations with Pakistan would cover 
     bilateral talks or a regional conference which would include 
     the United States, China and Russia in addition to India and 
     Pakistan.
       When we mentioned this conversation to Prime Minister 
     Bhutto this morning--

  That is on August 28--

     She expressed great interest in such negotiations. When we 
     told her of our conversation with Prime Minister Rao, she 
     asked if we could get him to put that in writing.
       When we asked Prime Minister Bhutto when she had last 
     talked to Prime Minister Rao, she said that she had no 
     conversations with him during her tenure as Prime Minister. 
     Prime Minister Bhutto did say that she had initiated a 
     contact through an intermediary but that was terminated when 
     a new controversy arose between Pakistan and India.
       From our conversations with Prime Minister Rao and Prime 
     Minister Bhutto, it is my sense that both would be very 
     receptive to discussions initiated and brokered by the United 
     States as to nuclear weapons and also delivery missile 
     systems.
       I am dictating this letter to you by telephone from 
     Damascus so that you will have it at the earliest moment. I 
     am also telefaxing a copy of this letter to Secretary of 
     State Warren Christopher.

  After sending that letter to President Clinton, I have had an 
opportunity to discuss the issue with President Clinton on a number of 
occasions, and the President has stated an interest in trying to work 
with both India and Pakistan. Of course, the President has communicated 
with both India and Pakistan, at least following their nuclear 
detonations. But that is a matter which I think might profitably 
involve substantial activity by the United States.
  But the succession of events have followed so that in May of this 
year, the time had arisen for India to make a public disclosure, a 
public test, and then it was followed immediately by Pakistan. It is a 
matter where those in India might well question the intensity of 
interest of the United States in the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty when 
the United States is not a party to the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that this letter of August 28, 
1995, be printed in the Record at the conclusion of my remarks.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  (See Exhibit 1.)
  Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I later wrote to the President on May 12 
of 1998 enclosing a copy of that letter of August 28, 1995, urging him 
to move on the matter. I ask unanimous consent that a copy of this 
letter of May 12, 1998, be printed in the Record at the conclusion of 
my remarks.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  (See Exhibit 2.)
  Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, on May 14, 1998, I wrote to Senator Helms 
as follows:

       I write to urge you to act as promptly as possible to 
     conduct a hearing or hearings and to bring the Comprehensive 
     Test Ban Treaty to the Senate floor for a ratification vote. 
     In my judgment, the events of the past several days make that 
     the Senate's number one priority.
       Following India's nuclear tests, Pakistan is now preparing 
     for similar tests. North Korea has stated its intention to 
     move forward to develop nuclear weapons and Iran and Iraq are 
     lurking in the background.
       At a hearing before the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee 
     yesterday, Secretary of Defense Cohen urged Senate 
     consideration and ratification of the treaty.
       As you know, the President submitted the treaty to the 
     Senate on September 22, 1997, and the only hearings which 
     have been held were conducted by the Governmental Affairs 
     Subcommittee on International Security, Proliferation and 
     Federal Services on October 27, 1997, and March 18, 1998, and 
     the Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water 
     Development on October 28, 1997.
       I noted the comment in your letter to the President on 
     January 21, 1998, that this treaty is very low on the 
     Committee's list of priorities, and I also heard your staffer 
     on National Public Radio this week state that the Foreign 
     Relations Committee did not intend to move ahead on the 
     treaty.
       I am concerned that inaction by the Senate may have led the 
     government of India to think that the United States is 
     indifferent to nuclear testing which, I believe, is 
     definitely not the case. The events of the past several days 
     threaten an international chain reaction on the proliferation 
     of nuclear weapons and an imminent threat to world peace.
       From comments on the Senate floor and in the cloakroom, I 
     know that many, if not most, of our colleagues share my 
     concern about action on the treaty.
       I realize that there is some opposition to the treaty; if 
     it is the will of the Senate not to ratify, so be it; but at 
     the very least, the matter should be submitted to the full 
     Senate.
           Sincerely,
                                                    Arlen Specter.

  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that a copy of that letter be 
printed in the Record at the conclusion of my remarks.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

[[Page S9732]]

  (See Exhibit 3.)
  Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, Senator Helms has not responded to that 
letter. I think it appropriate to note Senator Helms has been absent 
for some time because of important medical reasons--a knee replacement, 
I believe.
  On May 19, Senator Biden and I circulated a ``Dear Colleague'' letter 
requesting cosponsors for a resolution urging hearings before the 
Senate Foreign Relations Committee and debate on the Senate floor. 
There are at this moment 36 cosponsors.
  On July 21 of this year, I offered an amendment to the fiscal year 
foreign operations bill to remove the prohibition on funding for the 
Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Preparatory Commission. That amendment 
was accepted. Mr. President, I believe that the inclusion of these 
funds is very, very important so that the Preparatory Commission can 
move forward. But I believe that this amendment has further 
significance as a test vote, so to speak, as to the views of the Senate 
on the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.
  I have discussed with my distinguished colleague, Senator McConnell, 
the chairman of the subcommittee, my interest in having a vote on this 
matter. I do so not only to strengthen the position in conference--as a 
practical matter, if a matter is accepted on a voice vote, there is not 
quite the punch as if there is a very substantial vote in favor of the 
amendment. And I do recognize that calling for a vote on the 
amendment--that any vote on the Senate floor is risky business to an 
extent, but I believe that a vote will have significance beyond the 
specific dollars and cents which are involved here.
  It is my sense that arms control is a very, very important 
international issue at the present time, if not the most important 
issue. As we speak, President Clinton is meeting with Russian President 
Yeltsin in a very unstable situation in Russia. There are concerns as 
to what the future of the Government headed by President Yeltsin will 
be. There are concerns that the Communist Party may gain power in 
Russia. There are obvious concerns about what may happen to the Russian 
Government in the future and whether militaristic forces or reactionary 
forces might take control there, which could plunge the world into 
another arms race. So this issue with Russia is a very, very important 
one as we take a look at arms control.
  We have the issues with China, an emerging power, and the need to 
limit, to the extent we can, activity by China on nuclear testing. We 
have the situation in North Korea where the reports are that they are 
moving back for their nuclear weapons. We have Iran and Iraq, emerging 
powers, with nuclear weapons. We have missiles being sold to Pakistan. 
There is a very dangerous, very unsafe world out there, to put it 
mildly.
  I think it is an unfortunate situation that we have the Comprehensive 
Test Ban Treaty not moving forward in the Senate. Under the 
Constitution, Senate ratification is necessary if a treaty is to take 
effect. It would be my hope that the Foreign Relations Committee would 
hold hearings on the matter or make its own judgment, or bring the 
matter to the Senate floor, and let the full Senate work its will.
  In the absence of activity there, this amendment--to repeat--has the 
effect of being a test vote, so to speak, although you can support the 
Preparatory Commission without necessarily being for the treaty, 
because we have to take these steps in any event.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that Senator Biden be listed 
as my principal cosponsor on the pending amendment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

                               Exhibit 1

                                                      U.S. Senate,


                             Select Committee on Intelligence,

                                  Washington, DC, August 28, 1995.
     The President,
     The White House,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. President: I think it important to call to your 
     personal attention the substance of meetings which Senator 
     Hank Brown and I have had in the last two days with Indian 
     Prime Minister Rao and Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir 
     Bhutto.
       Prime Minister Rao stated that he would be very interested 
     in negotiations which would lead to the elimination of any 
     nuclear weapons on his subcontinent within ten or fifteen 
     years including renouncing first use of such weapons. His 
     interest in such negotiations with Pakistan would cover 
     bilateral talks or a regional conference which would include 
     the United States, China and Russia in addition to India and 
     Pakistan.
       When we mentioned this conversation to Prime Minister 
     Bhutto this morning, she expressed great interest in such 
     negotiations. When we told her of our conversation with Prime 
     Minister Rao, she asked if we could get him to put that in 
     writing.
       When we asked Prime Minister Bhutto when she had last 
     talked to Prime Minister Rao, she said that she had no 
     conversations with him during her tenure as Prime Minister. 
     Prime Minister Bhutto did say that she had initiated a 
     contact through an intermediary but that was terminated when 
     a new controversy arose between Pakistan and India.
       From our conversations with Prime Minister Rao and Prime 
     Minister Bhutto, it is my sense that both would be very 
     receptive to discussions initiated and brokered by the United 
     States as to nuclear weapons and also delivery missile 
     systems.
       I am dictating this letter to you by telephone from 
     Damascus so that you will have it at the earliest moment. I 
     am also telefaxing a copy of this letter to Secretary of 
     State Warren Christopher.
           Sincerely,
                                                    Arlen Specter.

                               Exhibit 2

                                                      U.S. Senate,


                               Committee on Veterans' Affairs,

                                     Washington, DC, May 12, 1998.
     The President,
     The White House,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. President: With this letter, I am enclosing a copy 
     of a letter which I sent to you dated August 28, 1995, 
     concerning the United States brokering arrangements between 
     India and Pakistan to make their subcontinent nuclear free.
       You may recall that I have discussed this issue with you on 
     several occasions after I sent you that letter.
       In light of the news reports today that India has set off 
     nuclear devices, I again urge you to act to try to head off 
     or otherwise deal with the India/Pakistan nuclear arms race.
       I continue to believe that an invitation from you to the 
     Prime Ministers of India and Pakistan to meet in the Oval 
     Office, after appropriate preparations, could ameliorate this 
     very serious problem.
       I am taking the liberty of sending a copy of this letter to 
     Secretary Albright.
           Sincerely,
                                                    Arlen Specter.

                               Exhibit 3

                                                      U.S. Senate,


                               Committee on Veterans' Affairs,

                                     Washington, DC, May 14, 1998.
     Hon. Jesse Helms,
     U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
       Dear Senator Helms: I write to urge you to act as promptly 
     as possible to conduct a hearing or hearings and to bring the 
     Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty to the Senate floor for a 
     ratification vote. In my judgment, the events of the past 
     several days make that the Senate's number one priority.
       Following India's nuclear tests, Pakistan is now preparing 
     for similar tests. North Korea has stated its intention to 
     move forward to develop nuclear weapons and Iran and Iraq are 
     lurking in the background.
       At a hearing before the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee 
     yesterday, Secretary of Defense Cohen urged Senate 
     consideration and ratification of the treaty.
       As you know, the President submitted the treaty to the 
     Senate on September 22, 1997, and the only hearings which 
     have been held were conducted by the Governmental Affairs 
     Subcommittee on International Security, Proliferation and 
     Federal Services on October 27, 1997, and March 18, 1998, and 
     the Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water 
     Development on October 28, 1997.
       I noted the comment in your letter to the President on 
     January 21, 1998, that this treaty is very low on the 
     Committee's list of priorities, and I also heard your staffer 
     on National Public Radio this week state that the Foreign 
     Relations Committee did not intend to move ahead on the 
     treaty.
       I am concerned that inaction by the Senate may have led the 
     government of India to think that the United States is 
     indifferent to nuclear testing which, I believe, is 
     definitely not the case. The events of the past several days 
     threaten an international chain reaction on the proliferation 
     of nuclear weapons and an imminent threat to world peace.
       From comments on the Senate floor and in the cloakroom, I 
     know that many, if not most, of our colleagues share my 
     concern about action on the treaty.
       I realize that there is some opposition to the treaty; if 
     it is the will of the Senate not to ratify, so be it; but at 
     the very least, the matter should be submitted to the full 
     Senate.
           Sincerely,
                                                    Arlen Specter.

  Mr. SPECTER. For the moment, I yield the floor.
  Mr. LEAHY addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Vermont.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I say, for those on this side of the aisle 
who may have amendments, it is a good time to

[[Page S9733]]

bring them forward. Again, I hope, along with the distinguished 
chairman of the subcommittee, that we might be able to wrap up 
relatively soon on this piece of legislation. I mention that, for those 
who are sitting around wondering if there is anything better to be 
doing, that now is a good time to do it. Many have called; few are 
accepted. Now is the time to do it.
  With that, Mr. President, and nobody else seeking recognition, I 
yield the floor.

                          ____________________