[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 97 (Monday, July 12, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8206-S8207]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     COMPREHENSIVE TEST BAN TREATY

  Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, we are now turning to a 4-week period here 
in the Senate in which we will work, prior to the August recess, on a 
range of issues--today beginning with the Patients' Bill of Rights, and 
then turning to appropriations bills and other matters.

[[Page S8207]]

  I want to call to everyone's attention two issues that are of vital 
concern that I think ought to be and must be part of the Senate agenda. 
The first is an issue dealing with the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.
  The Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty is something that has been before 
the Senate now for some long while. Efforts to achieve a nuclear test 
ban treaty originated with President Eisenhower. It has been around a 
long time. This President, after long negotiations through many 
administrations, finally signed the treaty. It has now been sent to the 
Senate for ratification. But it has languished in the Senate for 658 
days, during which time there has not been even a hearing on the 
Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.
  I will put up a couple of charts to describe the circumstances with 
this treaty.
  The rule in the Senate requires that the Senate should consider 
treaties as soon as possible after their submission.
  In fact, the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty in 1963 was considered 
by the Senate in 3 weeks; SALT I, 3 months; the ABM Treaty, 10 weeks; 
ABM Treaty Protocols, 14 months; START I, 11 months.
  We have had the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty before the Senate for 
658 days with not even a hearing. I think that is a shame. This treaty 
ought to be part of this Senate's agenda. If we do not have a hearing 
and do not ratify this treaty by the end of September, we will have 
only a limited role when a conference is formed in October of the 
countries that have ratified this treaty to discuss its entry into 
force. It does not make any sense to me.
  This country ought to lead on issues concerning the nonproliferation 
of nuclear weapons. One way to lead on those issues is to ratify the 
Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. It does not make any sense for the 
treaty to have been signed, negotiated and sent to this Senate, and 
then to have it languish for all of these days.
  I would like to put up a chart which shows a concern that some of the 
critics have. They say: Well, gosh, with all this Chinese espionage, 
the last thing we want, is to do something with respect to a treaty on 
banning nuclear tests.
  The Cox report on the Chinese espionage makes references to the CTBT. 
The report says it will be more difficult for the Chinese to develop 
advanced nuclear weapons if we have this treaty in place. If the 
People's Republic of China violated the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty 
by testing surreptitiously to further accelerate its nuclear 
development, we could detect it given the monitoring system imposed by 
the treaty. If the Chinese are signatories to the treaty and the 
Russians are signatories to the treaty--and they are waiting for us--
and we can stop testing, the only conceivable way they could validate 
any kind of nuclear stockpile is through the use of advanced computers. 
The restrictions imposed by the CTBT make it extremely difficult or 
impossible to improve nuclear weapons designs except by high 
performance computers.
  The Cox report appears to make the point that it is more important 
for us to restrict the shipment of advanced computers to the 
Chinese. The point is this--we deserve an opportunity to debate the 
Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. We should have done so long ago. 
I don't mean to argue the merits of it on the floor today.

  My hope is, we will not go through July as if this treaty doesn't 
exist. It was negotiated, signed, and has been before the Senate over 
600 days. There hasn't been one hearing. There ought to be a hearing. 
It ought to be brought to the floor so the American people can, through 
this Senate, debate that treaty.
  Finally, support for the nuclear test ban: 75 percent, 74 percent, 85 
percent, 80 percent, these are national polls over time, always 
consistently high support for this kind of a treaty. This Congress has 
a responsibility. I say to my colleagues who really don't want to do 
this: You have a responsibility to the country to do this. I hope that 
in the month of July we can make progress in passing this Comprehensive 
Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to send a resolution 
to the desk.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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