[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 17]
[Senate]
[Page 25066]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                 COMPREHENSIVE NUCLEAR TEST-BAN TREATY

  Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, on one other matter, although I told the 
Senator from Mississippi I would not address this subject, I am going 
to do so very briefly. That is the other matter before the Senate 
today, the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty.
  This is a no-brainer. It is an absolute no-brainer. It makes no 
sense, no sense whatsoever, for the Senate to disregard the views of 
the President of the United States to bring up the Comprehensive Test 
Ban Treaty knowing it is going to fail. It makes no sense. It is 
irresponsible. It is tragic. I cannot believe the Senate will let that 
happen. I cannot believe it because of the obvious signal it is going 
to send around the world.
  What is that signal? The signal is: The United States is abrogating 
its leadership. The United States is sticking its tail between its legs 
and running away. It is leaving the scene. It is not being a leader. I 
cannot believe the Senate will allow that treaty to come up knowing it 
is going to be a negative vote.
  I do not know what planet I am on--Mars, Pluto, Jupiter--to think of 
what the Senate could possibly do today. It is outrageous.
  While I am on that point, let me speak toward bipartisanship just 
briefly. It used to be when the President of the United States had a 
major foreign policy request of the Congress, politics would stop at 
the water's edge. Politics would stop because it would be such an 
important national issue, and the Congress--Republicans and Democrats--
would work together on major foreign policy issues.
  There is plenty of opportunity for politics in the United States. 
There is plenty of opportunity--too much. It is highly irresponsible 
for the Senate to stick its thumb in the eye of the President of the 
United States when the President of the United States requests that 
there not be a vote on the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, whatever his 
reasons might be, and say: We don't care what you think, Mr. President; 
we're going to vote anyway because we want to knock this thing down.
  I just cannot believe it. It is just beyond belief.
  I very much hope that later on today and in future days, Senators 
will think more calmly about this, exercise a little prudence, and do 
what Senators are elected to do; that is, be responsible and do what is 
right, not what is political.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.

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