Joe Biden: “I am always reluctant to disagree publicly with my friend from North Carolina, the chairman of the full committee…”

“I am always reluctant to disagree publicly with my friend from North Carolina, the chairman of the full committee, because we get along so well. We have a fundamental disagreement on this issue. But I am unaware of any hearings we have had in the Foreign Relations Committee on this treaty. We have had hearings on the ABM Treaty. We have had hearings on the ABM Treaty. We have had hearings on the protocol to the ABM Treaty, and the demarcation issue. We have had hearings on the impact of theater missile defense. We have had those hearings. They all implicate the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. But we have had, to the best of my knowledge, no hearings on the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. I note for the Record one Senator's view. I think it is shared by many. This is the single most significant issue facing the entire question of proliferation of nuclear weapons, and it holds the key for good or bad, depending on your perspective, on every other aspect of our strategic defenses.”