William Helms: “Mr. President, I yield myself such time as I may require. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee this past Thursday…”

“Mr. President, I yield myself such time as I may require. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee this past Thursday reported a treaty to amend the Conventional Armed Forces in Europe Treaty. The vote was unanimous. I have never hesitated to oppose, or seek to modify, treaties that ignore the best interests of the American people. As long as I am a Member of the U.S. Senate, I will be mindful of the advice and consent responsibilities conferred upon the Senate and the Senators by the U.S. Constitution. Therefore, I have never hesitated to oppose bad treaties and bad resolutions of ratification without hesitation. But when a treaty serves the Nation's interests, if it is verifiable, and if the resolution of ratification ensures the integrity of these two points for the life of the treaty, I unfailingly offer my support to it. That is why I support the treaty before us today. In that connection, let the record show that the pending treaty was signed on May 31, 1996, and was not submitted by the President to the Senate for our advice and consent April 7, 1997. With the bewildering delay in the delivery of this treaty, the administration demanded action by May 15, 1997, which is tomorrow. So, after wasting an entire year, the administration demanded that the Senate act on this treaty within 1 month's time.”