Arlen Specter: “I outlined the purpose of this amendment earlier today. What it does is provide for some $28.9 million of funding for…”

“I outlined the purpose of this amendment earlier today. What it does is provide for some $28.9 million of funding for the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Preparatory Commission. There is not a problem with the funding coming out of unobligated funds of prior years. The Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty is pending before the U.S. Senate. Senator Biden and I had submitted a resolution sponsored by some 36 Senators which called for hearings before the Foreign Relations Committee and a vote by the Senate on ratification of the constitutional procedure. The matter now pending is somewhat different, and that is to provide funding for the Preparatory Commission. The problem with testing, which is going on now, has become very acute during the course of the past several months--when India initiated nuclear testing, followed by Pakistan--those two countries with all of their controversy are on the verge of real problems. I said earlier this morning that when Senator Brown and I traveled to India back in August of 1995 and talked to Prime Minister Rao, he was interested in having the subcontinent nuclear-free. Shortly thereafter, we visited Pakistan and saw their political leader, Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, who had a similar view, but that situation has deteriorated materially.”