Thomas Daschle: “let me just respond quickly. I acknowledge that. But I believe there is a huge difference between looking at the issue…”

“let me just respond quickly. I acknowledge that. But I believe there is a huge difference between looking at the issue of stockpile and looking at the importance of the treaty per se, at the language of the treaty, and whether or not we ought to ratify a treaty, whether or not we ought to send the message to the rest of the world that we want them to ratify the treaty, whether the treaty is in our long-term interests, and what the ramifications of the treaty are. That is what I am suggesting ought to be the subject of these hearings. We ought to be looking at stockpiles, and we ought to be looking at the ramifications of our current nuclear weaponry. And certainly the chairman has done an admirable job of that, as has the committee as a whole, but we have not held hearings until now. I think they are long overdue. I think we as a Senate have made a very big mistake in calling this treaty to the floor prior to the time we have had that kind of consideration in the Foreign Relations Committee or, for that matter, in the Armed Services Committee.”