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DATE=10/12/1999 TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT TITLE=SENATE-TEST BAN TREATY (S & L ONITER) NUMBER=2-254946 BYLINE=DAVID SWAN DATELINE=CAPITOL HILL CONTENT= VOICED AT: INTRO: The U-S Senate is still wrestling with the fate of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, which would outlaw all nuclear weapons tests. Lawmakers could vote tomorrow (Wednesday) to kill the accord or simply decide not to vote. V-O-A's David Swan reports. TEXT: Party leaders are negotiating a delay in the ratification vote, which the White House requested in the face of all but certain defeat. But majority Republicans want ironclad guarantees the test ban will not surface again in President Clinton's term, even in some unforseen world crisis. Republican Leader Trent Lott says if there is no such pledge, the test ban will be rejected. // Lott act // I'm perfectly comfortable having this vote. I think this treaty is fatally flawed, I think its dangerous for the future of our country. I do think its tantamount to unilateral disarmament. // end act // The treaty's supporters say its defeat would be a devastating setback for the cause of international arms control. // Rest optional for long // Democratic Senator Daniel Moynihan says the military coup in Pakistan shows the need to ease nuclear tensions. // Moynihan act // It just suggests how unstable that world is, how close we are to a nuclear weapon in the Near East and how important it is to have this treaty as a possible means of controlling it. // end act // Though signed by more than 150 nations, the prohibition on nuclear tests can not take effect until ratified by 44 nuclear-capable countries. The holdouts include the United States, India, Pakistan, Russia and China. President Clinton was the first leader to sign it and hoped to make ratification part of his legacy. Now, it appears his only hope is that the Senate will take no final action at all.(Signed) NEB/DS/PT 12-Oct-1999 19:10 PM EDT (12-Oct-1999 2310 UTC) NNNN Source: Voice of America .