GOP Seeks to Vote on Test Ban Treaty

Senate Republican leaders abruptly reversed course and proposed votes next week on a treaty to ban all nuclear testing, abandoning their delaying tactics in favor of a showdown they believe will result in defeat for the treaty. After weeks of pushing for an early vote, administration officials and Senate Democrats were hard-pressed to reject the offer, even though they conceded they do not have anywhere near the two-thirds majority needed to ratify the pact, the 1966 Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. The administration and many Democrats argue that the pact would preserve U.S. nuclear superiority.