House OKs Atom Test Moratorium : Action Called Repudiation of Reagan Arms Policy; Senate Likely to Reject It

Overcoming stiff Administration opposition, the Democratic-controlled House on Friday voted for a one-year moratorium on nuclear testing, an action that was hailed by liberals as a repudiation of President Reagan’s arms control policy.

The ban on testing of nuclear weapons in excess of one kiloton, approved by a 234-155 vote, would take effect Jan. 1, but only if the Soviets agree to on-site verification of their existing, self-imposed ban.

However, both the GOP-controlled Senate and the President would also have to approve the measure, and neither is expected to.

It was the first time that a proposal for a binding nuclear test ban had been approved by either chamber of Congress, and the action was taken a day after the Senate adopted a non-binding resolution calling for a test ban. Rep. Patricia Schroeder (D-Colo.) called the House vote “a fantastic, historic victory.”

‘Signal to Reagan’

Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), a co-sponsor, said the vote sent “a clear signal to Ronald Reagan that the end of the line has come for the nuclear arms buildup and it’s time he has to produce an arms control agreement in negotiations in Geneva.”

The vote reflected considerable congressional dissatisfaction with what many view as Reagan’s reluctance to negotiate an arms control agreement with the Soviet Union--even though the President and Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev have recently exchanged new proposals.

Speaking for the Administration, House Minority Leader Robert H. Michel (R-Ill.) condemned the proposed moratorium as “the first part of a strategy to cripple the President’s ability to conduct arms control and foreign policy as he sees it.”

Administration officials oppose the moratorium, in part because it would prohibit the testing of the X-ray lasers that are part of Reagan’s space-based missile defense plan, known as the Strategic Defense Initiative or “Star Wars.”

Meanwhile, the Senate defeated by a 61-33 vote a measure offered by Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) that would have prohibited the testing of the nuclear-powered X-ray laser as long as the Soviets continue to observe their test ban. Kerry said his proposal was designed to keep the Strategic Defense Initiative in compliance with Reagan’s pledge that the program would be non-nuclear.

The Senate defeated by a 55-43 vote another proposal by Kerry, which would have extended the current ban on testing of anti-satellite arms, known as ASAT weapons, which expires on Sept. 30. Nevertheless, Kerry portrayed the vote as a partial victory because the proposal received eight more affirmative votes than a similar amendment offered last year.

ASAT Ban Opposed in Senate

The Senate had consistently voted against an ASAT test ban until it was approved by a House-Senate conference committee last year.

The House, where the ASAT test ban originated, is expected to vote next week to renew it. In addition, the House is likely to complete its assault on Reagan’s arms policy by slashing “Star Wars” funding, voting to continue a moratorium on chemical weapons production and adopting a resolution requiring the President to continue to abide by the terms of the 1979 strategic arms limitation treaty, or SALT II.

Both the Senate and House are considering bills to fund the Pentagon during fiscal 1987, which begins Oct. 1, and the moratorium, laser and ASAT measures were offered as amendments to that legislation. Differences between the defense bills will be ironed out by a House-Senate conference committee.

Although Reagan asked for $320 billion in defense spending, the House bill cut it to $292 billion and the Senate measure would permit $295 billion.

The House-passed moratorium on nuclear testing would require the United States and the Soviet Union to install on-site monitoring equipment at nuclear test sites, and the President would be free to ignore the ban if he certifies to Congress that the Soviets had refused to agree to any provision of the measure.

The Soviet Union agreed earlier this year to allow three seismic monitors to be placed at one test site by the Natural Resources Defense Council in cooperation with the Soviet Academy of Sciences.

Rep. Les Aspin (D-Wis.) said the amendment would test the Soviets’ expressed desire to negotiate a nuclear test ban. “Let’s call the cards on them,” he said. “That would be a major breakthrough.”

Aspin argued that the ban would restrain the Soviet arms buildup in the event that Reagan follows through on his promise to abandon the arms limits imposed on the United States and the Soviet Union under the SALT II pact, which was never ratified.

Weapon Accuracy Cited

Rep. Richard A. Gephardt (D-Mo.) said that, because the United States already has developed more accurate weapons than the Soviets, the testing halt “would leave us in a more advantageous position.” He disputed the Administration’s contention that current verification methods are inadequate.

“The only way to stop the nuclear arms race is to stop the testing of nuclear arms,” House Majority Leader Jim Wright (D-Tex.) said. “It’s a modest step on the path to peace.”

The measure had the support of 200 Democrats--moderates as well as liberals. Only 31 Democrats voted against it. It was co-sponsored by Aspin, a moderate who is chairman of the Armed Services Committee, as well as several liberals.

Rep. Henry J. Hyde (R-Ill.) charged that Aspin had agreed to co-sponsor it to quell a long-brewing rebellion against him by liberal Democrats on the Armed Services Committee.

As Hyde put it: “This is the chairman’s effort to rehabilitate himself with the Sister Boom Boom wing of his party”--a reference to the San Francisco transvestite who drew national attention at the 1984 Democratic National Convention.

Not Getting the Message

In the Senate, Sen. Charles McC. Mathias (R-Md.) said the 64-35 vote Thursday night for a non-binding resolution calling for a nuclear test ban “sent a strong message to the White House” that there is strong support in the Congress. “Unfortunately,” he added, “the Administration doesn’t seem to have gotten the message.”

“The Soviets have made repeated offers to resume negotiations to end nuclear testing, but the Administration has rejected them,” he said. “The Soviets have observed a self-imposed moratorium on nuclear testing, but we have responded with continued tests.”