House Moves to Force President to Abide by SALT II

The Democratic-controlled House, bolstering a similar stand that it took two weeks ago, moved Wednesday to force the Reagan Administration to abide by the 1979 strategic arms limitation treaty with the Soviet Union.

Voting 245 to 181, largely along partisan lines, the House added an amendment to the 1988 defense authorization bill that would require the Administration to get back under the limits placed on warhead launchers by the unratified treaty, known as SALT II.

A similar rider attached by the House to a supplemental appropriations bill last month was stripped out by the Senate Appropriations Committee after President Reagan threatened to veto the measure.

The House also rejected an effort to throw out tight limits on the testing of space-based weapons envisioned in Reagan’s “Star Wars” missile defense program.

Supported Broad View

The amendment by California Rep. Duncan L. Hunter (R-San Diego) and Rep. Tommy F. Robinson (D-Ark.) would have adopted the Administration’s broad view of the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, thus permitting tests of exotic new weapons outside the laboratory. The bill’s narrow reading of the treaty, barring such tests, was upheld, 262 to 159.

Reagan, saying that he was responding to Soviet violations of the agreement, exceeded the treaty’s limits on strategic nuclear delivery vehicles last fall when he deployed the 131st B-52 bomber modified to carry nuclear-warhead cruise missiles. Eight additional such bombers have been deployed since.

The House-passed amendment, by Rep. Norman D. Dicks (D-Wash.), would bar deployment of any weapon that violated the limits unless the President certified that the Soviets had already exceeded the limits. The Administration would also be required to dismantle the cruise missiles that it deployed in violation of the treaty.

It was the first in a series of controversial riders that arms control advocates plan to offer to the defense bill this week and next, despite renewed warnings by Reagan that such amendments could prompt him to veto the measure.

Legislation similar to the Dicks amendment has 54 supporters in the Senate. Sponsors hope to insert it in the Senate’s version of the defense authorization bill when it reaches the Senate floor.

In vigorous debate on the Dicks amendment, proponents argued that it was needed to head off escalation of a costly, dangerous arms race in which the Soviets hold a huge production advantage.

“To tear up this agreement, to abandon a Reagan policy of 5 1/2 years of restraint, simply does not make sense because the Soviets can add offensive capability a lot faster than we can,” Dicks said.

Opponents protested that the measure would undercut U.S. arms control negotiators in Geneva and allow the Soviets to widen the advantage they have gained by violating the SALT II treaty.

“Do not tie the hands of our negotiators,” Rep. Henry J. Hyde (R-Ill.) urged. “They are engaged in a deadly game of poker, and you want to take away half of their cards.”

Voting for the amendment were 224 Democrats and 21 Republicans. Opposed were 153 Republicans and 28 Democrats. Californians voted strictly along party lines.

The House defeated an effort by Rep. William L. Dickinson (R-Ala.) to raise the bill’s authorization total to $302 billion, approximately the spending level for this fiscal year after adjustment for inflation. Fiscal 1988 begins Oct. 1.

On Tuesday, the House adopted a 1988 figure of $288.6 billion, $23.4 billion less than Reagan requested.