Congress Passes Nuclear Weapons Test Ban; Bush Likely to Sign Bill
- Share via
WASHINGTON — Congress voted Thursday to reverse President Bush’s policy on nuclear weapons testing, imposing strict conditions on the underground blasts and ending them entirely in 1997.
On a 224-151 vote, the House adopted a Senate provision that had been the subject of earlier veto threats. By voice vote, the Senate then gave final approval to the ban and the bill to which it is attached, sending it to the White House.
A senior Republican source said the Administration had abruptly decided Thursday to reverse course and accept the restrictions--in part because Democrats had added them to a bill that also contains money for a massive science project in Texas, a state essential to Bush’s reelection.
The presence of the project, the superconducting super collider, made it politically untenable for Bush to veto the bill, which provides money for the Energy Department and other programs, said the source, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Success for testing opponents came after years of failures. “It’s the collapse of the Soviet Union that has really forced the deciding votes,” Rep. Mike Kopetski (D-Ore.) said.
The issue of whether to continue underground nuclear tests provides a sharp contrast between Bush and his Democratic challenger, Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton. Clinton favors a two-stage policy in which tests are first restricted, then ended entirely.
Thursday’s vote marked a victory for Clinton’s allies in Congress.
Get the L.A. Times Politics newsletter
Deeply reported insights into legislation, politics and policy from Sacramento, Washington and beyond. In your inbox twice per week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
