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Late Breaking News |
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| Date: July 29, 1998 9:56 am Contact: Coalition to Reduce Nuclear Dangers Adam Eidinger, 202-547-3577 or, Daryl Kimball, Director (202) 546-0795 |
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Latest News Releases
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Eight In Ten Voters Support Senate Approval of Nuclear Test Ban Treaty -- Voters in Key States Say Ban Is 'More Important' After South Asian Nuke Tests | ||
| WASHINGTON - July 29 - An overwhelming majority of American voters want
the Senate to approve the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), according to new public
opinion surveys conducted in six states by a bipartisan polling team in June. When asked
-- "Do you think the U.S. Senate should approve a Treaty with 140 other countries
that would prohibit underground nuclear weapons explosions worldwide?" --
approximately 8 out of every 10 voters say the treaty should be approved. Support for the
treaty is strong among Republicans, Democrats, and independents, and among all demographic
and geographic groups in states represented by Senators considered pivotal to the outcome
of the ratification debate. The polls also indicate that voters strongly disagree with the
arguments used by the few Senators who are delaying Senate action on the test ban treaty. The polls were commissioned by the Coalition to Reduce Nuclear Dangers, a non-partisan alliance of 17 of the nation's leading arms control groups. The results are based on the findings of opinion surveys of registered voters in six states conducted by Wirthlin Worldwide, a Republican polling firm, and a Democratic firm, The Mellman Group, from June 20-24. The statistical margin of error is plus or minus 4.4 to 4.9 percentage points. The test ban treaty was sent to the Senate for its advice and consent for ratification in September 1997, but so far it has failed to act on the treaty, which has gained new significance since India and Pakistan's nuclear blasts of May 1998. Sixty-seven votes are needed for ratification. Senators Arlen Specter (R-PA), Joseph Biden (D-DE), and others are circulating a resolution calling for prompt hearings and a vote on the treaty. President Clinton and other world leaders say the CTBT is vital to ongoing efforts by State Department envoy Strobe Talbot and others to encourage India and Pakistan to stop nuclear testing and end their arms race. Clinton has called upon the Senate to approve the CTBT this year, before his possible visit to New Delhi and Islamabad this fall. The current Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and four previous chairmen, including Gen. Colin Powell, have all endorsed the test ban treaty. Since India and Pakistan's nuclear tests in May, public support for a nuclear test ban treaty appears to be growing. Support for Senate approval of the CTBT is higher in each of the six states (Kansas: 79% approve, 14% disapprove; Nebraska: 83% approve, 13% disapprove; Oregon: 86% approve, 10% disapprove; Tennessee: 78% approve, 19% disapprove; and Utah: 83% approve; 14% disapprove) than it is nationwide (73% approve, 16% disapprove, according to a May 1998 poll conducted days after India's tests, but before Pakistan's). Support Cuts Across All Demographic and Partisan Lines: In all states and in the national survey, Republican, Democratic, and independent voters overwhelmingly support Senate approval of the CTBT. In no state does support for the test ban from Republican, Democratic, or independent voters drop below 70%. Support for the test ban treaty is also strong among all demographic groups, including veterans and voters with family members who have served in the military. The results of the new surveys are consistent with those from 11 nationwide polls on the test ban conducted since 1957, when President Eisenhower first sought a nuclear test ban. While poll questions have varied somewhat over the years, support has ranged only from 61%-85%. Americans See Test Ban As "More Important" After South Asian Nuclear Tests: Despite repeated calls for action on the test ban, Senate leaders Trent Lott (R-MS) and Jesse Helms (R-NC) have defied public opinion and labeled the treaty "irrelevant." However, the state polls indicate that voters strongly disagree. According to the new opinion surveys, a strong majority of voters think the recent nuclear tests by India and Pakistan "demonstrate how important it is for the U.S. to ratify and encourage global implementation of the CTBT." In several states, the more voters have heard about the tests, the greater their support for the CTBT. The Indian and Pakistani tests have penetrated the public's consciousness: at least 8 out of every 10 voters in each state surveyed say they have heard about the tests and equal numbers say the tests pose a "serious threat to international security." Voters in five of the states were asked whether they "favor" or "oppose" a variety of possible U.S. government responses to the tests by India and Pakistan. An overwhelming number support urging India and Pakistan to approve the test ban (state results range from 84%-91% favor) and U.S. Senate ratification of the CTBT (70% to 79% favor) as the best responses to the South Asian crisis. These proposals were more popular than imposing "strong economic and political sanctions" (58% to 70% favor, 22% to 31% oppose), and far more popular than the proposal of Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-MS) -- increasing military spending to develop and deploy a nuclear missile defense (55% to 73% oppose, 23% to 39% favor). "The Senate's do-nothing approach on the test ban treaty is irresponsible and dangerous. It hurts efforts to protect America and the world from the proliferation of nuclear weapons and the possibility of nuclear war. The overwhelming public support for the test ban is a wake-up call for the Senate to approve the treaty and stop nuclear blasts worldwide," says Daryl Kimball, Director of the Coalition to Reduce Nuclear Dangers. The voters' staunch support for the CTBT may be attributed to their view that the test ban can help stop the spread of nuclear weapons to other countries like Iran, which recently tested a new ballistic missile. Most voters believe that having an international treaty that prohibits all nuclear weapons explosions is a better way to protect the U.S. from nuclear proliferation than resuming U.S. testing. Another survey question reveals that when given the choice between two possible candidates for Senate -- one who supports the CTBT and the other who opposes the CTBT -- most voters solidly prefer a candidate who supports the CTBT over one who opposes the treaty. In this question, respondents heard descriptions of two hypothetical candidates for Senate: Candidate A (Supports CTBT) says that the U.S. Senate should ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, because the treaty is an important step in stopping the spread of nuclear weapons worldwide. Candidate A says the treaty would outlaw nuclear testing, improve our ability to detect nuclear tests and would prevent other countries from developing reliable nuclear weapons. Candidate A says the U.S. has conducted over 1000 nuclear test and does not need further nuclear tests to maintain our nuclear arsenal. Candidate A says the U.S. should be a leader and ratify the Treaty if we expect other nations to stop their nuclear weapons testing. Candidate B (Opposes CTBT) says that he U.S. Senate should not ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty because the treaty does not stop other countries from acquiring nuclear weapons. Candidate B says that because compliance with the treaty cannot be verified, ratifying the treaty would prevent the U.S. from conducting tests to maintain and improve our nuclear arsenal while other countries seeking nuclear arms could continue to conduct secret tests. "What is striking about the results in each of these states, as in the nation as a whole, is the overwhelming nature of support for this Treaty. Indeed, far from being a partisan issue, support for a nuclear test ban treaty comes from all sides of the political and ideological spectrum," commented pollster Michael Dabadie of Wirthlin Worldwide. -- 30 -- |
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