PANEL IN SENATE SAID TO QUESTION VERIFYING OF PACT

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP88-01315R000400350063-4
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 10, 2004
• Sequence Number: 63
• Publication Date: October 5, 1979
• Content Type: NSPR

,llRTICI,v Ap?r q,, proved For Rg s!C05~ W: CIA-RDP88-01315R000400350&344~05
AGE ,/ . 5 OCTOBER 1979
C. ( S SSC_'
panel in Senate
Said to Question
Verifying of
By CHARLES MOHR
SpadaltoThe,NewYorkTimeS
WASHINGTON, Oct. 4 =- In a report to
be issued tomorrow, the Senate Select
Committee on Intelligence states thatthe?
..United States has Impressive ability to
monitor many facets of-Soviet?military
development. But, Senate sources said,
today, it draws no firm conclusion that,
.the new strategic arms treaty, can be acd.
equatelyverified
The report, the sources said,.leaves to
each of the 100 members of the Senate the.
personal - responsibility ?-for.. ; deciding:
whether the United States Is' 'able. to
verify the Soviet Union's compliance with
the terms of the treaty to limit offensive
nuclear weapons. r;
"The report does not even use the word
verification," one Senate source said
Byrd Wants Budget Data
It was widely assumed in the, Senate
today that the report had been somewhat
softened to'satisfy antitreaty members.
The absence of a sweeping conclusion
may constitute a blow to the hopes of
;treaty proponents that the Senate will
eventually vote to approve the pact.
In another development that, may of
fect the treaty's' prospects,;' theSenate
majority leader, Robert C.. Byrd. of West
Virginia, warned today that he would not
bring the pact up for a vote until. the Car.
:ter Administration had given the Senate a
preview, of': its future. military. spending;
plans. ,..; z r o qs
In addition;: tk number of, senat0rs de:
dared previously that:`they -wnuid not'
vote for the pact unless the Soviet -Union
withdrew the brigade it has in Cuba
Some advocates. of. the treaty, said this..,
evening thatrthey., did' not believe -the
wording of the Intelligence Committee
report would seriously age the pact's
prospects of appro
But Senator John Glenn; Democrat of.
Ohio, who Is not a member of the commit
tee but has attended most of its meetings,,
said in an interview with CBS Television
today that he was "at. odds" with the Ad.
ministration because fully adequate in-:
telligence monitoring of the Soviet Union
depended too much on sophisticated data- of Defense Harold Brown had told Sena
gathering systems still under develop. for Cranston only that "perhaps" it would
meat. be possible to give the Senate an abbrevi-
Protreaty sources said that one factor ated preview of the military spending
that might offset the noncommittal na- budget for the 1981 fiscal year and the an-
cure of the report by the intelligence nual revision of the five-year military
Committee is their hope that its chair- program. In the normal course of events,
man, Senator Birch Bayh of Indiana, and these plans would be sent to Congress in
its ranking Republican member, Senator Iate January..
Barry Goldwater of Arizona,',will testify If the arms treaty is to be debated and
-_ ., . .. _ voted 031 this year. It-apparently would
-
cch th
mittee that the treaty is adequately veri-
fiable However, this did not seem cer
Atr article: today In..The Washington
Post asserting that the committee report
would state that the treaty "can' be veri- He has predicted twice In recent days
fled" led to. a special meeting, of the com-1i that if.the Senate is forced to delay action
mittee,:.conferences. among Republican untilnext
ea
thetr
robably
a
would
y
r
e
ty
p
, leaders?and'other consultations. One re- .be killed
suit was to advance from next week to .. -if President.Carteridoe4 not givel: the,
tomorrow the publication of the: nonclas budget preview or if-.the ? spending ? and.
sifted version of the committee,report, A program goals he outlines are viewed as,
longer secret report Is,slso do to go to in inadequate by-proponents of a stronger
Some antitreaty committee' members, (;:some other.?senators,would.follow.suit in
such as Senator. Jake Gam, Republican of I view of the budget resolution adopted by
Utah, had considered issuing a minority p the Senate last month by avote of 554g?42,
report.: That such senators have now 1'i calling for about $40 billion more in mili-
-agreed-to a unanimous _report was an in
dication that the committee.findings had
eensoftened;some sources said.'.
`.t
The informants suggested that sena
tors strongly, in favor of the treaty will.
find much in the report to support, their
belief, that it can be verified. But, they '
said, undecided senators are'most likely .
to be affected by the report's conclusion
that adequate verification Is possible..
Senator Byrd's call fora. preview of the
White House's future defense plans-game
on the Senate floor this morning::., ~, k?:.
>j The majority whip, Senator Alaii Cran-.
ston,.Democrat of California, also called
,:fore early submission of such plans and
4, said he had received assurances from Ad-
j?ministration.officials that this would be
done, probably next month. m ' -.:
However, a Pentagon official who did
not:wl?h.ta be named said that Secretary
have to
r a
e -Senate floor next
month, and Senator Byrd's demand for a
preview of military spending plans, made
during debate this morning, could have a
:tary spending,;inrthe=ne.xt three fiscal,
years. ,. In In. his remarks -oe- the. Senate floor,
Senator Byrd indicated that he person-
ally might be.satisfied -with a.preview of
the five-year defense plan and not neces-.
sarily the. more, detailed.,1981,-military
budget. xx u~ .. , _
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