U.S. Senate Rejects CTBT Ratification 51-48

The United States Senate voted 51-to-48 against ratifying the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty on Oct. 13, 1999. It was the first time the Senate rejected a major security treaty since the Treaty of Versailles in 1919. Senator Jesse Helms of North Carolina, then chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, led the opposition, arguing the treaty was unverifiable and would constrain U.S. nuclear modernization. President Clinton called the vote "reckless" and vowed to maintain the U.S. testing moratorium regardless. The rejection kept the CTBT short of the ratification threshold and meant the U.S. couldn't invoke the treaty's on-site inspection rights against states accused of testing. No subsequent Senate vote on CTBT ratification has been scheduled.