Senate OKs Vote on Chemical Arms Pact

WASHINGTON —  The Senate voted Thursday to impose tough penalties on anyone dealing with chemical weapons and unanimously agreed to vote on ratification of a global poison gas treaty next week.

Democrats dismissed the penalty bill, passed 53-44 on a nearly party-line vote, as unnecessary. Some treaty opponents touted it as an alternative to the sweeping accord ratified by 72 nations that aims to rid the world of chemical weapons.

The agreement to vote on the treaty followed four years of efforts by the Clinton administration to get Senate consent to ratification. The Senate, however, also agreed to take up five amendments, any of which the White House said would kill U.S. participation in the pact.