Speech #960183598

I would emphasize that at no time did the United States use nerve gas. or other lethal chemical agents in Southeast Asia. However. as our hearings have documented. the evidence is now conclusive that the Vietnamese carried out a deliberate campaign in Laos. and are now doing so in Cambodia. Our ability to influence Vietnam through world public opinion. while limited. has been demonstrated at the Geneva Conference on Refugees. I hope that this resolution. which clearly places the responsibility on the Soviet Union for joining with the United States in acting to halt the use of chemical weapons in warfare. will thus have a dual effect. given Moscows role as Hanois chief international protector and sponsor. I thus urge the House to approve House Resolution 512. condemning the use of chemical agents in Indochina. and urging the negotiation of a worldwide ban on the production and use of such agents in the future.