Byrd opposes bringing SALT II before Senate

Senate Majority Leader Robert Byrd Tuesday opposed bringing the US-Soviet strategic arms limitation treaty (SALT II) before the Senate for ratification at present. State Department spokesman Hodding Carter III had said Monday the Carter administration had strong hopes of getting SALT II, signed last June by President Carter and Soviet Leader Leonid Brezhnev, debated this year.

Asked to comment, Senator Byrd told reporters it would not be wise to bring the treaty up "in the present atmosphere" because the Senate's attention would not be focused on the treaty's merits.