2 polls of senators show ACACS sale in big trouble

Opponents of the Reagan administration's proposed $8.5 billion arms sale to Saudi Arabia now have more than enough votes to kill the deal, according to two recent polls.

With the administration stepping up efforts to sell the deal to a skeptical Congress, CBS News said its survey of the Senate showed 53 members opposing the sale and at least three others leaning that way.

NBC reports that a State Department poll found 63 senators opposed to the sale, which includes five sophisticated airborne warning and control system (AWACS) aircraft. It found only 12 favoring it, with 25 uncommitted, NBC said.

For the deal to be stopped, both houses of Congress must pass resolutions of disapproval by Oct. 30.