21.   It would bar the agency from spending any money to carry out the global warming agreement negotiated in Japan last year until the Senate approves the treaty.

22.   On the floor of the U.S. Senate on Wednesday, the official topic was whether to approve the treaty admitting Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic into NATO.

23.   Republicans in Congress have vowed that they would never approve the treaty, which the Pentagon also dislikes.

24.   Senior government officials expect that the treaty will be approved, but the neutrality issue is a contentious one in Ireland.

25.   Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and Secretary of Defense William Cohen conceded that it is uncertain whether the Senate will approve the treaty in a showdown vote Thursday.

26.   Some worked to rid the world of land mines or get the nuclear test-ban treaty approved.

27.   The American hard line reflects Pentagon concerns, and also strong opposition in the Senate, which must approve any treaty signed in Rome.

28.   The bill would allow preparation for the tests to proceed only if a proposed international nuclear test ban treaty is not approved next year.

29.   The Russian Parliament was poised to approve the treaty a year ago, but balked when the United States resumed bombing of Iraq.

30.   The Senate has the power to defeat or approve treaties, and appropriators in both chambers can control how much money is distributed in foreign aid.