Administration Officials Urge Senate To Ratify START

By Kyle LaFleur - Talk Radio News Service

White House officials are urging a key Senate panel to quickly ratify the New START Treaty. The treaty, which U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Dimitry Medvedev signed back in April, aims to reduce the number of nuclear weapons possessed by the two nations.

“Between us, the United States and Russia comprise about 90% of the worlds nuclear weapons so these reductions also support our goals of nonproliferation and will do so without jeopardizing the nuclear triad,” said DOD official James Miller during a conference call with reporters on Tuesday.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will debate and likely vote on the treaty tomorrow. With Democrats controlling the majority of seats on the panel, passage is expected. However, Chairman John Kerry (D-Mass.) has said he doesn’t expect the treaty to reach the floor until after the midterm elections in early November.

According to the White House, the treaty will limit the amount of nuclear warheads both nations can have, but would not restrict the U.S.’s ability to deploy missile defenses in the event of an attack or severe threat. Miller said the treaty would allow for more frequent inspections of Russian nuclear facilities.