Boxer Statement on Senate Vote to Approve New START Treaty

Statement

U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA), who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, released the following statement today after the Senate voted 71-26 to approve the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), which will strengthen U.S. national security by ensuring that we have inspectors on the ground at Russia's nuclear sites and reducing the number of deployed nuclear weapons on both sides:

"The Senate's bipartisan vote to approve this treaty is a vote for a safer America and a more secure world. The treaty will lead to mutual reductions in nuclear weapons and delivery systems, and renewed inspections of nuclear sites in Russia, which are critical to our efforts to stop nuclear proliferation. Ratification of this treaty will also strengthen our relationship with Russia, which is in the best interest of the world."

The treaty is a follow-on agreement to the original START Treaty that expired last December. President Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed the treaty in April. It needed to be approved by two-thirds of the United States Senate.

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