Treaty with Russia on Measures for Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms--Resumed

Floor Speech

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Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I am pleased to support the approval by the Senate of the New START treaty.

On December 16, I joined Senators INOUYE, FEINSTEIN and ALEXANDER in a letter to President Obama to express my support for ratification of the treaty and funding for the modernization of our nuclear weapons arsenal. At the time, I was concerned that this might not be taken seriously as a long-term commitment. The President has responded to our request and assured me that nuclear modernization is a priority for his administration and that he will request funding for these programs and capabilities as long as he is in office. I appreciate his commitment to this long-term investment.

The treaty before us is not perfect. Many of our colleagues have brought forth ideas and offered amendments that will help address concerns about the treaty. I share concerns about missile defense, tactical nuclear weapons, and limits on delivery vehicles, but I cannot deny the potential national security consequences of not ratifying the New START treaty.

After listening carefully to national security experts and the debate on the Senate floor, I have been convinced that failure to ratify this treaty would diminish cooperation between our two countries on several fronts, including nuclear proliferation, and limit our understanding of Russian capabilities. Furthermore, failure to ratify this treaty would cause further delays in getting our inspectors back to Russia after a 1-year absence.

While I am dissatisfied with the way this treaty has been considered by the Senate in a lameduck session, I take our responsibility to provide advice and consent to international treaties very seriously; and I do not think that the politics of the moment should trump our national security priorities. I am cognizant of the fact that the New START treaty has received unanimous endorsement by both our country's diplomatic and military leadership, and it would be an unusual response for the Senate not to respect and consider their views on how best to support our national security interests.

I agree with them on the merits of this treaty, and I will support ratification.

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