Originally published on the CGS blog on August 4, 2009.
On July 23, a bipartisan group of six senior senators (including John Kerry, chair of the Foreign Relations committee; Carl Levin, chair of the Armed Services committee; and ranking Republicans Richard Lugar and John McCain) wrote to President Obama about the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty [START]. Brought into effect in 1991, the treaty will expire at the end of this year and is beginning negotiation in Congress.
The group suggests that, when START is submitted for ratification, a 10-year funding estimate should be included to enhance and update the U.S. nuclear supply. They also want the treaty to include cost figures to show how much will be available to modernize nuclear manufacturing and maintain the ability to create new weapons, if necessary. These provisions will address certain weaknesses in the U.S. nuclear program that have become more and more apparent over the years, such as potential failures, lack of trained workforce, and lack of modernized facilities.
President Obama and Russian President Medvedev, whose countries hold 95% of the world’s nuclear weapons, began negotiating START in early July by signing a nuclear agreement which would cut Russian and American strategic nuclear arsenals by at least one quarter and reduce the number of warheads and missiles to the lowest levels since the beginning of the Cold War. This treaty, to be finished by December, could lead to talks on further reductions next year if ratified by the Senate.
