Today the U.S. Senate will finally take up New START. There will be a lot of activity on this issue until the final vote as amendments are considered. Senators John Kerry (D-MA) and Richard Lugar (R-IN) believe they have enough votes to secure passage (which is to say, enough to prevent a filibuster), and The Hill reported last night that enough committed “yes” votes have been declared to justify that belief. The treaty has come a long way in a short period of time; just a month ago its prospects appeared much weaker.
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The effort by supporters to overcome resistance to the deal was significant and continued right up until today; just yesterday, a classified briefing was held on the subject for the benefit of undecided senators, and Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, issued a letter endorsing the agreement to try to grease the bill through the Senate.
The Obama Administration considers New START the centerpiece of its Russia Reset policy, and the timing of this treaty was fortuitous for their plans to this end. New START was negotiated as a successor agreement to START I, which expired on December 5, 2009 as slated.
