On the recordDecember 20, 2010
I wish to talk about both the Thune amendment and the Inhofe amendment. With respect to the Inhofe amendment on verification, we are going to go into executive session of the Senate at 2 o'clock this afternoon, where there will be an opportunity for all Senators to examine classified materials that have been presented by our intelligence agencies, some of which relate specifically to the treaty and, in particular, the verification provisions in the treaty. It is too bad it is not possible for us to discuss with very much specificity the nature of the intelligence we will be discussing, but I will say I think it is a good thing we will be voting on the Inhofe amendment following that session, because a lot of the material we are going to be exposed to in executive session relates to the verification provisions of this treaty and past experience with verification. That is about all I wish to say right now, except that I hope colleagues would attend that session because their vote on the Inhofe amendment would at least be partially predicated on their being briefed in that executive session. With respect to the Thune amendment, I very much support it as well. The reason is because the whole point of this treaty was to reduce the nuclear warheads and the delivery vehicles of the Russian Federation and the United States. That is the essence of the treaty.
