On the recordApril 20, 2010
For those of us who want to live in a world without nuclear weapons, there was very little good news, very little to celebrate over the last decade or so. The previous administration showed barely any interest in eradicating the nuclear threat. But now finally, with the recently signed START treaty between the United States and Russia, there is cause for optimism and hope for further progress. In negotiating this agreement, I am pleased that President Obama has embraced the principles of the ``no-nukes'' resolution, House Resolution 333 that I have introduced in the Congress, and the SMART Security approach I've championed for years. Much of the attention paid to arms control issues focuses on North Korea and the looming possibility of a nuclear threat from Iran. And of course these are gravely important matters to grapple with. But the fact is that more than 90 percent of the world's nuclear capability rests with the two Cold War superpowers. So a serious commitment to nonproliferation must begin with a bilateral U.S.-Russia approach. This pact, the New START, mandates a 30 percent reduction in the allowed number of deployed strategic warheads, from a maximum of 2,200 down to 1,550 for each country, the most significant step toward disarmament in years.
