Political Quotes

“I am pleased to join my colleagues in voicing my strong and unequivocal support for New START. I want to thank Senators Kerry and Lugar for their leadership on this issue, and join them in urging the Senate to support ratification. New START will make America stronger and more secure by building on 30 years of U.S. global leadership on nuclear arms control and reduction. This is why it has been endorsed by national security leaders on both sides of the aisle, including every living Republican Secretary of State, 5 former Secretaries of Defense, 7 former commanders of the U.S. Strategic Command, the entire Joint Chiefs of Staff, 3 former Presidents, and all 27 of our NATO allies. We simply cannot afford to postpone the vote until the 112th Congress and delay ratification any further. Military planners have confirmed that ratification is essential to U.S. security in an increasingly dangerous environment, and 73 percent of Americans support ratification according to one recent poll. As the newest member of the Foreign Relations and Armed Services Committees, I did not have the luxury of receiving the wealth of information and perspective offered in the 18 public hearings and Senate deliberations on this issue. I have, however, received enough information from classified briefings to know this is a pressing national security matter of the highest order.”