Political Quotes

“I come to the floor today to discuss the administration's decision to extend the New START treaty by 5 years. Supporters hailed the move, with the New York Times reporting that the President's decision ``avoided a renewed arms race.'' Meanwhile, critics, who believed the question of extension had given the United States leverage to extract concessions from Russia, as well as China, described the move as a wasted opportunity and a giveaway to Putin. As the last bilateral arms control agreement between the United States and Russia, perhaps it shouldn't be surprising that the debate over extending New START took on outsized importance, with parties on both sides seeing it as the vehicle to accomplish all of their goals. Now, with the extension decided, it comes with an opportunity to regain our perspective and consider the way forward. This begins with a clearer understanding of what the New START treaty accomplishes and what it doesn't. To begin with, the New START treaty is not a panacea, and extending the agreement does not prevent an arms race with just the stroke of a pen; nor is it an unfair agreement that locks in Russian advantages. It is simply an agreement between the United States and Russia to limit some but not all of the categories of nuclear arms. China is not a party to this agreement.…”