Russ Feingold: “in 3 days' time, the United States will withdraw from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty. And it appears that we…”

“in 3 days' time, the United States will withdraw from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty. And it appears that we will do so without a significant debate on this issue in the Senate. For 30 years, the ABM Treaty has been the foundation upon which our strategic relationship with Russia has rested. So I am troubled that this historic treaty is about to be dissolved without so much as a hearing or even any debate in this body. I also regret that the President made this important decision without consulting with the Senate. I find this troubling on both constitutional and policy grounds. Article II, section 2 of the Constitution states that the President ``shall have the Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided that two thirds of the Senators present concur. * * *'' The Constitution is silent on the process by which the United States can withdraw from a treaty, and the record of the Congress and the executive branch is mixed. But, the intent of the Framers, as explained by Thomas Jefferson, is clear. In section 52 of Jefferson's Manual, he writes, ``Treaties are legislative acts. A treaty is the law of the land. It differs from other laws only as it must have the consent of a foreign nation, being but a contract with respect to that nation.''”