Senate Aims for New START Vote (Update)

Atop Wednesday’s to-do list in the Senate was a vote on the proposed and revised version of the U.S.’ Strategic Nuclear Arms Reduction treaty with Russia, which was running up against resistance from some Republicans in the chamber but still seemed likely to pass, thus adding another legislative feather to President Obama’s cap before year-end. –KA

Update: It passed. Now the ball is in the Russian parliament’s court.

The New York Times:

Republican critics called it a bad deal, arguing that the treaty’s inspections were inadequate and that nonbinding language in its preamble could give Russia leverage to try to keep the United States from deploying missile defense installations in Eastern Europe.

“The administration did not negotiate a good treaty,” Senator Kyl said on Tuesday. “They went into negotiations, it seems to me, with the attitude with the Russians just like the guy that goes into the car dealership and says, ‘I’m not leaving here until I buy a car.’ ”

The treaty requires the United States and Russia to reduce their nuclear stockpiles so that within seven years of ratification neither deploys more than 1,550 strategic warheads and 700 launchers. It would also resume the on-site inspections that lapsed last December with the expiration of the original Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, or Start.

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