The agreement is currently stalled in both legislatures. The Russian State Duma has pulled back its early endorsement of the treaty, saying it does not wish to go forward until the U.S. Senate has ratified the agreement. The Senate, as we have all seen over the last few days, seems less and less likely to pass the New START Treaty, at least before the end of the lame duck session. Leading Republican Senators Jon Kyl and John McCain are vocal opponents of the treaty in its current form. As of this morning Senator Lindsey Graham, a Republican who was thought to potentially be a yes vote, told CBS’ “Face The Nation” that he was opposed to passing the treaty in the lame duck session.
A Rocky Beginning For a New START
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http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/134435-reid-cites-gagas-meat-dress-lohans-rehab-in-start-treaty-push
“The proper exercise of diplomacy by the United States does not threaten our sovereignty. The Founding Fathers understood the value of diplomacy. They drafted the Constitution, in part, because they wanted the United States to be able to negotiate treaties with other nations. But they also understood that American foreign policy must ultimately be controlled by the American people.
That is why, for instance, the United States Senate must approve treaties that are negotiated by the President. That is how our diplomatic process works. But today, American sovereignty is threatened by the many treaties that seek to take power away from the nations that negotiate them. The solution is not to reject treaties or diplomacy: it is to return to the vision of the Founders, and to their belief that the American people have an inherent right of self-government, through their elected representatives, that cannot be extinguished by any treaty.”
President Obama’s New START creates an implementing body, called the Bilateral Consultative Commission (BCC), and gives it broad powers to promote the objectives of the treaty. These powers could include imposing additional restrictions on the U.S. missile defense program. This is an unacceptable cession of our national sovereignty. President Ronald Reagan walked away from Mikhail Gorbachev’s offer to eliminate nuclear weapons because he asked us to give up our missile defenses in return. No true conservative could support this treaty as it stands. – s groves
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110114/pl_nm/us_russia_usa_start