COCHRAN STATEMENT ON NEW START TREATY RATIFICATION

Senator Bases Support on National Security Needs, U.S. Nuclear Modernization Commitment

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) today confirmed his support for Senate ratification of a New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) with Russia, saying failure to authorize the pact would harm long-term U.S. national security interests.

Cochran said he was dissatisfied with consideration of the treaty during a lame duck session of Congress, but said he “could not deny the potential national security consequences of not ratifying the New START.”

“After listening carefully to national security experts and debate on the Senate floor, I have been convinced that failure to ratify this treaty would diminish cooperation between our two countries on several fronts, including nuclear proliferation, and would limit our understanding of Russian capabilities.  Also, failure to ratify this treaty would cause further delays in getting our inspectors back to Russia after a one year absence,” said Cochran, who serves on the Senate Appropriations Committee panel which funds the U.S. nuclear weapons complex.
 
“While I am dissatisfied with the way that this treaty has been considered by the Senate in a lame duck session, I take our responsibility to provide advice and consent to international treaties very seriously, and I do not think that the politics of the moment should trump our national security priorities.  I am cognizant of the fact that the New START has received unanimous endorsement by our country’s diplomatic and military leadership, and it would be an extraordinary position for the Senate not to support their views on how best to advance our national security interests,” he said.

Earlier this month, Cochran joined Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Daniel K. Inouye and Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) in writing President Obama to secure a commitment to fully fund modernization of the U.S. nuclear weapons arsenal.