U.S. Senate poised to pass New START nuclear pact with Russia
A new arms reduction treaty between the United States and Russia seemed headed for certain Senate ratification after Republican opposition crumbled Tuesday beneath a torrid campaign of White House pressure, according to the L.A. Times. Passage of the treaty would mark the first time that a major arms control pact had not won the support of the leaders of both parties. The last three nuclear arms treaties with Russia all had bipartisan leadership support and passed with the backing of at least 87 senators.
The New START Treaty is organized in three tiers of increasing level of detail. The first tier is the Treaty text itself. The second tier consists of a Protocol to the Treaty, which contains additional rights and obligations associated with Treaty provisions. The basic rights and obligations are contained in these two documents. The third tier consists of Technical Annexes to the Protocol. All three tiers will be legally binding. The Protocol and Annexes will be integral parts of the Treaty and thus submitted to the U.S. Senate for its advice and consent to ratification.
Under the Treaty, the United States and Russia will be limited to significantly fewer strategic arms within seven years from the date the Treaty enters into force.