Obama Set to Win Approval on Russian Nuclear Treaty

President Barack Obama stands to win by a bigger margin than needed as the U.S. Senate prepares to approve ratification of a treaty with Russia that would cut nuclear arms and renew weapons inspections.
Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton went to the U.S. Capitol before the vote, meeting with Arizona Republican Senators John McCain and Jon Kyl in an effort to resolve their remaining objections and win with a margin more in keeping with previous arms-control treaties. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, predicted a final vote today following consideration of the last amendments.

A lobbying push that incorporated a classified briefing and calls and letters from Obama and his top advisers, including the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, helped drive support over the minimum needed in a chamber where Democrats control 58 votes.

Eleven Republicans joined 54 Democrats and two independents in yesterday’s vote to proceed to final action on the treaty.

“This was a bipartisan vote,” Senator Richard Lugar of Indiana, the top Republican on the Foreign Relations Committee and the first in his party to back the treaty, told reporters after the procedural vote. “I’m hopeful Republicans will contribute more votes on final passage.”

Russia’s parliament is ready to start the ratification process this week, said Andrei Klimov, deputy head of the foreign affairs committee in the lower house, or State Duma.

If the Senate passes the accord as is, the Duma may approve it on Dec. 24, its last session of the year, Klimov said by phone today. The treaty also needs the approval of the upper house, or Federation Council, which probably won’t happen until after the January holidays, Klimov said. Russia’s first working day of 2011 is Jan. 11.

“I don’t see any problem per se with ratification,” Klimov said. “This is not a political but a technical issue.”

The Senate approved ratification of the original Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty in 1992 by a vote of 93-6. Four years later, START II won approval, 87-4. The 2002 Moscow Treaty, which drew on the same verification procedures as in START, was approved by the Senate 95-0.

‘Rigorous’ Inspection

New START, as the current accord is known, would limit each side’s strategic warheads to no more than 1,550, from 2,200 allowed previously, and sets a maximum of 800 land-, air- and sea-based launchers. A program enabling each side to verify the other’s nuclear arsenal was suspended when the previous treaty expired in December 2009.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates said New START would improve security. Its terms require lower numbers of weapons, provide a “rigorous” inspection system and offer the flexibility the U.S. needs to pursue missile defenses against attacks from potential adversaries, such as Iran.

“This treaty stands on its merits, and its prompt ratification will strengthen U.S. national security,” Gates said in a statement yesterday.

Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed the accord in April as part of a push to restore relations between the two nations and reduce the spread of nuclear weapons worldwide.

Missile DefenseCiting concerns such as treaty language that they said would limit U.S. options for developing a missile-defense system, opponents pushed to delay a vote until next year and reopen negotiations with Russia.Any delay would have forced the Obama administration to win over a Senate with a slimmer Democratic majority, based on election results last month. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has ruled out any additional negotiations on the pact.Missile defense was the primary subject of an amendment that McCain and Kyl were co-sponsoring with Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Mark Kirk of Illinois.

Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry, a Massachusetts Democrat, said much of McCain’s proposal is already addressed in the resolution of ratification that lawmakers will consider in the final vote.

‘Reasonable Way’

“There is a lot in the McCain amendment that we are prepared to accept,” Kerry, who met separately with Biden and Clinton, told reporters. It will be “up to him to decide whether it accomplishes his goal,” Kerry said.

Republican Judd Gregg of New Hampshire and Democrats Evan Bayh of Indiana and Ron Wyden of Oregon weren’t present for yesterday’s vote and will be in favor of ratification today, giving the treaty at least 70 supporters, Kerry said.

“In today’s Washington and today’s Senate, 70 votes is yesterday’s 95,” Kerry said.

Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, the Senate’s No. 3 Republican, helped tip the balance yesterday when he announced his support in a Senate.

Alexander said he was persuaded in part by the president’s commitment to an $85 billion program to modernize the U.S. nuclear-weapons arsenal. In a failed effort to win support from Kyl, the administration added $5 billion in recent weeks to its 10-year, $80 billion plan unveiled earlier this year.

“It leaves our country with enough nuclear warheads to blow any attacker to kingdom come,” Alexander said.

In addition to Alexander, the Republicans who supported the treaty yesterday were Lugar, Bob Corker of Tennessee, Robert Bennett of Utah, Scott Brown of Massachusetts, Thad Cochran of Mississippi, Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine, Johnny Isakson of Georgia, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and George Voinovich of Ohio.

--With assistance from Kate Andersen Brower, Mark Drajem, Ryan Donmoyer, Roger Runningen, Flavia Krause-Jackson, David Lerman and Nicholas Johnston in Washington, Balazs Penz in Budapest and Henry Meyer in Moscow. Editors: Steven Komarow, Robin Meszoly.

To contact the reporters on this story: Viola Gienger in Washington at vgienger@bloomberg.net. James Rowley in Washington at jarowley@bloomberg.net