US Senate Gives Its Advice and Consent to US-Russia Arms Control Treaty

In a foreign policy victory for the Obama Administration, the U.S. Senate voted 71 to 26 today to give its advice and consent to the new START treaty between the U.S. and Russia.  Under the U.S. Constitution, the treaty requires a 2/3 vote of the Senate before it may be ratified.  The treaty is being described as the broadest nuclear arms reduction pact in two decades.  U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed the treaty back in April, pledging to slash their nuclear arsenals by a third.

(cgb)