WASHINGTON, DC—U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Near Eastern and South and Central Asian Affairs, released the following statement after the United States and Russia signed the new START agreement today in Prague:
“The Administration has taken another important step to ensure the security of the American people. This new START agreement will make America and our allies safer – it reduces deployed nuclear weapons in the Russian Federation and U.S. and reinstitutes tough verification measures that serve to build confidence between our countries.
“More importantly though, this agreement demonstrates U.S. commitment to upholding our Nonproliferation Treaty obligations, bolsters our efforts to combat nuclear proliferation around the world and will serve to attract international support to counter nuclear terrorism.
“I hope that the momentum created by today’s historic agreement will have a positive impact on next week’s Nuclear Security Summit and will serve to convince world leaders that nuclear security is an issue that affects us all.
“This hard fought agreement enhances our ability to protect and defend the American people. I look forward to reviewing the contents of the treaty and having a productive debate on its merits in the Senate. I am confident that it will garner the same bipartisan support seen in past arms reductions treaties with Moscow.”
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