Asia-Pacific

Vote on US-Russia arms treaty put off to Sep.

(Agencies)
Updated: 2010-08-04 09:36

A senior administration official said there was reason to believe more Republicans ultimately would be won over. Some Republicans have told the White House privately that "they expect to be there in the end" and vote for the new START, the official said, asking not to be named.

But key Senate Republicans have made several demands before they announce publicly whether they will support the treaty. They urged the Obama administration to release the record of negotiations to prove its assertion that there were no secret deals made with the Russians to limit missile defense systems.

To try to meet this demand, a summary of the negotiating record affecting missile defense has been made available to senators, Kerry told reporters.

The Senate's No. 2 Republican, Jon Kyl, has sought White House commitments to modernize the US nuclear weapons that remain. The administration pledged $80 billion for this over 10 years but Kyl said a key test would be whether Congress approves some of the money for the next fiscal year.

Arms control advocates charge some Republicans are recklessly moving the goal posts -- and seeking more arms spending for their own states.

"It is irresponsible and unnecessary for a few senators to hold New START and US national security hostage for billions more dollars for weapons laboratories," said Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association.

The White House said it remained optimistic about ratification. "The treaty deserves the same bipartisan support that past arms control treaties with Russia have received," National Security Council spokesman Mike Hammer said.

Under the treaty, each side agreed to reduce the number of deployed strategic nuclear warheads to no more than 1,550 within seven years, and reestablish on-site inspections.