Letter from Senator Harkin on the START Treaty
April 26, 2010Dear Constituent:
Thank you for contacting me about the recent agreement between the United States and Russia to reduce their respective nuclear arsenals. Since the end of the Cold War, the spread of nuclear weapons technology around the globe, including to rogue states and other dangerous actors, has made the world increasingly unstable. As a result, it is vital to our country to examine our nuclear weapons policy from the standpoints of homeland security, weapon safety, global proliferation, and national defense.
While any potential treaty between Russia and the United States is not expected to reach the Senate for confirmation until later this year, the agreement reached by Presidents Obama and Medvedev is an important first step. It would reduce the American and Russian stockpiles – by far the two largest in the world – to the lowest level since early in the Cold War. Such measures are vital not just to reducing the largest nuclear arsenals, but also advancing non-proliferation efforts, securing existing nuclear weapons and improving relations between the United States and Russia.
For all these reasons, I strongly support President Obama's commitment to reduce our nuclear arsenal and work with other nations to do the same. I have been a long-time supporter of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) and Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT). Reducing proliferation, both from build-up within the U.S. and acquisition by foreign nations, is an important task, and U.S. leadership will be required. In my time in the Senate, I have worked hard to balance our national security concerns with the need to reduce nuclear risks, and I will continue to do so as the Senate continues to examine our nuclear weapons policy. Please rest assured that I will keep your views in mind as this issue proceeds.
Again, thanks for sharing your views with me. Please don't hesitate to let me know how you feel on any issue that concerns you.
Sincerely,
Tom Harkin
United States
Senator
~ Senator Tom Harkin is the Junior Senator from Iowa. He is
chairman of the Health, Education,
Labor and Pensions Committee and serves on Agriculture, Nutrition and
Forestry, Small Business and
Entrepreneurship and Appropriations
Committees. To learn more about Senator Harkin, click here.
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