Obama gets START treaty through the Senate

By Angie Drobnic Holan
Published on Wednesday, December 22nd, 2010 at 5:26 p.m.

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Extend monitoring and verification provisions of the START I Treaty | Details

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President Barack Obama smiles during a news conference after START ratification on Wednesday.

President Barack Obama and Russian President Dimitri Medvedev signed a new version of the START I Treaty, called New START, on April 8, 2010. But students of the U.S. Constitution know that treaties also require a two-thirds vote in the Senate. The START treaty got that approval on Wednesday.

Facing opposition from key Republicans, the Obama administration had to work hard to gain the 71 votes the treaty received, with visits and phone calls from top officials to wavering Senators.

The treaty limits the United States and Russia to 1,550 nuclear warheads and 700 intercontinental ballistic missiles, submarine-launched ballistic missiles and deployed heavy bombers equipped for nuclear armaments. The treaty also sets up mechanisms for verification and monitoring.

Opponents of the treaty were concerned that it limited the United States' ability to implement new missile defense systems, among other objections. The administration said that it does not affect the U.S. ability to use such systems.

Obama said during the campaign he wanted a new treaty before the old treaty expired in December 2009. He didn't make that deadline, but since negotiations were active and ongoing, we've kept it rated In the Works. Now that the Senate has ratified the treaty, we rate it Promise Kept.