Secretary of State John Kerry Jacquelyn Martin/AP
State Dept. Disputes Need for Senate Approval of Further Nuke Cuts
Deal with Russia could be worded to avoid lawmakers, administration says.
The Obama administration has asserted it would not necessarily have to seek Senate backing of a potential deal with Russia to remove hundreds of nuclear warheads from long-range missiles and aircraft, the New York Times reported last week.
President Obama called for new bilateral talks aimed at cutting deployed strategic nuclear warheads by up to one-third. An existing treaty commits each side to hold no more than 1,550 launch-ready warheads by 2018, and the proposed reductions might ultimately lower that ceiling to roughly 1,000 weapons.
Senator Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) previously said Secretary of State John Kerry had assured him "that any further reductions would occur in bilateral treaty negotiations subject to the advice and consent of the Senate.”
A State Department insider, though, said Kerry had only said "the [Senate Foreign Relations Committee] would be consulted as we moved forward into discussions with the Russian Federation."
Kerry "did not indicate that the administration had decided to codify any results in a treaty,” the State Department source said by e-mail.
A new deal could be worded less formally to sidestep the need for Senate approval, according to prior reporting.
In a Wednesday letter to Kerry, 24 GOP senators said Leon Panetta and Joseph Biden had each referenced a strong precedent for Senate approval of arms control treaties during their respective tenures at the Defense Department and in Congress.