Guest Blogger: Rep. Michael Turner (R-OH) on New START Implementation Act

Rep. Michael Turner / May 11, 2011

At the end of December, the Senate ratified the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) Treaty by a vote of 71-26. Many Senators who voiced concerns regarding the treaty’s provisions and implications were persuaded to vote for it after receiving assurances from the Obama Administration that our nuclear weapons would receive much needed modernization. Although I trust these promises were made in good faith, we must ensure they will be kept through the passage of binding legislation. On May 5^th, with the support of House Armed Services Chairman (HASC) Howard P. “Buck” McKeon, I introduced H.R. 1750, – The New START Implementation Act. Sen. Jon Kyl has indicated that in short time he will introduce a companion bill in the Senate.

The purpose of this bill is to hold both the current and future administrations accountable to the promises made during the New START ratification debate of 2010. Chief amongst these promises is the “grand bargain” that treaty ratification would be approved only if the administration agreed to a robust ten-year nuclear modernization program. This agreement would spend $85 billion over the next 10 years on updating warheads and modernizing our nation’s nuclear weapons. (more…)