[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 72 (Thursday, May 13, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3766-S3767]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      REMOVAL OF INJUNCTION OF SECRECY--TREATY DOCUMENT NO. 111-5

  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, as in executive session, I ask unanimous 
consent that the injunction of secrecy be removed from the following 
treaty transmitted to the Senate on May 13, 2010, by the President of 
the United States:
  Treaty with Russia on Measures for Further Reduction and Limitation 
of

[[Page S3767]]

Strategic Offensive Arms (Treaty Document No. 111-5.)
  I further ask unanimous consent that the treaty be considered as 
having been read the first time; that it be referred, with accompanying 
papers, to the Committee on Foreign Relations and ordered to be 
printed; and that the President's message be printed in the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The message of the President is as follows:
To the Senate of the United States:
  With a view to receiving the advice and consent of the Senate to 
ratification, I transmit herewith the Treaty between the United States 
of America and the Russian Federation on Measures for the Further 
Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms, signed in Prague 
on April 8, 2010, with Protocol. The Protocol is an integral part of 
the Treaty and contains three Annexes. I also transmit, for the 
information of the Senate, the report of the Department of State and 
three unilateral statements associated with the Treaty. These 
unilateral statements are not legally binding and are not integral 
parts of the Treaty. The Department of State report includes a detailed 
article-by-article analysis of the Treaty, as well as an analysis of 
the unilateral statements.
  The Treaty will enhance the national security of the United States. 
It mandates mutual reductions and limitations on the world's two 
largest nuclear arsenals. The Treaty will promote transparency and 
predictability in the strategic relationship between the United States 
and the Russian Federation and will enable each Party to verify that 
the other Party is complying with its obligations through a regime that 
includes on-site inspections, notifications, a comprehensive and 
continuing exchange of data regarding strategic offensive arms, and 
provisions for the use of national technical means of verification. The 
Treaty further includes detailed procedures for the conversion or 
elimination of Treaty-accountable items, and provides for the exchange 
of certain telemetric information on selected ballistic missile 
launches for increased transparency.
  Additionally, the Treaty creates a Bilateral Consultative Commission 
that will meet regularly to promote effective implementation of the 
Treaty regime. This Commission will provide an important channel for 
communication between the United States and the Russian Federation 
regarding the Treaty's implementation.
  The United States will continue to maintain a strong nuclear 
deterrent under this Treaty, as validated by the Department of Defense 
through rigorous analysis in the Nuclear Posture Review. The Treaty 
preserves our ability to determine for ourselves the composition and 
structure of our strategic forces within the Treaty's overall limits, 
and to modernize those forces. The Treaty does not contain any 
constraints on testing, development, or deployment of current or 
planned U.S. missile defense programs or current or planned U.S. long-
range conventional strike capabilities.
  The Treaty, upon its entry into force, will supersede the Treaty 
Between the United States of America and the Russian Federation on 
Strategic Offensive Reductions, signed in Moscow on May 24, 2002.
  I urge the Senate to give early and favorable consideration to the 
Treaty, including its Protocol, and to give its advice and consent to 
ratification.
                                                        Barack Obama,  
The White House, May 13, 2010.

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