Senator Collins tweets support for New START

In a one line tweet, Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) came out in support of the New START Treaty with Russia Friday.

"Senator Collins announces support for new START treaty," her twitter feed read Friday morning.

In a statement set to released Friday, Collins said the administration had sufficiently addressed her concerns about Russia’s tactical nuclear weapons, which are not part of the New START treaty.

"The New START represents a continued effort to achieve mutual and verifiable reductions in nuclear weapons," Collins said. "As the Ranking Member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, I support the President’s commitment to reduce not only the number of strategic nuclear weapons through the New START treaty, but also to reduce, in the future, those weapons that are most vulnerable to theft and misuse – and those are tactical nuclear weapons."

That brings the total number of Republican senators who have clearly stated their support for the treaty to two. Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN) has been working hard to get the treaty ratified for months.

But there are other signs Friday that more and more Republicans are getting ready to vote in favor of the treaty. Sen. John McCain, in a speech at the Johns Hopkins University School for Advanced International Studies (SAIS) Friday morning, said he hoped New START could be debated "next week."

"My colleague Senator Jon Kyl is doing a tremendous job working with the administration to resolve the issues associated with nuclear modernization. I’ve been focusing my efforts on addressing the key concerns relating to missile defense. And I think we are very close," McCain said.

That matches what Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told The Cable last week — but it does not match Kyl’s most recent statements. Kyl continues to say that there isn’t enough time to debate and ratify the treaty this month, given that the tax issue remains unresolved.

One scenario that would push consideration of New START until next year is that the treaty could be brought up for a cloture vote, and then fail to win enough votes to close off debate. This could occur if many GOP senators are unhappy with their ability to bring up amendments, for example, leading them to vote against cloture even though they support ratification of the treaty.

This possibility would allow the administration to say they tried and were stifled by intransigent Senate Republicans. However, it would be a pyrrhic victory – wasting floor time during the lame duck session, and leaving the treaty to an uncertain fate during the next session of Congress.

So all eyes are on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), the same guy who reluctantly brought the "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" repeal to the Senate floor Thursday knowing full well the cloture vote would fail, and Kyl, who the treaty supporters are hoping will finally show his cards.

If Kyl is ultimately determined to not strike an agreement this month, the question is whether the administration’s intensive effort to find 8 or 9 GOP votes willing to buck their Senate leadership has paid off. As of right now, they’ve only got Lugar and Collins for sure.

UPDATE: The other Maine Senator, Olympia Snowe, also came out in support of the treaty Friday, kind of. She said her support for moving the treaty this year was was contingent on allowing "sufficient debate and amendments."

Collins’ full statement after the jump:

SENATOR COLLINS TO SUPPORT

RATIFICATION OF NEW START TREATY

Senator Collins announces support of New START after Administration affirms commitment to reducing Russia’s tactical nuclear weapons

                WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Susan Collins announced her support today for the New START treaty after the Obama Administration addressed her concerns about the disparity between Russia’s large stockpile of tactical nuclear weapons compared to the much smaller number in the United States’ arsenal.  

Last week, Senator Collins sent a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates requesting information about the Administration’s plan to address the significant difference in the number of tactical nuclear weapons between the two countries.  Independent experts estimate Russia has at least 3,800 of this type of nuclear warheads, and press reports indicate that the Russians have moved some of these weapons closer to their border with Europe.

Senator Collins’ letter states: "By maintaining a distinction between the threats of nuclear attack that warrant the ratification of a treaty from those nuclear threats that do not simply based up on the distance from which a nuclear attack is launched or the method by which such a weapon is delivered, we preserve an outdated model regarding the nuclear threats facing our country.  The characteristics of tactical nuclear weapons, particularly their vulnerability for theft and misuse for nuclear terrorism, make reducing their numbers important now." 

In her letter, Senator Collins also expressed her support for the Administration’s recent commitment to increase investment for nuclear modernization efforts. 

In response, Secretaries Clinton and Gates wrote, "The Administration is committed to seeking improved security of, and reductions in, Russian tactical (also known as non-strategic) nuclear weapons."  The letter further states, "we strongly agree with you that the characteristics of tactical nuclear weapons – particularly their vulnerability to theft, misuse, or acquisition by terrorists – make reducing their numbers and enhancing their safety and security extremely important."

In announcing her support for ratification, Senator Collins said, "The New START represents a continued effort to achieve mutual and verifiable reductions in nuclear weapons.  As the Ranking Member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, I support the President’s commitment to reduce not only the number of strategic nuclear weapons through the New START treaty, but also to reduce, in the future, those weapons that are most vulnerable to theft and misuse – and those are tactical nuclear weapons."