WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) delivered the following statement regarding his vote against the new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START):

“When America’s Founding Fathers created the United States Senate, they provided members of the institution with a clear advice and consent responsibility.  Throughout the debate over new START, I have discovered significant flaws in the treaty that will impact our national security.  The treaty weakens our missile defense, favors Russia, and ignores other nuclear threats like Iran and North Korea.

“When we attempted to fix these problems, we were told that any substantive changes would kill the treaty.  The Senate should not be a rubber stamp for this Administration or for Russia.  I voted against new START because it still contains its old flaws.  When working on national security and missile defense issues, we must get the policy right.”