STATEMENT: WAND applauds Biden-Harris Administration for pursuing a five-year extension of New START
Contact: Corey Greer | cgreer@wand.org | (202) 459-4769
Washington, D.C. The Biden-Harris administration today proposed a full five year extension of the New START treaty between Russia and the United States just days before it is set to expire. New START is critical to reducing nuclear weapons stockpiles and increasing transparency between the U.S. and Russia, the world’s two largest nuclear powers.
WAND’s Executive Director, Nancy Parrish, released the following statement on the extension:
“Extending the existing New START treaty for the full five years is critical, and we applaud the Biden-Harris Administration for doing so on day one. As noted in our “Mutually Assured Dividends: The Case for New START Extension” report, New START provides not only diplomatic and strategic benefits in the form of stable nuclear relations with Moscow but also less-touted benefits like fiscal predictability and cost savings.
“This is an important step to ensure that the two largest nuclear powers continue to limit the size and scope of their arsenals to maintain the global stability that we have worked so hard to build. It also puts us on the path towards reducing wasteful Pentagon spending on weapon systems that will never make us safe and instead risk ending life as we know it.
“As we continue to face the urgent national security threats of the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic impact, along with the rise of white nationalism and the recent insurrection at the United States Capitol, we need to do everything in our power to preserve the tried and true foundations that have kept us safe from a nuclear arms race with Russia for decades. WAND wholeheartedly endorses the Biden-Harris Administration’s swift and decisive action to ensure the security of the United States and preserve a peaceful world order.”
WAND Board Member and former Washington State Legislator, Gael Tarleton, says "We applaud our new President Biden's efforts to extend the the NEW START agreement. There is no time to waste. With the treaty in force, we must then begin the hard work ahead to stop spending taxpayer dollars on new nuclear weapons. It's time we invest precious resources on building a more just and sane national security policy."
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