Last updated on September 25th, 2023 at 02:09 pm
A group of Senators has introduced new legislation that would block Trump for launching a new nuclear arms race with Russia.
The Prevention of Arms Race Act of 2019 would, “prohibit funding for the procurement, flight-testing, or deployment of a U.S. ground-launched or ballistic missile – with a range of between 500 and 5,500 kilometers – until the Trump Administration provides a report that meets seven specific conditions.”
Read the bill that is sponsored by Senator Jeff Merkley and Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Ron Wyden (D-OR), and Bernie Sanders (I-VT), along with Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Kamala Harris (D-CA), and Sherrod Brown (D-OH):
Sen. Merkley said in a statement provided to PoliticusUSA:
There’s a reason that kids today don’t do duck-and-cover drills in schools and that nobody has bomb shelters in their backyards anymore. That reason is because of key agreements like the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty and the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. This era of stability is put at great risk by President Trump’s decision to unilaterally pull out of the INF Treaty. This decision ignores all the lessons from the Cold War. There is no doubt that Russia is violating the INF Treaty, but the right path forward is to work to bring them back into compliance, not free them to produce more nuclear weapons. Blowing up the Treaty risks the proliferation of nuclear-capable systems by Russia, threatening Europe and jeopardizing decades of bipartisan efforts to reduce nuclear dangers with Russia.
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Pulling out of the INF Treaty plays squarely into Russia’s hands while undermining America’s security and betraying our NATO allies. The Trump administration needs to work more closely with our NATO allies to force Russia back into compliance. And as the chance of a confrontation between American and Chinese forces rises the Indo-Pacific, it makes little sense to add further ambiguity over whether U.S. missiles stationed around the region are nuclear-armed. This legislation will help ensure that we don’t match two major adversaries missile-for-missile, trigger a new nuclear arms race, and incur unacceptable amounts of risk in an already tenuous security environment.
Trump Wants To Start An Arms Race, And Democrats Are Out To Stop Him
A new arms race would weaken NATO, and help Putin strengthen Russia, which is the purpose of all of Trump’s foreign policy. A new arms race would add instability to the entire world and push humanity closer to a nuclear war. There is no good policy reason to trash nearly a half a century of nuclear agreements. Russia is violating the treaty, and instead of putting pressure on them, Trump is going to enable Putin to run wild.
The Trump presidency is loaded with dangerous landmines, but one of the most dangerous for the planet is his desire for a new arms race that could destroy humanity.
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Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
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