Senate votes to take up START pact

[spanone]

Washington (CNN) -- The Senate voted Wednesday to begin debate on ratifying a new nuclear arms treaty with Russia, a top presidential priority that conservative Republicans were trying to block in the current lame-duck session of Congress.

Immediately after the 66-32 vote to take up the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, known as New START, Senate leaders announced that the formal debate on the issue would begin Thursday, avoiding an expected request by conservative Republicans for the entire treaty to be read out loud.

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky agreed with the debate schedule announced in the chamber by Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, noting that the treaty is supported by some leading Republicans, including Richard Lugar of Indiana, the ranking GOP member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Earlier, top Democrats blasted the expected Republican request to read the treaty out loud -- which would take 12 hours -- as an intentional delay in considering the treaty that resumes inspections of nuclear arsenals and limits the number of warheads for both countries.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/12/15/start.treaty/index.html?hpt=T1

[AlinPA]

1. It won't fly. Kyl and McCain will kill it.

[karynnj]

3. McCain voted FOR cloture on START

Both Senators Kerry and Lugar think that they will have the votes - the issue is how much time the Republicans will waste.

[spanone]

5. i think they will pass it. it's way too important to play politics with. but with rethugs????

[karynnj]

9. Here it is important to note that Lugar in no way is a "Rethug"

He has worked on this issue for decades and he has worked to get support from Republicans.

[rgbecker]

2. WOW! They actually got some republicans to play the reindeer games?

[karynnj]

4. Yep - here is the rollcall

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/vote.xpd?vote=s2010-277

No one has worked longer and harder on these treaties than Dick Lugar, who has been involved with all of them.

[spanone]

6. evan bayh must have been christmas shopping....?

[karynnj]

7. Who knows - Kerry said some votes they have for the actual treaty vote that needs 67

were not there for cloture. Bayh may have been told by Kerry and Lugar or Reid that there were more than enough votes for cloture.

[spanone]

8. he was the only dem missing in action

[karynnj]

10. True

He better be there for the actual vote - and vote yes.

[KharmaTrain]

11. They Need 67 For Final Passage

This is a foreign treaty and this means a 2/3rds majority must approve the bill...not 51. Note the cloture vote was 66...could be an interesting game here to get #67.