WASHINGTON – Heritage Action, a conservative grassroots organization with two million grassroots activists, released a statement from Executive Director Jessica Anderson following reports of Russia suspending participation in the New START nuclear agreement.
“For over a decade, The Heritage Foundation and Heritage Action have sounded the alarm on the dangers of the New START nuclear agreement. When the plan was implemented in 2010, it was clear that this was a disastrous plan that would limit American missile defense capabilities and severely weaken our national security. Now, Russia’s announcement to suspend their participation in New START has proven what conservatives knew all along: they are not to be trusted as honest partners in international arms agreements.
Instead of making the same mistake again, the United States must shift its approach to protect national security and U.S. interests. This includes accelerating the nuclear modernization program, developing new technologies, and strengthening our nuclear deterrent efforts. Under the Biden administration, the United States has repeatedly failed to project strength abroad, but our national security cannot afford another foreign policy blunder. Both this administration and Congress need to get serious about holding bad actors like Russia and China accountable, and putting the necessary protections in place to protect our national security and strategic interests.”
BACKGROUND:
The Heritage Foundation (August 2010): An Independent Assessment of New START
Heritage Action (November 2010): RELEASE: Heritage Action Condemns Reported New START Deal
The Heritage Foundation (March 2020): New START: The U.S. Should Not Extend the Dangerously Flawed Treaty for Five More Years