Washington (CNN) -- The new nuclear arms control pact with Russia cleared a key procedural hurdle Tuesday as the Senate voted to cut off debate on the measure.
The 67-28 vote indicated a near-certain win for President Barack Obama on one of his top foreign policy priorities as Democrats continued to push through a series of measures before the end of the lame-duck session of Congress.
Eleven Republicans joined a unified Democratic caucus in support of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, known as New START. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry, D-Massachusetts, said the measure will proceed to a final Senate vote no later than early Wednesday afternoon.
The treaty, if ratified, would resume inspections of each country's nuclear arsenal while limiting both the United States and Russia to 1,550 warheads and 700 launchers.
The treaty "leaves our country with enough nuclear warheads to blow any attacker to kingdom come," Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tennessee, declared on the Senate floor Tuesday. "I'm convinced that Americans are safer and more secure with the New START treaty than without it". CNN
