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Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) released the following statement today after the United Nations Security Council voted to approve a resolution related to the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT): 

“The Senate’s role in ratifying treaties is one of Congress’ fundamental prerogatives in safeguarding our national security, but the Obama Administration has continuously disregarded and undermined this role, despite what the Constitution clearly states. That is why I have opposed this Administration’s executive overreach and attempts to circumvent the Constitution through international endorsements of policies that do not have the support of the two-thirds majority of the Senate  that our constitution requires. The Senate rejected the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty in 1999. The Obama Administration has done next to nothing over the past seven and a half years to persuade Senators today that this treaty deserves ratification any more than when the Senate spoke clearly 17 years ago. I oppose this treaty and share the concerns of those who rejected it previously because of its potential impact on our nuclear deterrent and difficulty with verifying compliance.

“I am pleased the Administration appears to have walked back from its initial intention to seek a Security Council resolution purporting to create a binding obligation on the United States to comply with a treaty the U.S. Senate has not ratified. Secretary of State Rice clearly indicated to the Senate in 2008 that the CTBT does not impose on the United States continuing obligations as a signatory under international law. The P5 statement negotiated by the Obama Administration and the UN Security Council resolution passed today do not appear to contradict Secretary Rice’s assurances, and I look forward to the Administration confirming this in response to the letter I and 32 other Senators sent to President Obama earlier this month. 

“While President Obama has spent his time in office offering lofty rhetoric about a world without nuclear weapons, our enemies have been gaining real ground. Two weeks ago, North Korea conducted its fifth nuclear test. Iran, the world’s foremost state sponsor of terrorism, now has an internationally recognized nuclear program. Because of the Obama Administration’s retreat from the world stage, our allies in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia are questioning the U.S. nuclear umbrella, and even contemplating the development of their own nuclear capabilities. On President Obama’s watch, the likelihood of a highly-proliferated nuclear world has increased exponentially. Preventing such a disaster will not come through more arms control agreements, but from bolstering our nuclear deterrent and strengthening our alliances.”