The Obama administration has announced it will seek Senate ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, or CTBT. Speaking at the National Defense University Thursday, Vice President Joe Biden said the US remains committed to banning atomic weapons, but added the US will continue to modernize its arsenal until it’s assured all nuclear-armed states are on board. The administration has committed over $7 billion in spending on its nuclear arms sites. In a statement, Paul Kawika Martin of the group Peace Action praised the backing of the CTBT, but added, “Instead of spending $7 billion on facilities to upgrade nuclear weapons, that money would be more wisely spent on increasing the rate of dismantling the US stockpile. Fewer nuclear weapons makes Americans safer and sends the right message to the rest of the world.” Biden, meanwhile, also said disarmament would be made easier by increased spending on a so-called missile defense shield.

Vice President Joe Biden: “Capabilities like an adaptive missile defensive shield, conventional warheads with worldwide reach, and others that are developing and being developed, will enable us to reduce the role of nuclear weapons as other nuclear powers begin to draw down even further, just as we wish to do. With these modern capabilities, even with deep nuclear reductions, we will remain undeniably strong and in a position to defend our interests against all, all our enemies.”