    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1999, Book I)]
    [March 17, 1999]
    [Pages 397-398]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Statement on National Missile Defense Legislation
    March 17, 1999

        I am pleased that the Senate, on a bipartisan basis, included in its
    national missile defense (NMD) legislation two amendments that
    significantly change the original bill, which I strongly opposed. By
    specifying that any NMD deployment must be subject to the authorization
    and appropriations process, the legislation now makes clear that no
    decision on deployment has

    [[Page 398]]

    been made. By putting the Senate on record as continuing to support
    negotiated reductions in strategic nuclear arms, the bill reaffirms that
    our missile defense policy must take into account our arms control
    objectives.
        We are committed to meeting the growing danger that outlaw nations
    will develop and deploy long-range missiles that could deliver weapons
    of mass destruction against us and our allies. Next year we will, for
    the first time, determine whether to deploy a limited national missile
    defense against these threats, when we review the results of flight
    tests and other developmental efforts, consider cost estimates, and
    evaluate the threat. In making our determination, we will also review
    progress in achieving our arms control objectives, including negotiating
    any amendments to the ABM Treaty that may be required to accommodate a
    possible NMD deployment.
        This week the Russian Duma took an encouraging step toward obtaining
    final approval of START II. We want to move ahead on the START III
    framework, which I negotiated with President Yeltsin in 1997, to cut Russian and U.S. arsenals 80 percent
    from cold war levels, while maintaining the ABM Treaty as a cornerstone
    of strategic stability. The changes made in the NMD bill during Senate
    debate ensure these crucial objectives will be fully taken into account
    as we pursue our NMD program.