[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1999, Book I)]
[June 25, 1999]
[Pages 1023-1024]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Message to the Congress on Implementation of the Chemical Weapons 
Convention Implementation Act
June 25, 1999

To the Congress of the United States:
    On November 14, 1994, in light of the danger of the proliferation of 
nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons (weapons of mass destruction) 
and of the means of delivering such weapons, using my authority under 
the International

[[Page 1024]]

Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), I issued 
Executive Order 12938, declaring a national emergency to deal with this 
danger. Because the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction 
continues to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national 
security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States, I have 
renewed the national emergency declared in Executive Order 12938 
annually, most recently on November 12, 1998. Pursuant to section 204(b) 
of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1703(b)), 
I hereby report to the Congress that I have exercised my statutory 
authority to further amend Executive Order 12938 in order to more 
effectively respond to the worldwide threat of weapons of mass 
destruction proliferation activities.
    The new Executive order, which implements the Chemical Weapons 
Convention Implementation Act of 1998, strengthens Executive Order 12938 
by amending section 3 to authorize the United States to implement 
important provisions of the Convention on the Prohibition of the 
Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on 
Their Destruction, a multilateral agreement that serves to reduce the 
threat posed by chemical weapons. Specifically, the amendment enables 
the United States Government to ensure that imports into the United 
States of certain chemicals from any source are permitted in a manner 
consistent with the relevant provisions of the Convention.

                                                      William J. Clinton

The White House,

June 25, 1999.

Note: An original was not available for verification of the content of 
this message. The Executive order is listed in Appendix D at the end of 
this volume.