[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

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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.