[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 31, Number 28 (Monday, July 17, 1995)]
[Pages 1236-1237]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Letter to Congressional Leaders Transmitting the Report of the Arms 
Control and Disarmament Agency

July 13, 1995

Dear Mr. Speaker:  (Dear Mr. Chairman:)

    I am pleased to transmit the 1994 Annual Report of the United States 
Arms Control and Disarmament Agency (ACDA).
    The ACDA was established in 1961 in part because Dean Rusk, 
Secretary of State at that

[[Page 1237]]

time, believed the President needed access to unfiltered arms control 
analysis.
    After a comprehensive review in 1993 and a second review in early 
1995, it is clear to me that Secretary Rusk was correct: sound arms 
control and nonproliferation policy requires an independent, 
specialized, and technically competent arms control and nonproliferation 
agency.
    In the absence of such an agency, neither I nor any future President 
could count on receiving independent arms control advice, unfiltered by 
other policy considerations. A President would thus at times have to 
make the most consequential national security decisions without the 
benefit of vigorous advocacy of the arms control point of view.
    Moreover, I have found that ACDA's unique combination of single-
mission technical expertise with its painstakingly developed capability 
for multilateral negotiation and implementation of the most intricate 
arms control and nonproliferation agreements could not be sustained with 
equal effectiveness outside of a dedicated arms control agency.
    The ACDA's first major success was the establishment of the Nuclear 
Non-Proliferation Treaty. Twenty-five years later, its most recent major 
success is its long-term effort culminating in permanent and 
unconditional extension of that same Treaty. On both counts, America and 
the world are far more secure because of the ability and dedication of 
ACDA's leadership and professional staff.
    I have therefore decided that ACDA will remain independent and 
continue its central role in U.S. arms control and nonproliferation 
policy.
    Whether the issue is nuclear nonproliferation, nuclear missile 
reduction, chemical weapons elimination, or any of the other growing 
arms control and nonproliferation challenges America faces, ACDA is an 
essential national security asset.
    In that spirit, I commend this report to you.
    Sincerely,
                                            William J. Clinton

Note: Identical letters were sent to Newt Gingrich, Speaker of the House 
of Representatives, and Jesse Helms, chairman, Senate Committee on 
Foreign Relations.