Bill Clinton: “Control and Disarmament Agency July 13, 1995 Dear Mr. Speaker: (Dear Mr. Chairman:) I am pleased to transmit the 1994…”

“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 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.…”