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United States Arms Control and Disarmament Agency Message to the Congress Transmitting a Report.

January 13, 1981

To the Congress of the United States:

In transmitting to you the 1980 Annual Report of the United States Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, I must emphasize that in 1980, although efforts to control the arms race have made some progress, they have also suffered a serious setback.

The SALT negotiations, aimed at controlling the strategic nuclear arms competition between the United States and the Soviet Union, have continued through four Administrations. The SALT II Treaty, which I signed in June 1979 with Soviet President Brezhnev, represents a significant step in the direction of such arms control. This treaty was the subject of intense national debate and of hearings by three committees of the Senate. However, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in December 1979 made it necessary for me to ask the Senate to delay consideration of the SALT II Treaty on the floor, although, as I informed the Congress, I intended to take up the treaty again after dealing with more urgent matters.

The subsequent Presidential campaign and election have had the effect of referring to the incoming Administration and Congress the question of what action to take with respect to the SALT II Treaty. The fact that this treaty has not been ratified raises serious issues concerning our national security and future arms control efforts.

In the period of relative calm that follows an election year, it should be possible to move quickly toward a mutually acceptable SALT II Treaty that will be ratified by the Senate. This is important to our own national security, and it is the strong wish of all our allies. In addition, while some progress has been made in other arms control negotiations—such as those seeking a Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, a treaty banning chemical weapons, and a treaty to achieve Mutual and Balanced Force Reductions in Europe-success in these efforts is probably dependent upon resolving the issue of SALT II. Similarly, the success of our continuing efforts to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons in other countries is directly related to what the major nuclear powers do in controlling their own nuclear arsenals.

There are many serious problems in this world, but I continue to believe, as I stated in submitting the first annual arms control report of this Administration, that "The challenge of preventing war—and redirecting resources from arsenals of war to human needs is the greatest challenge confronting mankind in this last quarter of the 20th century." We have made progress, but much remains to be done. The future depends on our success.

JIMMY CARTER

The White House,

January 13, 1981.

Note: The report is entitled "Twentieth Annual Report—U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency" (Government Printing Office).

Jimmy Carter, United States Arms Control and Disarmament Agency Message to the Congress Transmitting a Report. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/250618

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