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[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 7 (Tuesday, January 13, 2009)]
[House]
[Pages H170-H171]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

    AGREEMENT ON PROVISION OF ATOMIC INFORMATION--MESSAGE FROM THE 
           PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES (H. DOC. NO. 111-6)

  The SPEAKER pro tempore laid before the House the following message 
from the President of the United States; which was read and, together 
with the accompanying papers, without objection, referred to the 
Committee on Foreign Affairs and ordered to be printed:

To the Congress of the United States:
  I am pleased to transmit to the Congress, consistent with sections 
123 and 144 b. of the Atomic Energy Act, as amended (42 U.S.C. 2153 and 
2164(b)), the text of the Agreement between the Parties to the North 
Atlantic Treaty for Co-operation Regarding Atomic Information, 
including a technical annex and security annex (hereinafter 
collectively referred to as the ATOMAL Agreement), as a proposed 
agreement for cooperation within the context of the North Atlantic 
Treaty Organization (NATO) between the United States of America and 
each of the following seven new members of NATO: the Republic of 
Bulgaria, the Republic of Estonia, the Republic of Latvia, the Republic 
of Lithuania, Romania, the Slovak Republic, and the Republic of 
Slovenia, hereinafter the ``New Parties.'' I am also pleased to 
transmit my approval, authorization, and determination concerning the 
ATOMAL Agreement with respect to the New Parties, together with a copy 
of the memorandum of the Secretary of Defense with respect to the 
agreement. The ATOMAL Agreement entered into force on March 12, 1965, 
with respect to the United States and the other NATO members at that 
time. The Czech Republic, the Republic of Hungary, the Republic of 
Poland, and Spain subsequently became parties to the ATOMAL Agreement. 
The New Parties have signed this agreement and have

[[Page H171]]

indicated their willingness to be bound by it. The ATOMAL Agreement 
with respect to the New Parties meets the requirements of the Atomic 
Energy Act of 1954, as amended. While the ATOMAL Agreement continues in 
force with respect to the United States and the other current parties 
to it, it will not become effective as an agreement for cooperation 
authorizing the exchange of atomic information with respect to the New 
Parties until completion of procedures prescribed by sections 123 and 
144 b. of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended.
  For more than 40 years, the ATOMAL Agreement has served as the 
framework within which NATO and the other NATO members that have become 
parties to this agreement have received the information that is 
necessary to an understanding and knowledge of and participation in the 
political and strategic consensus upon which the collective military 
capacity of the Alliance depends. This agreement permits only the 
transfer of atomic information, not weapons, nuclear material, or 
equipment. Participation in the ATOMAL Agreement will give Bulgaria, 
Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia the same 
standing within the Alliance with regard to nuclear matters as that of 
the other current parties to the ATOMAL Agreement. This is important 
for the cohesiveness of the Alliance and will enhance its 
effectiveness.
  I have considered the views and recommendations of the Department of 
Defense and other interested agencies in reviewing the ATOMAL Agreement 
and have determined that its performance, including the proposed 
cooperation and the proposed communication of Restricted Data 
thereunder, with respect to the New Parties will promote, and will not 
constitute an unreasonable risk to, the common defense and security. 
Accordingly, I have approved the ATOMAL Agreement with respect to the 
New Parties and authorized the Department of Defense to cooperate with 
the New Parties in the context of NATO upon satisfaction of the 
requirements of section 123 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as 
amended.
  The 60-day continuous session period provided for in section 123 
begins upon receipt of this submission.
                                                      George W. Bush.  
The White House, January 9, 2009.

                          ____________________
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