Marking the 60th anniversary of the Polaris Sales Agreement between the United States and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Marking the 60th anniversary of the Polaris Sales Agreement between the United States and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Whereas, on December 21, 1962, President John F. Kennedy and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Harold Macmillan met in Nassau, Bahamas, and issued a joint statement (commonly referred to as the Statement on Nuclear Defense Systems Whereas, on April 6, 1963, Secretary of State Dean Rusk and Her Majesty's Ambassador to the United States David Ormsby-Gore signed the Polaris Sales Agreement, reaffirming the Statement on Nuclear Defense Systems and agreeing that the United States Government shall provide and the Government of the United Kingdom shall purchase from the United States Government Polaris missiles, equipment, and supporting services; Whereas the HMS Resolution launched the first Polaris missile of the United Kingdom on February 15, 1968, and, in 1969, commenced the first strategic deterrent patrol for the United Kingdom, initiating a continuous at-sea deterrent posture for the United Kingdom that remains in effect; Whereas the Polaris Sales Agreement was amended to include the Trident II (D5) strategic weapon system on October 19, 1982, in Washington, DC, through an exchange of notes between Secretary of State Jonathan Howe and Her Majesty's Ambassador to the United States Oliver Wright; and Whereas through an exchange of letters in 2008 between Secretary of Defense the Honorable Robert Gates and Secretary of State for Defence of the United Kingdom the Right Honorable Desmond Browne and under the auspices of the Polaris Sales Agreement, the United States Government and the Government of the United Kingdom agreed to continue cooperation to design a common missile compartment for the follow-on ballistic missile submarines of each nation: Now, therefore, be it That the Senate (1) marks the 60th anniversary of the Polaris Sales Agreement between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of the United States of America, done at Washington April 6, 1963; (2) congratulates the Royal Navy for steadfastly maintaining a Continuous At-Sea Deterrent; (3) recognizes the important contribution of the Continuous At-Sea Deterrent to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization; (4) reaffirms that the United Kingdom is a valued and special ally of the United States; and (5) looks forward to continuing and strengthening the shared commitment of the United States and the United Kingdom to sustain submarine-based strategic deterrents well into the future.

Summary: This resolution marks the 60th anniversary of the Polaris Sales Agreement. (The agreement established basic policy and terms for the sale of Polaris missiles by the United States to the United Kingdom, and formed a basis of cooperation between the two countries on strategic nuclear defense and deterrence.) The resolution also commends the Royal Navy for maintaining a continuous at-sea deterrent and reaffirms the United Kingdom as a valued ally of the United States.