Joint resolution approval and authorization for the President of the United States to accept an Interim Agreement Between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on Certain Measures With Respect to the Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms
PL 92-448 (H.J.Res.1227), enacted 09/30/1972

746 
PUBLIC LAW 92-446-SEPT. 29, 1972 
[86 STAT. 
September 29, 1972 
[H. J. Res.1306] 
Continuing 
appropriations, 
1973. 
Ante, 
p. 563. 
Public Law 92-446 
JOINT RESOLUTION 
Makirifr further continuing appropriations for the tiscal .vejir 
find for other purposes. 
197S. 
A^e-so/oed by the S^eiuite <vud House of Rejjreseiitatives of the Un'tted 
States of America hi. Congress aasemhled,^ That clause (c) of section 
102 of the joint lesolution of July 1, 1972 (Public Law 92-884). as 
amended, is hereby further amended by striking out "September- 80. 
1072" and inserting in lieu thereof "October 14, 1972". 
Approved September 29, 1972. 
September 29, 1972 
[H. R. 9135] 
Public Law 92-447 
AN ACT 
I'o amend the Act of August 19, 1964, to remove the limitation on the maximum 
number of members of the board of trustees of the Paciiic Tropical Botanical 
Garden. 
Pacific Tropi-
cal Botanical 
Garden. 
78 Stat. 497. 
Be it enacted by the Senute and House of Refresentatives 
of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled, That section 5(a) of 
the Act entitled "An Act to charter by Act of Congress the Pacific 
Tropical Botanical Garden", approved August 19, 1964 (Public LaAv 
•^8-449), is amended by striking out the second sentence. 
Approved September 29, 1972. 
Public Law 92-448 
September 30, 1972 
[H. J. Res.1227] 
U.S.-U.S.S.R. 
Strategic arms 
limitation. 
JOINT RESOLUTION 
Approval and authorization for the President of the United States to accept an 
Interim Agreement Between the United States of America and the Union of 
Soviet Socialist Republics on Certain Measures With Respect to the Limitation 
of Strategic Offensive Arms. 
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives 
of the United 
States of America in Congress assembled, That the Congress hereby 
endorses those portions of the Declaration of Basic Principles of 
Mutual Relations Between the United States of America and the Union 
of Soviet Socialist Republics signed by President Nixon and General 
Secretary Brezhnev at Moscow on May 29, 1972, which relate to the 
dangers of military confrontation and which read as follows: 
"The United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist 
Republics attach major importance to preventing the development of 
situations capable of causing a dangerous exacerbation of their rela-
tions . . ." and "will do their utmost to avoid military confrontations 
and to prevent the outbreak of nuclear war" and "will always exercise 
restraint in their mutual relations," and "on outstanding issues will 
conduct" their discussions and negotiations "in a spirit of reciprocity, 
mutual accommodation and mutual benefit." and 
"Both sides recognize that efforts to obtain unilateral advantage at 
the expense of the other, directly or indirectly, are inconsistent with 
these objectives," and 
"The prerequisites for maintaining and strengthening peaceful rela-
tions between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet 
Socialist Republics are the recognition of the security interests of 
the parties based on the principle of equality and the renunciation of 
the use or threat of force.". 
86 STAT. ] 
PUBLIC LAW 92-448-SEPT. 30, 1972 
747 
SEC. 2. The President is hereby authorized to approve on behalf 
of the L^nited States the interim agreement between the United States 
of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on certain 
measures with respect to the limitation of strategic otfensive arms, and 
the protocol related tliereto. signed at Moscow on May 26, 1972, by 
Richard Nixon, President of the United States of America and Leonid 
L Brezhnev, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the 
Communist Party of tlie Soviet Union. 
SEC. 3. The Government and the people of the United States ardently 
desire a stable international strategic balance that maintains peace and 
deters aggression. The Congress supports the stated policy of the 
United States that, were a more complete strategic offensive arms 
agreement not achieved within the five years of the interim agreement, 
and were the survivability of the strategic deterrent forces of the 
L'nited States to be threatened as a result of such failure, this could 
jeopardize the supreme national interests of the United States; the 
Congress recognizes the difficulty of maintaining a stable strategic 
balance in a period of rapidly developing technology; the Congress 
recognizes the principle of United States-Soviet Union equality 
reflected in the antiballistic missile treaty, and urges and requests the 
President to seek a future treaty that, inter alia, would not limit the 
United States to levels of intercontinental strategic forces inferior to 
the limits provided for the Soviet Union; and the Congress considers 
that the success of these agreements and the attainment of more perma-
nent and comprehensive agreements are dependent upon the mainte-
nance under present world conditions of a vigorous research and 
development and modernization program as required by a prudent 
strategic posture. 
SEC. 4. The Congress hereby commends the President for having 
successfully concluded agreements with the Soviet Union limiting the 
production and deployment of antiballistic missiles and certain stra-
tegic offensive armaments, and it supports the announced intention 
of the President to seek further limits on the production and deploy-
ment of strategic armaments at future Strategic Arms Limitation 
Talks. At the same time, the Senate takes cognizance of the fact 
that agreements to limit the further escalation of the arms race are 
only preliminary steps, however important, toward the attainment 
of world stability and national security. The Congress therefore 
urges the President to seek at the earliest practicable moment Strategic 
Arms Reduction Talks (SART) with the Soviet Union, the People's 
Republic of China, and other countries, and simultaneously to work 
toward reductions in conventional armaments, in order to bring about 
agreements for mutual decreases in the production and development 
of weapons of mass destruction so as to eliminate the threat of large-
Hcale devastation and the ever-mounting costs of arms production and 
weapons modernization, thereby freeing world resources for construc-
tive, peaceful use. 
-
SEC. 5. Pursuant to paragraph six of the Declaration of Principles 
of Xixon and Brezhnev on May 29,1972, which states that the United 
States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics: "will continue to 
make special efforts to limit strategic armaments. Whenever possible, 
they will conclude concrete agreements aimed at achieving these pur-
poses" ; Congress considers that the success of the interim agreement 
and the attainment of more permanent and comprehensive agreements 
are dependent upon the preservation of longstanding United States 
l>olicy that neither the Soviet Union nor the United States should seek 
unilateral advantage by developing a first strike potential. 
Approved September 30, 1972.