THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

                   TEXT OF A LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT
                       TO CONGRESSIONAL LEADERSHIP
                AND SELECTED REPRESENTATIVES AND SENATORS

                             April 23, 1999

In my September 22, 1997, message transmitting the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty to the Senate for advice and consent to ratification, I announced that I would provide to the appropriate committees of Congress the annual certification of the nuclear weapons stockpile by the Secretaries of Defense and Energy and accompanying report. Enclosed is a copy of that certification and report.

I am pleased to note the Secretaries' conclusion that the nuclear stockpile has no safety or reliability concerns that require underground testing at this time. Problems that have arisen in the stockpile are being addressed and resolved without underground nuclear testing to ensure the stockpile remains safe and reliable. In reaching this conclusion, the Secretaries obtained the advice of the Directors of the National Weapons Laboratories, the Commander in Chief, United States Strategic Command, and the Nuclear Weapons Council.

Sincerely,

WILLIAM J. CLINTON

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