THE WHITE HOUSE Office of the Press Secretary ________________________________________________________________________ For Immediate Release December 27, 2000 STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT Today I have signed into law H.R. 5630, the "Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2001." I am pleased that the Act no longer contains the badly flawed provision that would have made a felony of unauthorized disclosures of classified information, and that was the basis for my veto of a previous version of this legislation. I thank the Congress for working with me to produce a bill that I can sign. I appreciate the inclusion of section 308 concerning the applicability of Federal laws implementing international treaties and other international agreements to United States intelligence activities. Section 308 applies only to intelligence activities of the United States and addresses particular concerns regarding the potential application of future United States domestic laws implementing international agreements to otherwise lawful and appropriately authorized intelligence activities. This provision does not in any way address the proper interpretation of pre-existing implementing legislation or other United States statutes, nor does it in any way address other United States Government activities. Title VIII of the Act sets forth requirements governing the declassification and disclosure of Japanese Imperial Army records, as defined by the Act. The executive branch has previously been declassifying United States Government records related to Japanese war crimes under the provisions of the Nazi War Crimes Disclosure Act, Public Law 105-246; consequently, I understand that title VIII does not apply to records undergoing declassification pursuant to the Nazi War Crimes Disclosure Act. Finally, I acknowledge the efforts of the Congress to bring about a more capable, secure, and effective Diplomatic Telecommunications System. I am concerned, however, that the proposed changes for the Diplomatic Telecommunications Service Program Office do not yet represent the best methods for improving the management of this system. As the executive branch implements this legislation, I encourage the Congress to work with the executive branch to consider alternatives for further improvements. WILLIAM J. CLINTON THE WHITE HOUSE, December 27, 2000. # # #