THE WHITE HOUSE

                    Office of the Press Secretary

  _______________________________________________________________

  For Immediate Release                         November 15, 1996



                        TEXT OF A LETTER FROM
                   THE PRESIDENT TO THE SPEAKER OF
                   THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AND
                     THE PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE


                          November 15, 1996



  Dear Mr. Speaker:     (Dear Mr. President:)

  In order to take additional steps with respect to the
  national emergency described and declared in Executive
  Order 12924 of August 19, 1994, and continued on August 15,
  1995, and August 14, 1996, necessitated by the expiration of
  the Export Administration Act (EAA) on August 20, 1994, I hereby
  report to the Congress that pursuant to section 204(b) of the
  International Emergency Economic Powers Act, 50 U.S.C. 1703(b)
  (the "Act"), I have today exercised the authority granted by the
  Act to issue an Executive order (a copy of which is attached) to
  revise the provisions that apply to the administration of the
  export control system maintained by Department of Commerce in
  the Export Administration Regulations, 15 CFR Part 730 et seq.

  The new Executive order relates to my decision to transfer
  certain encryption products from the United States Munitions
  List administered by the Department of State to the Commerce
  Control List administered by the Department of Commerce.
  When I made that decision I also decided to amend Executive
  Order 12981 of December 5, 1995, which sets forth procedures
  for the interagency review and disposition of dual-use export
  license applications, to include the Department of Justice
  among the agencies that have the opportunity to review such
  applications with respect to encryption products transferred
  to Department of Commerce control.

  Also, in issuing the new order, I provided for appropriate
  controls on the export and foreign dissemination of encryption
  products transferred to the Department of Commerce.  Among
  other provisions, I determined that the export of encryption
  products transferred to Department of Commerce control could
  harm national security and foreign policy interests of the
  United States even where comparable products are or appear to
  be available from foreign sources.  Accordingly, the new order
  makes clear that any EAA provision dealing with issuance of
  licenses or removal of controls based on foreign availability
  considerations shall not apply with respect to export controls
  on such encryption products.  Notwithstanding this, the
  Secretary of Commerce retains the discretion to consider the
  foreign availability of comparable encryption products in any
  particular case.

       	    	      	   	Sincerely,


       	    	      	   	WILLIAM J. CLINTON