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 ), agreeing that the United States would make Polaris missiles available on a continuing basis to the United Kingdom for use in submarines; 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