Author:James Earl Carter/Presidential Review Memorandums

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Presidential Review Memorandums

President Carter changed the name of the documents in the decision-making process, although the mechanics of NSC review differed little from that of previous administrations. The Presidential Review Memorandum (PRM) replaced the National Security Study Memorandum (NSSM), and the Presidential Directive (PD) supplanted the National Security Decision Memorandum (NSDM). PRMs identified topics to be researched by the NSC, defined the problem to be analyzed, set a deadline for the completion of the study, and assigned responsibility for it to one of the two NSC committees. If the selected committee were the Policy Review Committee, a member was designated to serve as study chairman. The study chairman assigned an ad hoc working group to complete the study, which was ultimately reviewed by the responsible committee (either the PRC or SCC). When the committee was satisfied that the study had incorporated meaningful options and supporting arguments, the study's conclusions went to the President in a 2- or 3-page memorandum, which in turn formed the basis for a Presidential Directive.

Presidential Review Memorandums
Number	Document Title	Date
PRM 1	Panama	21 Jan 77
PRM 2	SALT	24 Jan 77
PRM 3**	Middle East	21 Jan 77
PRM 4	South Africa and Rhodesian Negotiations	21 Jan 77
PRM 5	Cyprus / Agean	21 Jan 77
PRM 6	Mutual and Balanced Force Reduction Talks	21 Jan 77
PRM 7	International Summit	21 Jan 77
PRM 8	North - South Strategy	21 Jan 77
PRM 9	Comprehensive Review of European Issues	01 Feb 77
PRM 10	Comprehensive Net Assessment and Military Force Posture Review	18 Feb 77
PRM 11	Intelligence Structure and Mission	22 Feb 77
PRM 12	Arms Transfer Policy Review	26 Jan 77
PRM 13*	Korea	26 Jan 77
PRM 14	Phillippine Base Negotiations	26 Jan 77
PRM 15	Nuclear Proliferation	21 Jan 77
PRM 16	Nuclear Testing	25 Jan 77
PRM 17	Review of US Policy Toward Latin America	26 Jan 77
PRM 18	Law of the Sea Policy Review	02 Feb 77
PRM 19	Micronesian Status Negotiations	15 Feb 77
PRM 20**	Cooperation with France	22 Feb 77
PRM 21	The Horn of Africa	17 Mar 77
PRM 22**	A National Integrated Telecommunications Protection Policy	24 Mar 77
PRM 23	A Coherent US Space Policy	28 Mar 77
PRM 24*	People's Republic of China	05 Apr 77
PRM 25	Arms Control in Indian Ocean Area	07 Apr 77
PRM 26	ABM Treaty Review	14 May 77
PRM 27	Chemical Warfare	19 May 77
PRM 28	Human Rights	20 May 77
PRM 29	A Comprehensive Review of the Classification System	01 Jun 77
PRM 30	Terrorism	02 Jun 77
PRM 31	Export Control of US Technology	18 Aug 77
PRM 32	Civil Defense	30 Sep 77
PRM 33	Science and Technology in Developing Countries	16 Feb 78
PRM 34	North Africa	14 Apr 78
PRM 35	International Communication Policy	28 Apr 78
PRM 36	Soviet / Cuban Presence in Africa	23 May 78
PRM 37	Chemical Weapons	16 Jun 78
PRM 38	Long-range Theater Nuclear Capabilities and Arms Control	22 Jun 78
PRM 39	Economic Implications of a Middle East Peace Settlement	78 Jun 26
PRM 40**	Military Survey Teams	01 Aug 78
PRM 41	Review of US Policies Toward Mexico	14 Aug 78
PRM 42**	Framework of US Strategy for Non-military Competition with the Soviet Union	24 Aug 78
PRM 43**	United States Global Military Presence	24 Aug 78
PRM 44**	Export of Oil and Gas Production Technology to USSR	21 Sep 78
PRM 45	US Policy Toward Korea	22 Jan 79
PRM 46*	Review of US Policy Toward Central America	04 May 79
PRM 46* forgery	Black Africa and the U.S. Movement	17 March 78
PRM 47**	President's Plan for Selective Service System Reform	12 Oct 79