The Arms Control and Disarmament Agency (ACDA) was established as an independent agency of the Unite States government in 1961. It succeeded the U.S. Disarmament Administration department in the Department of State and took as its mission to strengthen national security by "formulating, advocating, negotiating, implementing and verifying effective arms control, nonproliferation, and disarmament policies, strategies, and agreements."  Its establishment fully integrated arms control into the national security apparatus and policy and provided an agency to coordinate and conduct both research and the participation in international arms control negotiations and operations.  The bureau was reorganized and reintegrated into the State Department in 1997 and merged with the State Department in 1999.   It was merged into the Bureau of Verification, Compliance and Implementation in 2006 during the Bush Administration.