[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4096 Introduced in House (IH)]







104th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4096

   To encourage and expedite the granting of membership in the North 
    Atlantic Treaty Organization to Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 17, 1996

   Mr. Hoke introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                  Committee on International Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To encourage and expedite the granting of membership in the North 
    Atlantic Treaty Organization to Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``NATO Enlargement Act of 1996''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) Since 1949, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization 
        (NATO) has played an essential role in guaranteeing the 
        security, freedom, and prosperity of the United States and its 
        partners in the Alliance.
            (2) The NATO Alliance is, and has been since its inception, 
        purely defensive in character, and it poses no threat to any 
        nation. The enlargement of the NATO Alliance to include as full 
        and equal members emerging democracies in Central and Eastern 
        Europe will not threaten any nation. America's security, 
        freedom, and prosperity remain linked to the security of the 
        countries of Europe.
            (3) The sustained commitment of the member countries of 
        NATO to a mutual defense has made possible the democratic 
        transformation of Eastern Europe. Members of the Alliance can 
        and should play a critical role in addressing the security 
        challenges of the post-Cold War era and in creating the stable 
        environment needed for those emerging democracies in Central 
        and Eastern Europe to successfully complete political and 
        economic transformation.
            (4) NATO has enlarged its membership on 3 different 
        occasions since 1949.
            (5) Congress has sought to facilitate the further 
        enlargement of NATO at an early date by enacting the NATO 
        Participation Act of 1994 (title II of Public Law 103-447; 22 
        U.S.C. 1928 note) and the NATO Participation Act Amendments of 
        1995 (section 585 of Public Law 104-107).
            (6) As new members of NATO assume the responsibilities of 
        Alliance membership, the costs of maintaining stability in 
        Europe will be shared more widely. Facilitation of the 
        enlargement process will require current members of NATO, and 
        the United States in particular, to demonstrate the political 
        will needed to build on successful ongoing programs such as the 
        Warsaw Initiative and the Partnership for Peace by making 
        available the resources necessary to supplement efforts 
        prospective new members are themselves undertaking.
            (7) The United States continues to regard the political 
        independence and territorial integrity of all emerging 
        democracies in Central and Eastern Europe as vital to European 
        peace and security.
            (8) Full NATO membership is granted to countries in Central 
        and Eastern Europe that meet general qualifications and that 
        have established a free market economy and a western-style 
        democracy.
            (9) As Congress seeks to facilitate the further enlargement 
        of NATO, the following new democracies are requesting 
        membership in the NATO Alliance: Poland, the Czech Republic, 
        Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia.
            (10) Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, 
        Slovakia, and Slovenia are all successful participants in the 
        Partnership for Peace program.
            (11) Under section 203 of the NATO Participation Act of 
        1994, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia, along with Poland, the 
        Czech Republic, and Hungary, qualify to receive assistance in 
        making the transition to full NATO membership.
            (12) In some particular instances, due to specific 
        conditions, certain NATO members, such as Spain and France, 
        have chosen and have been granted a special status of political 
        membership in NATO.

SEC. 3. DECLARATION OF POLICY REGARDING FURTHER ENLARGEMENT OF NATO TO 
              INCLUDE ROMANIA, SLOVAKIA, AND SLOVENIA.

    In order to expedite the process of NATO enlargement, grant 
membership in NATO to all qualifying countries, and strengthen the 
stability in Central and Eastern Europe, the Congress declares the 
following:
            (1) The President, at the earliest possible date, should 
        encourage other member countries of NATO to start negotiations 
        for the accession to NATO, along with Poland, the Czech 
        Republic, and Hungary, of Slovakia, Romania, and Slovenia.
            (2) The pace of the negotiations for accession to NATO by 
        each country described in paragraph (1) should depend on a 
        periodic evaluation of the performance of each such country 
        and, as a result, the date of accession to NATO for each such 
        country may vary.
            (3) The special status of ``political membership'' in NATO, 
        similar to that enjoyed by Spain and France, should be provided 
        for any new member country of NATO if considered to be 
        appropriate by the other member countries of NATO.
                                 <all>