[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 291 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 291

      Recognizing that contributions of the North Atlantic Treaty 
       Organization are vital to United States national security.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 4, 2019

  Ms. Frankel (for herself, Mr. Engel, Mr. Cicilline, Mr. Deutch, Mr. 
   Keating, Mr. Suozzi, Ms. Schakowsky, Mr. Garamendi, Mr. Bera, Mr. 
 Gallego, Ms. Shalala, Ms. Kelly of Illinois, Ms. Houlahan, Mr. Cohen, 
 Mrs. Bustos, Mr. Costa, Mr. Pallone, Mr. Danny K. Davis of Illinois, 
Mrs. Davis of California, Mr. Rush, Ms. Clarke of New York, Mr. Vargas, 
 Mr. Crow, Ms. Kaptur, Mr. Meeks, Mr. Sires, Mr. Cleaver, Ms. Hill of 
    California, Mr. Panetta, Ms. Adams, Mr. Lipinski, Mr. Vela, Mr. 
  Krishnamoorthi, Ms. Speier, Ms. Wasserman Schultz, Mr. Ted Lieu of 
California, Ms. Norton, Ms. Sewell of Alabama, Mr. Himes, Mr. Hastings, 
  Ms. Slotkin, Mr. Schiff, Mr. Pascrell, Mr. Espaillat, Mr. Smith of 
  Washington, and Mr. Malinowski) submitted the following resolution; 
         which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
      Recognizing that contributions of the North Atlantic Treaty 
       Organization are vital to United States national security.

Whereas, on April 4, 1949, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was 
        founded as a defensive alliance to enhance security cooperation between 
        member states and deter a military attack on the allies;
Whereas the United States military presence in Europe has deterred the outbreak 
        of another world war and protects the territorial integrity of NATO 
        allies;
Whereas the 2017 National Security Strategy of the United States of America 
        reaffirms that NATO is ``one of our great advantages over our 
        competitors, and the United States remains committed to Article 5 [of 
        the North Atlantic Treaty]'';
Whereas 29 countries have joined NATO, including most recently the Republic of 
        Montenegro, which was admitted in 2017;
Whereas, on February 9, 2019, NATO member states signed an accession protocol 
        with the Republic of North Macedonia, which officially launches the 
        process to make North Macedonia the 30th member of the alliance;
Whereas continued NATO enlargement has promoted peaceful democratic transitions 
        and stability in Central and Eastern Europe, key United States 
        interests;
Whereas NATO provides a deployable and integrated multilateral military 
        capability, enabling the United States to rapidly shape and lead 
        coalitions to address security threats;
Whereas joint NATO planning, training, and exercises boost United States 
        military readiness and ensure interoperability, defined in this context 
        ``as the ability for [NATO] allies to act together coherently, 
        effectively and efficiently to achieve tactical, operational and 
        strategic objectives'';
Whereas NATO has played a critical role in securing stability in the Balkans, 
        including through its current deployment of approximately 3,210 non-
        United States troops in Kosovo as part of NATO's Kosovo Force (KFOR), an 
        international peacekeeping mission in existence since 1999;
Whereas NATO invoked Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, its collective 
        defense clause, for the first and only time in response to the terrorist 
        attacks on the United States that occurred on September 11, 2001;
Whereas NATO has deployed thousands of troops to Afghanistan, where more than 
        1,100 non-United States NATO ally and partner forces have been killed;
Whereas Admiral James Stavridis, a former NATO Supreme Allied Commander, 
        testified that, ``I signed, sadly, thousands of letters of condolence to 
        Europeans who died fighting because the United States had been 
        attacked'';
Whereas in 2001, NATO agreed on eight measures to support the United States on 
        counter-terrorism, including enhancing intelligence-sharing and 
        providing blanket overflight clearances and access for the United States 
        to ports and airfields for operations against terrorism;
Whereas NATO allies are reinforcing NATO's eastern flank by leading three of the 
        four battlegroups of NATO's Enhanced Forward Presence in Estonia, 
        Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland;
Whereas NATO is a member of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS and supports it 
        through a non-combat training and capacity building mission in Iraq and 
        with the deployment of aircraft to provide intelligence and greater 
        situational awareness;
Whereas the Russian Federation continues to undermine transatlantic unity and 
        security, including through its invasions of Georgia and Ukraine, 
        noncompliance with its arms control commitments, support for the Assad 
        regime and destabilizing role in Syria, interference in democratic 
        elections, downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 in Ukraine on July 
        17, 2014, and its use of a nerve agent in Salisbury, United Kingdom on 
        March 4, 2018;
Whereas NATO carries out disaster relief operations and missions to protect 
        populations against natural or humanitarian disasters, and has adopted 
        anti-piracy responsibilities to ensure freedom of the seas;
Whereas NATO enhances United States cybersecurity, including through the Cyber 
        Operations Center, which incorporates cyber warfare into the alliance's 
        defense operations, and the Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of 
        Excellence, which supports its member states with cyber defence 
        expertise;
Whereas NATO member states have participated in economic sanctions and reduced 
        trade activity with Russia and Iran following the imposition of United 
        States sanctions;
Whereas at the 2014 Wales Summit Declaration, all NATO member states aimed to 
        allocate 2 percent of their gross domestic product toward defense 
        spending and 20 percent of their annual defense spending on major new 
        equipment, including related research and development by 2024;
Whereas NATO members, not including the United States, have increased defense 
        spending for 4 consecutive years, and more than half of NATO member 
        states now spend more than 20 percent of their annual defense 
        expenditures on major new equipment; and
Whereas, on April 3, 2019, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg addressed a 
        joint meeting of Congress to mark the seventieth anniversary of the 
        Alliance: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) reaffirms the enduring commitment of the United States 
        to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) as the bedrock 
        of transatlantic security and stability;
            (2) appreciates the many contributions that NATO member 
        states have made to support and advance vital United States 
        security interests; and
            (3) recognizes that continued United States leadership in 
        NATO is essential to addressing evolving threats to national 
        security and to fulfilling NATO's three core tasks: collective 
        defense, crisis management, and cooperative security.
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