Urging all members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to spend a minimum of 5 percent of gross domestic product on defense.

Urging all members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to spend a minimum of 5 percent of gross domestic product on defense.

Whereas the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has long served as a pillar of collective security and transatlantic cooperation, ensuring stability and shared defense among member states;

Whereas President Donald J. Trump played a leading role in securing increased defense spending commitments from NATO allies to ensure the Alliance remains capable of addressing 21st-century threats;

Whereas the Hague Summit Declaration encouraged allies to allocate at least 5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) to defense spending, demonstrating a commitment to sharing the burden of collective defense;

Whereas the 5 percent GDP spending commitment will be split between spending 3.5 percent on military spending and 1.5 percent on non-traditional defense spending such as infrastructure and cyber security resilience;

Whereas this target, if implemented with discipline and transparency, has the potential to significantly enhance NATO’s military readiness, deterrence posture, and ability to respond to evolving threats including cyber warfare;

Whereas the imprecise language of the Hague Agreement leaves ambiguity about the requirement of all allies reaching the 5 percent of GDP goal;

Whereas the exclusion of certain member countries from the commitment to spend 5 percent of GDP on defense undermines fidelity to the Alliance;

Whereas the commitment to spending 5 percent of GDP on verifiable defense expenditures is important to the defense of all member nations;

Whereas the inclusion of domestic infrastructure in allies’ calculations toward their 1.5 percent commitment to non-traditional defense expenditures contributes minimally to the Alliance’s ability to address external threats; and

Whereas the commitment from economies of all sizes within NATO to meet the former goal of spending 2 percent GDP on defense shows that not meeting spending commitments is a choice of will and not of circumstance: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the Senate—

(1) congratulates President Donald J. Trump and NATO leadership on the new commitment to defense investment, and commends the Alliance for its renewed focus on collective defense;

(2) lauds NATO members who spent more than 2 percent of their GDP on defense prior to the Hague Summit;

(3) strongly urges NATO leadership to compel members to adhere to the 5 percent GDP commitment to defense spending;

(4) calls on all NATO allies to ensure their non-traditional defense expenditures are demonstrably aligned with legitimate defense objectives; and

(5) reaffirms the importance of NATO and the commitment of the United States Senate to maintaining a strong, capable, and united Alliance.