[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 80 (Monday, June 17, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5627-S5628]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         THE REESTABLISHMENT OF THE SENATE NATO OBSERVER GROUP

  Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, today the Senate Republican Leader and I 
are pleased to reestablish the bipartisan Senate NATO Observer Group, 
or SNOG. We originally established the SNOG in April 1997 to advise the 
full Senate on the historic first round of enlargement of the North 
Atlantic Treaty Organization, NATO. It served as an important line of 
communication between the Senate and NATO and the Senate and candidate 
countries in the months prior to the July 1997 NATO summit in Madrid at 
which Poland, the Czech Republic, and Hungary were admitted to the 
alliance. The SNOG and the information it generated was central to the 
Senate's ratification of the protocols of accession in April 1998.
  The Senate debate in 1998 foreshadowed further enlargement of NATO, 
and in June 2001, the North Atlantic Council determined that NATO would 
admit at least one candidate country at the November 2002 summit in 
Prague. In reestablishing the SNOG, we are asking this bipartisan group 
of our colleagues to closely monitor the enlargement process and to 
keep the rest of the Senate fully informed as we move to another 
historic decision at Prague. The SNOG will work with the 
Administration, our NATO allies, and the NATO candidate countries, of 
which there are nine. The fact that nine countries have been designated 
as candidates only highlights the importance of the SNOG in assessing 
each country's progress in meeting the qualifications for accession and 
reporting to the Senate on that progress.
  The Senate takes its constitutional role of advise and consent on 
treaties very seriously. The protocols of accession signed by new NATO 
members are considered amendments to the North Atlantic Treaty and will 
require the advice and consent of the Senate. The inclusion of new 
member countries into NATO involves a commitment, under Article V of 
the Treaty, to defend those countries in case of attack--a solemn 
commitment and one we will not undertake lightly. It is in the security 
interests of the United States to see NATO expanded, to create a Europe 
that is whole and free. But it is also the solemn responsibility of the 
U.S. Senate to look carefully at any new commitments to which American 
troops might be subject.
  The SNOG will be chaired by the Chairman of the Senate Foreign 
Relations Committee, Senator Joseph Biden of Delaware, and co-chaired 
by Senator Helms. The Senate Majority Leader and Republican Leader will 
be members, ex officio. The other Democratic Senators on the SNOG will 
be Senators Robert Byrd of West Virginia, Jean Carnahan of Missouri, 
Max Cleland of Georgia, Byron Dorgan of North Dakota, Richard Durbin of 
Illinois, Tom Harkin of Iowa, Daniel Inouye of Hawaii, Tim Johnson of 
South Dakota, Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, Patrick Leahy of Vermont, 
Carl Levin of Michigan, Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut, Barbara 
Mikulski of Maryland, Paul Sarbanes of Maryland, Robert Torricelli of 
New Jersey, and Paul Wellstone of Minnesota.
  Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I am pleased to join Senator Daschle in 
reestablishing the Senate NATO Observer Group. When we first 
established the SNOG in April 1997, I emphasized that the Senate be in 
on the ground floor of the NATO enlargement process. Because it was 
bipartisan, the SNOG cut across party lines as well as committee 
jurisdictions, and ensured that the Senate would be heard both during 
the NATO enlargement process and after the decisions were taken in 
Madrid. Today, by reestablishing the SNOG, we are ensuring that the 
Senate will be fully informed prior to the next round

[[Page S5628]]

of enlargement this November in Prague and in its consideration of 
ratification.
  On June 15, 2001, President Bush gave an historic speech in Warsaw, 
Poland at which he said that ``all of Europe's new democracies, from 
the Baltic to the Black Sea and all that lie between, should have the 
same chance for security and freedom, and the same chance to join the 
institutions of Europe, as Europe's old democracies.'' His audience, 
the Poles, understood what he was talking about. Less than two decades 
ago, they suffered under the oppressive weight of the Soviet Union. 
Today, they enjoy freedom, protected by their membership in NATO. As 
the Senate considers the expansion of NATO to include other Eastern 
European countries, we should remember the words of the President. We 
must also act deliberately, examining the qualifications of each 
candidate country and the commitments that their accession to NATO 
entails. It is for that purpose that we are reestablishing the SNOG.
  The other Republican Senators on the SNOG will be Wayne Allard of 
Colorado, Sam Brownback of Kansas, Ben Nighthorse Campbell of Colorado, 
Thad Cochran of Mississippi, Mike DeWine of Ohio, Mike Enzi of Wyoming, 
Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Don Nickles of 
Oklahoma, Pat Roberts of Kansas, Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, Jeff 
Sessions of Alabama, Gordon Smith of Oregon, Ted Stevens of Alaska, 
George Voinovich of Ohio, and John Warner of Virginia.

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