[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 22 (Tuesday, February 6, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Page S1628]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. LUGAR:
  S. 494. A bill to endorse further enlargement of the North Atlantic 
Treaty Organization (NATO) and to facilitate the timely admission of 
new members to NATO, and for other purposes; to the Committee on 
Foreign Relations.
  Mr. LUGAR. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the ``NATO 
Freedom Consolidation Act of 2007''. Last year this legislation passed 
the Senate by unanimous consent. Unfortunately, the House was unable to 
act prior to adjournment last year.
  I was pleased that thirteen of my colleagues, including Senators 
Biden, Chambliss, Coleman, Dodd, Hagel, Hutchison, Martinez, McCain, 
Smith, and Sununu, joined me in proposing this important legislation.
  The goal of this bill is to reaffirm United States support for 
continued enlargement of NATO to democracies that are able and willing 
to meet the responsibilities of membership. In particular, the 
legislation calls for the timely admission of Albania, Croatia, 
Georgia, Macedonia, and Ukraine to NATO and authorizes security 
assistance for these countries in Fiscal Year 2008. Each of these 
countries has clearly stated its desire to join NATO and is working 
hard to meet the specified requirements for membership.
  I believe that eventual NATO membership for these five countries 
would be a success for Europe, NATO, and the United States by 
continuing to extend the zone of peace and security. Albania, Croatia, 
and Macedonia have been making progress on reforms through their 
participation in the NATO Membership Action Plan since 2002. 
Unfortunately, Georgia and Ukraine have not yet been granted a 
Membership Action Plan but nevertheless have made remarkable progress. 
This legislation will provide important incentives and assistance to 
the countries to continue the implementation of democratic, defense, 
and economic reforms.
  Since the end of the Cold War, NATO has been evolving to meet the new 
security needs of the 21st century. In this era, the threats to NATO 
members are transnational and far from its geographic borders. There is 
strong support among members for NATO's operation in Afghanistan, and 
for its training mission in Iraq. NATO's viability as an effective 
defense and security alliance depends on flexible, creative leadership, 
as well as the willingness of members to improve capabilities and 
address common threats.
  If NATO is to continue to be the preeminent security Alliance and 
serve the defense interests of its membership, it must continue to 
evolve and that evolution must include enlargement. Potential NATO 
membership motivates emerging democracies to make important advances in 
areas such as the rule of law and civil society. A closer relationship 
with NATO will promote these values and contribute to our mutual 
security. Georgia is a young democracy that has made tremendous 
progress since the ``Rose Revolution.'' It is situated in a critical 
geo-strategic location and is host to a large portion of the Baku-
Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline that carries important energy resources to the 
West from Azerbaijan and, in the future, Kazakhstan. Georgia is 
resisting pressure from breakaway republics backed by Moscow. In the 
past, border disputes have been identified as reasons a country may not 
be invited to join NATO. But in this case, Russia's action, not 
Georgia's, are frustrating Tbilisi's NATO aspirations.
  Three years ago, the United States Senate unanimously voted to invite 
seven countries to join NATO. Today, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, 
Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia are making significant 
contributions to NATO and are among our closest allies in the global 
war on terrorism. It is time again for the United States to take the 
lead in urging its allies to bring in new members, and to offer timely 
admission of Albania, Croatia, Georgia, Macedonia, and Ukraine to NATO.
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