[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 53 (Monday, March 27, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1992-S1993]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                             Cloture Motion

  Mr. CORKER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the mandatory 
quorum call be waived.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Pursuant to rule XXII, the Chair lays before the Senate the pending 
cloture motion, which the clerk will state.

                             Cloture Motion

       We, the undersigned Senators, in accordance with the 
     provisions of rule XXII of the Standing Rules of the Senate, 
     do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the Treaties 
     Calendar No. 1, treaty document No. 114-12, Protocol to the 
     North Atlantic Treaty of 1949 on the Accession of Montenegro.
         Mitch McConnell, Cory Gardner, Steve Daines, John 
           Barrasso, Joni K. Ernst, Bob Corker, John Cornyn, 
           Lindsey Graham, Jeff Flake, James M. Inhofe, Roy Blunt, 
           David Perdue, John McCain, Pat Roberts, Tom Cotton, 
           Jerry Moran, Mike Rounds.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. By unanimous consent, the mandatory quorum 
call has been waived.
  The question is, Is it the sense of the Senate that debate on the 
Protocol to the North Atlantic Treaty of 1949 on the Accession of 
Montenegro shall be brought to a close?
  The yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant bill clerk called the roll.
  Mr. CORNYN. The following Senator is necessarily absent: the Senator 
from Georgia (Mr. Isakson).
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Moran). Are there any other Senators in 
the Chamber desiring to vote?
  The yeas and nays resulted--yeas 97, nays 2, as follows:

                       [Rollcall Vote No. 97 Ex.]

                                YEAS--97

     Alexander
     Baldwin
     Barrasso
     Bennet
     Blumenthal
     Blunt
     Booker
     Boozman
     Brown
     Burr
     Cantwell
     Capito
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Cassidy
     Cochran
     Collins
     Coons
     Corker
     Cornyn
     Cortez Masto
     Cotton
     Crapo
     Cruz
     Daines
     Donnelly
     Duckworth
     Durbin
     Enzi
     Ernst
     Feinstein
     Fischer
     Flake
     Franken
     Gardner
     Gillibrand
     Graham
     Grassley
     Harris
     Hassan
     Hatch
     Heinrich
     Heitkamp
     Heller
     Hirono
     Hoeven
     Inhofe
     Johnson
     Kaine
     Kennedy
     King
     Klobuchar
     Lankford
     Leahy
     Manchin
     Markey
     McCain
     McCaskill
     McConnell
     Menendez
     Merkley
     Moran
     Murkowski
     Murphy
     Murray
     Nelson
     Perdue
     Peters
     Portman
     Reed
     Risch
     Roberts
     Rounds
     Rubio
     Sanders
     Sasse
     Schatz
     Schumer
     Scott
     Shaheen
     Shelby
     Stabenow
     Strange
     Sullivan
     Tester
     Thune
     Tillis
     Toomey
     Udall
     Van Hollen
     Warner
     Warren
     Whitehouse
     Wicker
     Wyden
     Young

                                NAYS--2

     Lee
     Paul
       

                             NOT VOTING--1

       
     Isakson
       
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. On this vote, the yeas are 97, the nays are 2.
  Three-fifths of the Senators duly chosen and sworn having voted in 
the affirmative, the motion is agreed to.
  Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Lankford). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I rise today in favor of the resolution 
of ratification for Montenegro's accession to the North Atlantic Treaty 
Organization, better known as NATO.
  Many of my colleagues are unaware of the fact that the State of Maine 
has a special relationship with Montenegro. It is through the National 
Guard State Partnership Program.
  I thank the majority leader, Senator McConnell, Chairman Corker, 
Senator McCain, the Democratic leadership, Senator Johnson, Senator 
Murphy, and all of those who were instrumental in bringing this 
resolution to the floor for consideration today.
  Montenegro's accession to NATO will serve the strategic interests of 
the United States, it will help to promote stability in the Balkans, 
and it will make us safer. Montenegro has already proven its support 
for American interests, having sent troops to Afghanistan in support of 
NATO- and U.S.-led operations there. Although not yet a member of the 
European Union, Montenegro also voluntarily joined the EU sanctions 
regime against Russia in response to Moscow's illegal annexation of 
Crimea and destabilizing actions in eastern Ukraine. Most important, I 
have great confidence that Montenegro will meet the collective defense 
obligations of NATO membership.
  For the past 10 years, with the assistance of the Maine National 
Guard through the State Partnership Program, Montenegro has worked hard 
to reform its military and to strengthen the rule of law to come into 
compliance with NATO requirements, as defined in NATO's Membership 
Action Plan. Even today, Maine National Guard members are deployed to 
Montenegro to assist its Ministry of Defense in furthering its 
integration into NATO standards and processes.
  I want to take this opportunity to express my appreciation to all of 
the

[[Page S1993]]

members of the Maine National Guard who have participated in this 
operation, including the former and current adjutant general, GEN Bill 
Libby and GEN Doug Farnham, as well as our current guardsman stationed 
in Montenegro, Army CPT Nicolas Phillips. All of them have worked very 
hard during the past 10 years to help Montenegro get ready for this 
highly significant moment.
  We must be clear-eyed about the fact that the Russian Federation has 
undertaken an extensive overt and covert campaign to derail 
Montenegro's bid to join NATO. These efforts include a brazen plot to 
disrupt Montenegro's elections last October and to turn the public 
against the pro-NATO ruling government there. According to Montenegro's 
special prosecutor assigned to the investigation, at least two Russian 
intelligence officers actively participated in this plot, which 
fortunately was disrupted.

  Ratifying Montenegro's NATO membership demonstrates our firm resolve 
against Russia's efforts to deny other countries the opportunity to 
participate in NATO free from outside interference. That is why the 
Supreme Allied Commander for Europe and NATO testified just last week 
before the Senate Armed Services Committee that it is ``absolutely 
critical'' that Montenegro join NATO.
  As President Trump prepares to travel to the NATO leaders' summit in 
Brussels at the end of May, I can think of no better action for the 
Senate to have taken ahead of his visit than our action tonight to 
finally ratify Montenegro's membership in NATO. In the meantime, I also 
look forward to the continued special relationship between Montenegro 
and the great State of Maine.
  Thank you, Mr. President.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

                          ____________________