[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 148 (Thursday, September 6, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6060-S6061]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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SENATE RESOLUTION 622--SUPPORTING RENAMING NATO HEADQUARTERS AFTER THE 
           LATE UNITED STATES SENATOR JOHN SIDNEY McCAIN, III

  Mr. RUBIO (for himself, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Flake, Mrs. Shaheen, Mr. 
Young, Mr. Merkley, Mr. Kennedy, Mrs. Gillibrand, Ms. Collins, Mr. 
Markey, Mr. Johnson, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. Coons, and Mr. Booker) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
on Foreign Relations:

                              S. Res. 622

       Whereas the late United States Senator John Sidney McCain, 
     III, wrote on February 4, 2006, ``We in the transatlantic 
     community should dare to dream today of the future we might 
     help build in Europe's borderlands, in Central Asia, and 
     throughout the Broader Middle East. As partners in a shared 
     and historic endeavor that has already transformed

[[Page S6061]]

     the lives of millions, we should discount neither the power 
     of our ideals nor the capacity of our democracies. In turning 
     back the forces of tyranny and terror, and in helping to 
     secure the blessings of liberty everywhere, we will embark on 
     a project worthy of this grand alliance. And in doing so, we 
     will prevail, as we have prevailed before--together.'';
       Whereas Senator McCain, as Chairman of the Committee on 
     Armed Services of the Senate, said during his opening 
     statement on March 23, 2017, ``The price our NATO allies paid 
     in blood fighting alongside us should never be diminished. 
     And we must never forget that America is safer and more 
     secure because it has allies that are willing to step up and 
     share the burden of collective security.'';
       Whereas Senator McCain stated on July 10, 2018, ``As we 
     face the most complex and dangerous security environment 
     since the end of the Cold War, we must not forget that 
     America is safer and more secure because we work with and 
     through our allies. Throughout the past seven decades, the 
     United States and its NATO allies have served together, 
     fought together, and sacrificed together for a vision of the 
     world based on freedom, democracy, human rights and rule of 
     law. Our enduring alliance stands as an important safeguard 
     in preserving this world order--and it is essential to 
     securing our national interests.'';
       Whereas Member of Parliament of the United Kingdom Tom 
     Tugendhat, Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the 
     House of Commons, has advocated for NATO to rename its 
     headquarters after Senator McCain, saying that ``[f]ew argued 
     more passionately for a shared commitment to each other's 
     security or understood better that we are all part of one 
     great experiment in freedom'';
       Whereas NATO has already stated that it would ``carefully 
     consider'' renaming its headquarters building after Senator 
     McCain;
       Whereas NATO's new headquarters building was inaugurated on 
     May 25, 2017, is the political and administrative center for 
     NATO activities, is home to the North Atlantic Council and 
     NATO's international staff and international military staff, 
     and hosts approximately 6,000 meetings a year;
       Whereas former NATO Secretaries General Anders Fogh 
     Rasmussen, Lord George Robertson, and Javier Solana have 
     urged NATO to rename its new headquarters after Senator 
     McCain, writing that ``few things symbolise this alliance, 
     and the enduring benefits of American global leadership, more 
     vividly than the life and work of John McCain'' and that 
     ``[w]hether advancing the cause of freedom across the former 
     Soviet states of eastern Europe or defending the multilateral 
     international order at a time of skepticism, his work was a 
     beacon for all of us who believe that transatlantic unity is 
     the only means for ensuring peace'';
       Whereas current NATO Secretary General Jans Stoltenberg 
     wrote that Senator McCain ``will be remembered both in Europe 
     and North America for his courage and character, and as a 
     strong supporter of NATO''; and
       Whereas renaming NATO headquarters after Senator McCain 
     would need the unanimous approval of all 29 members of NATO: 
     Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) recognizes, as the late United States Senator John 
     Sidney McCain, III, did, the immense benefits to the United 
     States and the world of the NATO alliance;
       (2) strongly supports the renaming of NATO headquarters in 
     Brussels, Belgium, after Senator McCain;
       (3) calls on all NATO members to support renaming NATO 
     headquarters after Senator McCain, in recognition of his long 
     and ironclad support for NATO; and
       (4) urges the President to support renaming NATO 
     headquarters after Senator McCain and to direct appropriate 
     officials at the Department of State and the Department of 
     Defense to advocate for their counterparts in NATO member 
     states to support renaming NATO headquarters after Senator 
     McCain.

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