[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 58 (Wednesday, April 3, 2019)]
[House]
[Pages H2989-H2993]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1052
 JOINT MEETING TO HEAR AN ADDRESS BY HIS EXCELLENCY JENS STOLTENBERG, 
      SECRETARY GENERAL OF THE NORTH ATLANTIC TREATY ORGANIZATION

  During the recess, the House was called to order by the Speaker at 10 
o'clock and 52 minutes a.m.
  The Assistant to the Sergeant at Arms, Ms. Kathleen Joyce, announced 
the Vice President and Members of the U.S. Senate, who entered the Hall 
of the House of Representatives, the Vice President taking the chair at 
the right of the Speaker, and the Members of the Senate the seats 
reserved for them.
  The SPEAKER. The joint meeting will come to order.
  The Chair appoints as members of the committee on the part of the 
House to escort His Excellency Jens Stoltenberg into the Chamber:
  The gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer);
  The gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Clyburn);
  The gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Lujan);
  The gentleman from New York (Mr. Jeffries);
  The gentlewoman from Massachusetts (Ms. Clark);
  The gentleman from California (Mr. Schiff);
  The gentleman from New York (Mr. Engel);
  The gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Lowey);
  The gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Connolly);
  The gentleman from California (Mr. McCarthy);
  The gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Scalise);

[[Page H2990]]

  The gentlewoman from Wyoming (Ms. Cheney);
  The gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Emmer);
  The gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Palmer);
  The gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Walker);
  The gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Smith);
  The gentleman from California (Mr. Nunes); and
  The gentleman from Texas (Mr. McCaul).
  The VICE PRESIDENT. The President of the Senate, at the direction of 
that body, appoints the following Senators as members of the committee 
on the part of the Senate to escort His Excellency Jens Stoltenberg, 
Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization into the 
House Chamber:
  The Senator from Kentucky (Mr. McConnell);
  The Senator from South Dakota (Mr. Thune);
  The Senator from Iowa (Mr. Grassley);
  The Senator from Wyoming (Mr. Barrasso);
  The Senator from Iowa (Ms. Ernst);
  The Senator from Missouri (Mr. Blunt);
  The Senator from Idaho (Mr. Risch);
  The Senator from North Carolina (Mr. Tillis);
  The Senator from Illinois (Mr. Durbin);
  The Senator from Washington (Mrs. Murray);
  The Senator from Minnesota (Ms. Klobuchar);
  The Senator from West Virginia (Mr. Manchin);
  The Senator from Wisconsin (Ms. Baldwin);
  The Senator from Rhode Island (Mr. Reed);
  The Senator from New Jersey (Mr. Menendez);
  The Senator from Maryland (Mr. Cardin); and
  The Senator from New Hampshire (Mrs. Shaheen).
  The Assistant to the Sergeant at Arms announced the Acting Dean of 
the Diplomatic Corps, His Excellency Serge Mombouli, the Ambassador of 
the Republic of Congo.
  The Acting Dean of the Diplomatic Corps entered the Hall of the House 
of Representatives and took the seat reserved for him.
  The Assistant to the Sergeant at Arms announced the Cabinet of the 
President of the United States.
  The members of the Cabinet of the President of the United States 
entered the Hall of the House of Representatives and took the seats 
reserved for them in front of the Speaker's rostrum.
  At 11 o'clock and 10 minutes a.m., the Sergeant at Arms, the 
Honorable Paul D. Irving, announced His Excellency Jens Stoltenberg, 
Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
  The Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, 
escorted by the committee of Senators and Representatives, entered the 
Hall of the House of Representatives and stood at the Clerk's desk.
  (Applause, the Members rising.)
  The SPEAKER. Members of Congress, I have the high privilege and the 
distinct honor of presenting to you His Excellency Jens Stoltenberg, 
Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
  (Applause, the Members rising.)
  Secretary General STOLTENBERG. Madam Speaker, Mr. Vice President, 
honorable Members of the United States Congress, ladies and gentlemen, 
I am really truly honored and grateful for the privilege of addressing 
you all today and to represent the 29 members of the NATO alliance.
  Seventy years ago tomorrow, NATO's founding treaty was signed in this 
great city. On that day, President Truman said: ``We hope to create a 
shield against aggression and the fear of aggression; a bulwark which 
will permit us to get on with the real business of government and 
society; the business of achieving a fuller and happier life for all 
our citizens.''
  Our alliance was created by people who had lived through two 
devastating world wars. They knew only too well the horror, the 
suffering, and the human and material cost of war. They were determined 
that this should never happen again. And they were also determined to 
stand up to the expansion of the Soviet Union which was taking control 
over its neighbors, crushing democracies, and oppressing their people.
  So they founded NATO with a clear purpose: to preserve peace and to 
safeguard freedom, and--with an ironclad commitment by all members of 
the alliance--to protect each other. They made a solemn promise: one 
for all and all for one.
  This commitment has served us well. Peace has been preserved and 
freedom maintained.
  Yes, allies have been involved in conflicts in different parts of the 
world, and allies have suffered the pain of terrorist attacks, but no 
NATO ally has been attacked by another country. The Cold War ended 
without a shot being fired in Europe, and we have experienced an 
unprecedented period of peace. So the NATO alliance is not only the 
longest lasting alliance in history, it is the most successful alliance 
in history.
  Ever since the founding of our treaty, our alliance, in 1949, every 
Congress, every American President, your men and women in uniform, and 
the people of the United States of America have been staunch supporters 
of NATO.

  America has been the backbone of our alliance. It has been 
fundamental to European security and for our freedom. We would not have 
the peaceful and prosperous Europe we see today without the sacrifice 
and the commitment of the United States.
  For your enduring support, I thank you all today.
  So NATO has been good for Europe. But NATO has also been good for the 
United States. The strength of a nation is not only measured by the 
size of its economy or the number of its soldiers, but also by the 
number of its friends. And through NATO, the United States has more 
friends and allies than any other power. This has made the United 
States stronger, safer, and more secure.
  Madam Speaker, Mr. Vice President, it is good to have friends.
  Yesterday, as I flew over the Atlantic, I looked out of my window at 
the ocean below, the great ocean that lies between our two continents. 
The Atlantic does not divide us; it unites us, and it binds us 
together.
  For Norwegians like me, the Atlantic Ocean defines who we are. 
Indeed, it was a Norseman, Leif Erikson, who was the first European to 
reach American shores almost 1,000 years ago--a fact more people would 
know if he hadn't left so quickly and decided not to tell anyone about 
it.
  For adventurers like Leif Erikson, the Atlantic Ocean was never a 
barrier. Rather, it was a great blue bridge to new lands and new 
possibilities. For millions of Europeans, it has been a bridge to 
freedom, sanctuary, and hope.
  My grandparents were among them. My mother was born in Paterson, New 
Jersey, and I lived part of my childhood in San Francisco. So, this has 
given me a sense of kinship with this wonderful country, a kinship that 
has only grown throughout my life.
  For instance, I remember well during the Cold War, when I was a 
conscript in the Norwegian Army, our forces were trained and equipped 
to hold the line. But we knew that we could not take on the might of 
the Soviet Union alone, and Norway is actually bordering the Soviet 
Union or was bordering the Soviet Union during the Cold War.
  But we also knew that we were not alone. We knew that, if needed, our 
NATO allies, led by the United States, would soon be there with us. We 
enjoyed a level of security that only our transatlantic alliance could 
provide.
  So, thanks to NATO, as a young man during the Cold War, I felt safe. 
And that says something about the strength of our alliance.
  Madam Speaker, Mr. Vice President, Members of Congress, at the 
entrance to the NATO headquarters in Belgium, there are two monuments--
one, a piece of the Berlin Wall. Designed to keep people in and ideas 
out, it failed. It failed because the ideas and the values of those who 
built it were less compelling and less powerful than ours, because we, 
as NATO, were resolute. We stood together and would not back down.
  The other monument is a twisted steel beam from the North Tower of 
the World Trade Center, a memorial to the ordinary people going about 
their business on an ordinary day when the unthinkable happened, a 
memorial to the 2,977 people who lost their lives on

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9/11, a reminder of how all NATO allies stood with the United States in 
its hour of need.
  One monument is a symbol of freedom, the other a symbol of 
solidarity. Both are symbols of NATO, who we are and what we stand for, 
what so many of our brave men and women have fought for and sometimes 
died for, but not in vain and not alone.
  The men and women of our armed forces have served together over 
decades. This includes, actually, also, many of you in this room, in 
this Congress, in my delegation. And I pay tribute to you and to all 
those who serve in the defense of freedom.
  There is no higher cause than freedom. And in these two monuments, we 
see the challenges we have overcome as an alliance.
  We deterred the Soviet Union during the Cold War; stopped wars and 
atrocities in the Balkans; fought terrorism from Afghanistan to the 
Middle East; welcomed the newly free nations of Central and Eastern 
Europe into our alliance, helping to spread democracy, peace, and 
prosperity.
  And NATO's door remains open. This year, the Republic of North 
Macedonia signed the accession protocol. And with your support, North 
Macedonia will soon become the 30th member of our alliance.
  So, what started in 1949 with 12 members has proven a powerful force 
for peace, an alliance that others strive to join, showing the historic 
success of NATO.
  But as you all know, success in the past is not a guarantee of 
success in the future. And we have to be frank. Questions are being 
asked on both sides of the Atlantic about the strength of our 
partnership.
  And, yes, there are differences. We are an alliance of many different 
nations, with different geography, history, and political parties: 
Republicans and Democrats, conservatives and labor, independents, 
greens, and many more. This is democracy.
  Open discussions and different views are not a sign of weakness, they 
are a sign of strength. So, we should not be surprised when we see 
differences between our countries.
  Today, there are disagreements on issues such as trade, energy, 
climate change, and the Iran nuclear deal. These are serious issues 
with serious disagreements. But we should remember that we have had our 
disagreements also before: the Suez crisis in 1956; the French 
withdrawal from military cooperation in NATO in 1966; or the Iraq war 
in 2003, which was strongly supported by some allies and equally 
strongly opposed by others.
  The strength of NATO is that, despite our differences, we have always 
been able to unite around our core task, to defend each other, protect 
each other, and to keep our people safe.
  We have overcome our disagreements in the past, and we must overcome 
our differences now, because we will need our alliance even more in the 
future.
  We face unprecedented challenges, challenges no one nation can face 
alone.
  The global balance of power is shifting. The fight against terrorism 
is a generational fight. We have only just seen the beginning of the 
threats in cyberspace. Artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and 
big data could change the nature of conflict more fundamentally than 
the Industrial Revolution. And we will need to continue to deal with a 
more assertive Russia.
  In 2014, Russia illegally annexed Crimea, the first time in Europe 
that one country had taken part of another by force since World War II.
  And we see a pattern of Russian behavior, including a massive 
military buildup from the Arctic to the Mediterranean and from the 
Black Sea to the Baltic; the use of a military-grade nerve agent in the 
United Kingdom; support for Assad's murderous regime in Syria; 
consistent cyberattacks on NATO allies and partners, targeting 
everything from Parliaments to power grids; sophisticated 
disinformation campaigns; and attempts to interfere in democracy 
itself.
  NATO has responded with the biggest reinforcement of our collective 
defense in decades. For the first time, we have combat-ready troops 
deployed in the east of our alliance. We have increased the readiness 
of our forces, tripled the size of the NATO Response Force; modernized 
our command structure; bolstered our cyber defenses; and we have 
stepped up our support for our close partners, Georgia and Ukraine, 
sovereign nations with the sovereign right to choose their own path.
  We do all of this, not to provoke a conflict, but to prevent a 
conflict, and to preserve peace; not to fight, but to deter; not to 
attack, but to defend.
  There is no contradiction between deterrence, defense, and dialogue. 
We do not want to isolate Russia. We strive for a better relationship 
with Russia. But even without a better relationship, we still need to 
manage a difficult one. So we need to talk, and we do talk, to reduce 
risks, to avoid incidents, accidents, and miscalculations.
  We also need dialogue in order to work for arms control. My 
generation was shaped by the deployment of thousands of nuclear 
missiles in Europe in the 1980s, missiles capable of destroying our 
cities and killing millions of people in moments.
  Thanks to the vision and leadership of President Reagan and Premier 
Gorbachev, the INF Treaty put an end to all these weapons.
  But today, they are back. Russia has deployed new missiles in Europe. 
They are mobile, hard to detect, nuclear capable, cut the warning time 
to just minutes, and reduce the threshold for the use of nuclear 
weapons in an armed conflict.
  NATO's position is united and clear. Russia is in violation of the 
INF Treaty. There are no new American missiles in Europe, but there are 
new Russian missiles.
  I continue to call on Russia to return to compliance with the INF 
Treaty. But so far, Russia has taken no steps to do so, and time is 
running out.
  We do not want a new arms race. We do not want a new Cold War. But we 
must not be naive. An agreement that is only respected by one side will 
not keep us safe, so we must also prepare for a world without the INF 
Treaty.
  We will be measured and coordinated. We will not mirror what Russia 
is doing. NATO has no intention of deploying land-based nuclear 
missiles in Europe. But NATO will always take the necessary steps to 
provide credible and effective deterrence.
  Madam Speaker, Mr. Vice President, the fight against terrorism also 
demands our collective effort. The attacks on 9/11 made that clear.
  NATO's response to those was swift. Within 24 hours, and for the 
first and only time in our history, we invoked Article 5 of the 
Washington Treaty, the collective defense clause, which states: ``An 
armed attack against one . . . shall be considered an attack against 
them all.''
  So, 9/11 was not only an attack on the United States, but against all 
NATO allies. Within days, NATO aircraft were patrolling American skies. 
And in the wake of 9/11, NATO soldiers went to fight side by side in 
Afghanistan to prevent that country from ever again becoming a safe 
haven for terrorists who could attack us here at home.
  Over the years, hundreds of thousands of troops from Europe and 
Canada have served in Afghanistan. Over a thousand have paid the 
ultimate price, and many more have been seriously wounded. We honor 
their service and their sacrifice.
  NATO remains in Afghanistan today to fight terrorism and to train 
Afghan forces. Our goal is not to stay there forever. We should not 
stay any longer than is necessary. We went in together; we will decide 
on our future presence together; and when the time comes, we will leave 
together.
  NATO fully supports the peace process. It must pave the way for 
Afghan reconciliation. There can only be peace if Afghanistan stays 
free from international terrorists. And for peace to be sustainable, it 
must build on our achievements. NATO has created the conditions for 
social and economic progress, bringing education and human rights to 
women and girls. Their rights must be preserved.
  NATO is not only fighting terrorism in Afghanistan, we are also part 
of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS. The Coalition has made 
remarkable progress.
  Once, ISIS controlled an area roughly the size of Virginia, and they 
imposed their twisted ideology on millions. They beheaded people, 
burned people alive, and traded women as sex slaves.
  We should never forget their brutality; and, thanks to American 
leadership and our collective efforts, we have

[[Page H2992]]

stopped this brutality, and millions of people have been liberated.
  But our work is not done. That is why NATO is stepping up our 
training of Iraqi forces, so they can better defend their country and 
make sure that ISIS can never return.
  This is also why NATO supports our partners in the Middle East and 
North Africa, helping them to build up their intelligence services, 
border security, cybersecurity, and Special Operations Forces.
  Training local forces and building local capacity are among the best 
weapons we have in the fight against terrorism. Prevention is better 
than intervention.
  Madam Speaker, Mr. Vice President, some of you here today will have 
been directly affected by terrorism. You may have lost friends and 
loved ones. You know the reality of terrorism. I know it too.
  I was Prime Minister of Norway on the 22nd of July 2011, a date that 
will live in infamy in the history of my country. That day, a terrorist 
detonated a bomb outside my office, killing eight people and injuring 
many more.
  He then went to the island of Utoya, where young people were enjoying 
a summer camp. He killed a further 69 people, most of them teenagers 
with their whole lives ahead of them. It was the darkest day in Norway 
since the Second World War. It was the darkest day of my life.
  Terrorism comes in many forms. Some perpetrators misuse religion, 
others misuse political ideology. They claim to be different from each 
other, fighting for different causes, but they are all the same. They 
believe in hatred, violence, and killing innocent men, women, and 
children. They are nothing more than cowards.
  Terrorists attack our freedom, our values, and our way of life. Our 
answer must be more openness and more democracy. Our values will 
prevail.
  Freedom will prevail over oppression, tolerance over intolerance, and 
love will always prevail over hate.
  I see this in the flowers laid outside the mosques in Christchurch, 
New Zealand. I see this in the lives led by the young survivors of the 
attacks in Norway.
  I see this in New York and Washington, two indomitable cities, cities 
that were not intimidated, not defeated, but which rose stronger than 
ever from the horror of that September morning.
  Madam Speaker, Mr. Vice President, NATO is a strong alliance, but to 
remain a strong alliance, NATO must be a fair alliance.
  In an ideal world, we would not need to spend any money on defense. 
But we do not live in an ideal world.
  Freedom has enemies, and they need to be deterred. And if deterrence 
fails, we need to fight it.
  Hitler could not have been stopped with peaceful protests. Stalin 
could not have been deterred with words. ISIS could not have been 
defeated with dialogue.
  Future enemies of freedom may choose violence again. Our desire for a 
peaceful world is simply not enough. We must act, and invest, to make 
it so.
  NATO allies must spend more on defense. This has been the clear 
message from President Trump, and this message is having a real impact.
  After years of reducing defense budgets, all allies have stopped the 
cuts and all allies have increased their defense spending. Before, they 
were cutting billions; now they are adding billions.
  In just the last 2 years, European allies and Canada have spent an 
additional $41 billion on defense. By the end of next year, that figure 
will rise to $100 billion. This is making NATO stronger.
  That money will allow us to invest in new capabilities our armed 
forces need; including advanced fighter aircraft, attack helicopters, 
missile defense, and surveillance drones. This is good for Europe, and 
it is good for America.
  America's NATO allies provide important capabilities; including tens 
of thousands of intelligence personnel and cyber experts, giving the 
United States better eyes and ears where you need them, from tracking 
submarines in the Arctic to taking down the cyber networks of ISIS.
  Europe provides the U.S. with a platform to project power around the 
world.
  Last year, I was in Fort Worth, Texas, and I saw how industries from 
many NATO allies are working together to produce next-generation 
strike-fighter aircraft.
  NATO has always had a technological edge. To keep that edge, we must 
innovate and capitalize on the ingenuity of our industries and our best 
minds, on both sides of the Atlantic. This will continue to provide us 
with advanced capabilities and create jobs in the United States, 
Canada, and Europe.
  So our transatlantic bond is not just about security, it is also 
about prosperity.
  It is not by chance that Article 2 of the Washington Treaty 
encourages economic collaboration between our Nations.
  Europe and America have long been, by far, each other's largest 
trading partners, creating millions of jobs on both sides of the 
Atlantic, generating more than $3 billion a day in trade, injecting 
trillions of dollars into our economies.
  There is more wealth, greater health, better education, and more 
happiness thanks to the bond between our two continents.
  Madam Speaker, Mr. Vice President, the ultimate expression of burden-
sharing is that we stand together, fight together, and sometimes die 
together.
  I have visited Arlington National Cemetery to pay tribute to all 
those American soldiers who have given their lives, many of them in 
defense of Europe.
  Two world wars and the Cold War made it clear how important America 
is to the security of Europe and, equally, that peace and stability in 
Europe is important to the United States.
  Our alliance has not lasted for 70 years out of a sense of nostalgia 
or of sentiment.
  NATO lasts because it is in the national interest of each and every 
one of our Nations.
  Together, we represent 1 billion people. We are half of the world's 
economic might and half of the world's military might.
  When we stand together, we are stronger than any potential challenger 
economically, politically, and militarily.
  We need this collective strength because we will face new threats, 
and we have seen so many times before how difficult it is to predict 
the future. We were not able to predict the fall of the Berlin Wall, 
the 9/11 attacks, the rise of ISIS, or Russia's illegal annexation of 
Crimea.
  Since we cannot foresee the future, we have to be prepared for the 
unforeseen. We need a strategy to deal with uncertainty. We have one. 
That strategy is NATO.
  A strong and agile NATO reduces risks and enables us to deal with 
surprises when they happen. And they will happen.
  NATO is the most successful alliance in history because we have 
always been able to change as the world changes, and because, despite 
our differences, we are united in our commitment to each other.
  NATO is an alliance of sovereign nations, united by democracy, 
liberty, and the rule of law, by a person's right to live their life in 
the pursuit of happiness, free from oppression--values that lie at the 
heart of the United States and at the heart of NATO.
  As President Eisenhower, NATO's first Supreme Allied Commander, said, 
``We are concerned not only with the protection of territory . . . but 
with the defense of a way of life.''
  Europe and North America are not separated by the Atlantic Ocean; we 
are united by it. And just like the Atlantic, NATO unites our 
continents, our nations, and our people. It has done so for 70 years.
  And today, we must do everything in our power to maintain that unity 
for future generations, because come what may, we are stronger and 
safer when we stand together.
  Madam Speaker, Mr. Vice President, it is good to have friends.
  Thank you.
  (Applause, the Members rising.)
  At 11 o'clock and 56 minutes a.m., His Excellency Jens Stoltenberg, 
Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, 
accompanied by the committee of escort, retired from the Hall of the 
House of Representatives.
  The Assistant to the Sergeant at Arms escorted the invited guests 
from the Chamber in the following order:

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  The members of the President's Cabinet;
  The Acting Dean of the Diplomatic Corps.

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