[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 59 (Thursday, April 4, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E403]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                RECOGNIZING THE 70TH ANNIVERSARY OF NATO

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                            HON. STEVE COHEN

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 4, 2019

  Mr. COHEN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 70th 
Anniversary of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
  NATO emerged out of the ashes of World War II and has been the 
cornerstone of our security across the Atlantic and around the world. 
It has also been an important building block for our relationships with 
transatlantic partners.
  NATO remains the most important and critical security link between 
the United States and Europe. NATO has been an important way for the 
United States to demonstrate a strong commitment to the independence, 
sovereignty, territorial integrity, and democratic development of the 
countries that have emerged from the former Soviet Union, including 
Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, Georgia, Ukraine, and Moldova. NATO 
allies and partners in both Central and Eastern Europe have stood 
alongside the United States in joint peace operations in the Western 
Balkans, Afghanistan, Iraq, and elsewhere.
  NATO stood with the United States in one of the darkest days of our 
history when we were attacked on 9/11. When the United States invoked 
Article 5, the first time done so by a country in the history of the 
Alliance, NATO joined our fight and are still engaged in Afghanistan to 
this day.
  Last year, I was proud to introduce and see the House of 
Representatives pass H. Res. 256, a resolution expressing support for 
the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the countries of Central and 
Eastern Europe. The House of Representatives sent a strong message that 
no matter what President Trump says during the NATO Summit in Brussels, 
Congress strongly supports our treaty allies and the sovereignty and 
territorial integrity of our friends in Central and Eastern Europe.
  We will continue to work to counter Russian aggression in Europe 
including the occupation of Georgian territory, the annexation of 
Crimea, continued violations of Baltic airspace and threats to Moldovan 
territorial integrity and sovereignty.
  We will stand by our allies, as they have stood by us.

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