[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 99 (Thursday, June 13, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Page S3597]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 600. Mr. LEE (for himself, Mr. Paul, and Mr. Braun) submitted an
amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill S. 1790, to
authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2020 for military activities
of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for
defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military
personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which
was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:
At the appropriate place, insert the following:
SEC. _____. REPORTS ON ALLIED CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE COMMON
DEFENSE.
(a) Finding.--Congress finds that section 1003 of the
Department of Defense Authorization Act, 1985 (Public Law 98-
525; 63 Stat. 2241)--
(1) expresses the sense of Congress that, due to threats
that are ever-changing, Congress must be informed with
respect to allied contributions to the common defense to
properly assess the readiness of the United States and the
countries described in subsection (c)(2) for threats; and
(2) requires the Secretary of Defense to submit to Congress
an annual report on the contributions of allies to the common
defense.
(b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) the threats facing the United States--
(A) extend beyond the global war on terror; and
(B) include near-peer threats; and
(2) the President should seek from each country described
in subsection (c)(2) acceptance of international security
responsibilities and agreements to make contributions to the
common defense in accordance with the collective defense
agreements or treaties to which such country is a party.
(c) Reports on Allied Contributions to the Common
Defense.--
(1) In general.--Not later than March 1 each year, the
Secretary, in coordination with the heads of other Federal
agencies, as the Secretary determines to be necessary, shall
submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report
containing a description of--
(A) the annual defense spending by each country described
in paragraph (2), including available data on nominal budget
figures and defense spending as a percentage of the gross
domestic products of each such country for the fiscal year
immediately preceding the fiscal year in which the report is
submitted;
(B) the activities of each such country to contribute to
military or stability operations in which the Armed Forces of
the United States are a participant or may be called upon in
accordance with a cooperative defense agreement to which the
United States is a party;
(C) any limitations placed by any such country on the use
of such contributions; and
(D) any actions undertaken by the United States or by other
countries to minimize such limitations.
(2) Countries described.--The countries described in this
paragraph are the following:
(A) Each member state of the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization.
(B) Each member state of the Gulf Cooperation Council.
(C) Each country party to the Inter-American Treaty of
Reciprocal Assistance (Rio Treaty), done at Rio de Janeiro
September 2, 1947, and entered into force December 3, 1948
(TIAS 1838).
(D) Australia.
(E) Japan.
(F) New Zealand.
(G) The Philippines.
(H) South Korea.
(I) Thailand.
(3) Form.--Each report under paragraph (1) shall be
submitted in unclassified form, but may contain a classified
annex.
(4) Availability.--A report submitted under paragraph (1)
shall be made available on request to any Member of Congress.
(d) Appropriate Committees of Congress Defined.--In this
section, the term ``appropriate committees of Congress''
means--
(1) the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on
Foreign Relations, and the Committee on Appropriations of the
Senate; and
(2) the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on
Foreign Affairs, and the Committee on Appropriations of the
House of Representatives.
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