[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 185 (Tuesday, November 19, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1465-E1466]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   INTRODUCTION OF A BILL TO PROHIBIT THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE FROM 
  DEPLOYING STRATEGIC ASSETS OF THE UNITED STATES IN THE REPUBLIC OF 
                                 TURKEY

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. GRACE MENG

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, November 19, 2019

  Ms. MENG. Madam Speaker, I rise today to announce the introduction of 
legislation that

[[Page E1466]]

would prohibit the Department of Defense from deploying strategic 
assets of the United States in the Republic of Turkey.
   Since the 1960s, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has 
had a nuclear sharing policy whereby NATO members can host U.S. nuclear 
weapons as part of a broader NATO nuclear posture. Enacted during the 
Cold War, this nuclear sharing policy was intended to deter the posture 
of the Soviet Union by involving non-nuclear NATO allies alongside the 
United States, the United Kingdom, and France.
  Turkey, a NATO ally, was once considered a friend of the United 
States. In recent years, however, it has strengthened its alliances 
with Russia, Syria, and Iran. Notably, Turkey's military incursion into 
Syria that targeted U.S. Kurdish allies and its purchase of advanced 
Russian antiaircraft missile systems undermine U.S. national security. 
President Erdogan's domestic policies have also become increasingly 
autocratic, as he has cracked down on freedom of speech and political 
freedoms. As Turkey develops stronger relations with geopolitical 
adversaries to NATO, it is time to reconsider any future deployment of 
strategic assets.
  Madam Speaker, this bill would prohibit funds authorized to be 
appropriated or otherwise made available for fiscal year 2020 or any 
fiscal year thereafter for the Department of Defense from being 
obligated or expended for the future deployment of any strategic assets 
of the United States in the Republic of Turkey.
  I thank my colleague, Representative Gus Bilirakis, who is 
introducing this measure with me, as well as my colleagues, 
Representatives Jackie Speier and Darren Soto, who are original 
cosponsors. I urge my colleagues in the House Armed Services Committee, 
and the rest of my colleagues in the House of Representatives, for 
their swift consideration and support of this urgent and bipartisan 
legislation.

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