[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 152 (Wednesday, September 21, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Page S4920]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 5524. Mr. DURBIN (for himself and Mr. Grassley) submitted an
amendment intended to be proposed to amendment SA 5499 submitted by Mr.
Reed (for himself and Mr. Inhofe) and intended to be proposed to the
bill H.R. 7900, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2023 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 end of title XII, add the following:
Subtitle G--Baltic Defense and Deterrence
SEC. 1281. SHORT TITLE.
This subtitle may be cited as the ``Baltic Defense and
Deterrence Act''.
SEC. 1282. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) supporting and strengthening the security of Estonia,
Latvia, and Lithuania (referred to in this Act as the
``Baltic countries'') is in the national security interests
of the United States;
(2) continuing to strengthen and update the United States-
Baltics security cooperation roadmap is critical to achieving
strategic security priorities as the Baltic countries face
ongoing belligerence and threats from the Russian Federation,
including amid the Russian Federation's illegal and
unprovoked war in Ukraine that began on February 24, 2022;
(3) the United States should encourage advancement of the
Three Seas Initiative to strengthen transport, energy, and
digital infrastructures among Eastern European countries,
including the Baltic countries; and
(4) improved economic ties between the United States and
the Baltic countries, including to counter economic pressure
by the People's Republic of China, offer an opportunity to
strengthen the United States-Baltic strategic partnership.
SEC. 1283. BALTIC SECURITY AND ECONOMIC ENHANCEMENT
INITIATIVE.
(a) Establishment.--The Secretary of State shall establish
and implement an initiative, to be known as the ``Baltic
Security and Economic Enhancement Initiative'', for the
purpose of increasing security and economic ties with the
Baltic countries.
(b) Objectives.--The objectives of the Baltic Security and
Economic Enhancement Initiative shall be--
(1) to ensure timely delivery of security assistance to the
Baltic countries, prioritizing assistance to bolster defenses
against hybrid warfare and improve interoperability with the
military forces of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization;
(2) to mitigate the impact on the Baltic countries of
economic coercion by the Russian Federation and the People's
Republic of China;
(3) to identify new opportunities for foreign direct
investment and United States business ties; and
(4) to bolster United States support for the economic and
energy security needs of the Baltic countries, including by
convening an annual trade forum with the Baltic countries and
the United States International Development Finance
Corporation.
(c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized
to be appropriated for the Department of State, $60,000,000
for each of fiscal years 2023 through 2027 to carry out the
initiative authorized under subsection (a).
SEC. 1284. BALTIC SECURITY INITIATIVE.
(a) Establishment.--The Secretary of Defense shall
establish and implement an initiative, to be known as the
``Baltic Security Initiative'', for the purpose of deepening
security cooperation with the Baltic countries.
(b) Objectives.--The objectives of the Baltic Security
Initiative shall be--
(1) to achieve United States national security objectives,
including deterring aggression by the Russian Federation and
bolstering the long-term security of North Atlantic Treaty
Organization allies;
(2) to enhance regional planning and cooperation among the
Baltic countries, particularly with respect to long-term
regional capability projects, including--
(A) long-range precision fire systems and capabilities;
(B) integrated air and missile defense;
(C) maritime domain awareness;
(D) land forces development, including stockpiling large
caliber ammunition;
(E) command, control, communications, computers,
intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance;
(F) special operations forces development; and
(G) coordination with and security enhancements for Poland,
which is a neighboring North Atlantic Treaty Organization
ally; and
(3) to improve the Baltic countries' cyber defenses and
resilience to hybrid threats.
(c) Strategy.--
(1) In general.--Not later than one year after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall
submit to Congress a report setting forth the strategy of the
Department of Defense to achieve the objectives described in
subsection (b).
(2) Considerations.--The strategy required by paragraph (1)
shall include a consideration of--
(A) security assistance programs for the Baltic countries
managed by the Department of State;
(B) the ongoing security threats to the North Atlantic
Treaty Organization's eastern flank posed by Russian
aggression, including as a result of the Russian Federation's
2022 invasion of Ukraine with support from Belarus; and
(C) rising tensions with, and presence in the Baltic
countries of, the People's Republic of China, including
economic bullying of the Baltic countries by the People's
Republic of China.
(d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized
to be appropriated for the Department of Defense,
$250,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2023 through 2027 to
carry out the initiative authorized under subsection (a).
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