[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 158 (Thursday, September 29, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5717-S5718]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 6193. Mr. THUNE submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to 
amendment SA 5499 submitted by Mr.

[[Page S5718]]

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 subtitle C of title XII, add the following:

     SEC. 1239. SUPPORT FOR ACCESSION OF SWEDEN AND FINLAND TO 
                   NATO.

       (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
       (1) North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) ambassadors 
     signed the Accession Protocols for Finland and Sweden on July 
     5, 2022.
       (2) The Senate agreed to the resolution of advice and 
     consent to ratification of the Protocols to the North 
     Atlantic Treaty of 1949 on the Accession of the Republic of 
     Finland and the Kingdom of Sweden (Treaty Doc. 117-3) on 
     August 3, 2022.
       (3) The accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO will 
     strengthen the capabilities, geostrategic position, and 
     deterrence posture of the alliance in the Baltic Sea region 
     and the North Atlantic from that day forward.
       (4) The accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO will reduce 
     each current member nation's respective burden share as a 
     percentage of the total alliance's deterrence and defense 
     posture.
       (b) Sense of Congress.--Congress, in accordance with its 
     support for NATO's collective security commitment and for 
     maximizing the combined defense capabilities of United States 
     allies and partners through NATO coordination and 
     cooperation, and with anticipation for the accession of 
     Finland and Sweden to the alliance--
       (1) recognizes the steps taken by the United States to 
     build upon years of joint and multilateral engagement, 
     training, and exercises; and
       (2) encourages the President to further advance the efforts 
     of the United States with respect to--
       (A) enhancing the interoperability of the militaries of 
     Finland and Sweden with the United States, including via--
       (i) exercises and training across all domains, including a 
     focus on critical capabilities such as--

       (I) command, control, and communications;
       (II) logistics;
       (III) planning; and
       (IV) integrated and resilient operations across Northern 
     Europe and the Arctic;

       (ii) bomber task forces;
       (iii) freedom of navigation operations in the territorial 
     waters of these nations and of NATO allies in the Baltic Sea;
       (iv) personnel and professional military education program 
     exchanges;
       (v) United States foreign military sales;
       (vi) joint development of emerging technologies, including 
     cybersecurity and telecommunications components; and
       (vii) coordination on critical infrastructure, including 
     dual-use infrastructure such as telecommunications 
     infrastructure and port facilities;
       (B) trilateral cooperation between Finland and Sweden with 
     the United States, including the military activities 
     described in clauses (i) through (vii) of subparagraph (A) 
     and through the trilateral statement of intent signed by all 
     three nations in 2018;
       (C) multilateral interoperability between Finland, Sweden, 
     and all NATO partners, including military activities 
     described in clauses (i) through (vii) of subparagraph (A); 
     and
       (D) countering disinformation campaigns that seek to 
     diminish the relevancy and cohesion of NATO or otherwise 
     undermine or delay the collective accession process of NATO 
     members; and
       (3) calls on all NATO members to take similar, respective 
     actions as provided in paragraph (2) to further advance the 
     interoperability of the militaries of Finland and Sweden with 
     NATO forces and bolster European security, in conjunction 
     with the rapid completion of their respective ratification 
     processes.
                                 ______