[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 103 (Tuesday, June 13, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Page S2057]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                                  NATO

  Mr. President, now on another matter, this week, NATO Secretary 
General Stoltenberg is in Washington at an important time for 
transatlantic alliance.
  The Secretary General deserves tremendous credit for his tireless 
efforts over nearly a decade at the helm. He has helped major allies 
wake up to the growing threats from ISIS, Putin's Russia, and the 
People's Republic of China. He has skillfully managed disagreements 
among members who share values but sometimes have very different views. 
He has pressed allies to meet their pledges to spend more on collective 
defense, to modernize their militaries, and to contribute more to the 
collective security of the alliance.
  I just met with him, along with some of my colleagues, this morning. 
I am encouraged by the progress the alliance is making to become ``fit 
for purpose,'' but more work remains to be done.
  At the Vilnius summit next month, I hope to see allies agree to set 2 
percent as a floor for defense spending, not an aspiration. Let me say 
that again: 2 percent as the floor for defense spending, not an 
aspiration.
  The threats we face will require sustained European investments in 
modernizing their militaries and expanding their defense industrial 
bases, not merely a short-term infusion of emergency funds.
  We will need greater coherence among NATO allies about how to 
confront the real and growing threat China poses to our collective 
security. And after seeing Finland joining the alliance this spring, I 
know the Senate hopes and expects to see Sweden become a NATO ally by 
the Vilnius summit. I believe Sweden's leaders understand and respect 
Turkey's national security interests, and I know it is in NATO's 
interests to welcome this modern, high-tech economy into the alliance.
  When Secretary General Stoltenberg spoke to a joint session of 
Congress in 2019, he reminded us of the way President Truman saw NATO's 
purpose at its founding back in 1949. Here is what President Truman had 
to say:

       [W]e hope to create a shield against aggression and the 
     fear of aggression--a bulwark which will permit us to get on 
     with the real business of government and society, the 
     business of achieving a fuller and happier life for all of 
     our citizens.

  I think we can safely say, by and large, NATO has fulfilled that 
lofty objective. But we can only continue to do so if allies take 
seriously their obligations to invest in the hard power that has 
underwritten Western peace and prosperity for more than 70 years.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.