[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 60 (Tuesday, April 9, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Page S2672]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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      SENATE RESOLUTION 630--SUPPORTING THE NORTH ATLANTIC TREATY 
      ORGANIZATION AND RECOGNIZING ITS 75 YEARS OF ACCOMPLISHMENTS

  Mr. RISCH (for himself, Mr. Cardin, Mrs. Shaheen, and Mr. Ricketts) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
on Foreign Relations:

                              S. Res. 630

       Whereas the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was 
     founded on April 4, 1949, to ``safeguard the freedom, common 
     heritage and civilisation of [its] peoples, founded on the 
     principles of democracy, individual liberty and the rule of 
     law'';
       Whereas the United States Senate approved the North 
     Atlantic Treaty of 1949 on July 21, 1949, and the United 
     States Government acceded to membership in NATO on August 24, 
     1949;
       Whereas NATO was originally founded to ensure the 
     collective security of its members, and stand against the 
     Soviet threat to peace and acts collectively to promote 
     freedom, stability, and peace in the North Atlantic region;
       Whereas, since the formation of NATO, 10 rounds of 
     enlargement have grown the alliance from 12 members to 32;
       Whereas NATO is the most successful political-military 
     alliance in history and, guided by a set of common values, 
     provides collective defense to more than 950,000,000 people 
     living in its member nations;
       Whereas the sustained commitment of NATO to mutual defense 
     has contributed to the democratic and economic transformation 
     of Central and Eastern Europe;
       Whereas enlargement has strengthened NATO, and the Alliance 
     remains open to additional enlargement for European states 
     that advance the principles of the North Atlantic Treaty and 
     contribute to the security of the North Atlantic area, in 
     line with Article 10 of the Treaty;
       Whereas the newest members of the alliance, Finland and 
     Sweden, contribute already interoperable militaries, 
     including robust navies, powerful air forces, strong cyber 
     capabilities, and large numbers of active military personnel 
     and ready reservists to the alliance;
       Whereas the allies invoked NATO's Article 5 collective 
     defense clause for the first and only time to offer political 
     and military assistance to the United States in responding to 
     the attacks of September 11, 2001;
       Whereas NATO serves as a force multiplier, whose command 
     structures, training institutions, and multilateral exercises 
     have generated multinational contributions to United States 
     national security priorities and enabled European and 
     Canadian soldiers to serve with members of the United States 
     Armed Forces in various missions;
       Whereas NATO is currently involved in several operations 
     benefitting United States national security, including NATO's 
     Kosovo Force (KFOR), Standing Naval Forces, Operation Sea 
     Guardian, NATO Mission Iraq, and air policing missions in 
     Eastern Europe;
       Whereas, through the Partnership for Peace and Enhanced 
     Forward Presence, NATO has extended opportunities for 
     cooperation with non-NATO nations;
       Whereas NATO members have stood against Russian aggression 
     in Eastern Europe, reinforced existing battlegroups and 
     established new ones, supported United States sanctions on 
     the Russian Federation, and imposed their own sanctions 
     measures in coordination with the United States and other 
     allies;
       Whereas the NATO Wales Summit Declaration of 2014 pledged, 
     ``Allies currently meeting the NATO guideline to spend a 
     minimum of 2 percent of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on 
     defence will aim to continue to do so . . . Allies whose 
     current proportion of GDP spent on defence is below this 
     level will: halt any decline in defence expenditure; aim to 
     increase defence expenditure in real terms as GDP grows; aim 
     to move towards the 2 percent guideline within a decade with 
     a view to meeting their NATO Capability Targets and filling 
     NATO's capability shortfalls.'';
       Whereas 22 NATO nations have increased their military 
     spending since the Wales Declaration of 2014;
       Whereas, at the NATO Vilnius Summit in 2023, member 
     countries affirmed their commitment to spend ``at least'' 2 
     percent of GDP on defense, and noted that ``in many cases, 
     expenditure beyond 2 percent of GDP will be needed in order 
     to remedy existing shortfalls and meet the requirements 
     across all domains arising from a more contested security 
     order'';
       Whereas 20 NATO members still fall short of meeting their 2 
     percent commitment;
       Whereas collective security demands real and sustained 
     burden sharing;
       Whereas NATO members that do not meet their 2 percent goal 
     have a responsibility to the other member states and should 
     rapidly address their budget shortfalls and prioritize 
     defense spending;
       Whereas NATO updated its Strategic Concept planning 
     document in 2022 to recognize emerging threats to the 
     alliance, including from the People's Republic of China, and 
     begin the process of adapting our collective approach to face 
     them in the coming generation;
       Whereas, at the NATO Vilnius Summit in 2023, NATO 
     reaffirmed its commitment to its core values and take 
     decisive action to defend them against threats across 
     multiple domains;
       Whereas nations must put defense spending in their base 
     budgets to provide long-term certainty to NATO planners and 
     their partners;
       Whereas the Russian Federation's invasion of Ukraine marks 
     the largest military conflict in Europe since World War II, 
     representing a dramatic shift for European security and 
     requiring NATO to change its policies to increase, modernize, 
     and enhance its force posture and to create more strategic 
     depth to adequately confront new challenges;
       Whereas, in adapting to growing aggression by the People's 
     Republic of China, NATO has deepened its partnerships with 
     Indo-Pacific allies, including South Korea, Japan, Australia, 
     and New Zealand; and
       Whereas section 1250A of the National Defense Authorization 
     Act for Fiscal Year 2024 (Public Law 118-31) requires the 
     advice and consent of the Senate for any President of the 
     United States to suspend, terminate, denounce, or withdraw 
     the United States from the North Atlantic treaty: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) lauds NATO for its 75-year maintenance of the alliance 
     and recognizes its foundational contributions to maintaining 
     the safety, security, and democratic systems of its members;
       (2) welcomes all NATO members and observers as the United 
     States hosts the 75th Annual Summit in July 2024, in 
     Washington, D.C.;
       (3) recognizes the key role NATO has played in enabling the 
     most peaceful and prosperous period in history for the North 
     Atlantic area and also that NATO does not only benefit the 
     defense of its own member states, but enhances security and 
     stability beyond its borders;
       (4) appreciates the burden and sacrifice made by each 
     member nation and each service member who has acted to 
     maintain the collective security of NATO;
       (5) reaffirms that NATO members join by free choice, not by 
     compulsion or coercion, and that sovereign nations should be 
     free to choose with whom they associate and enter into 
     alliances without fear of violent reprisal;
       (6) continues to affirm the importance of Article 5 of the 
     North Atlantic Treaty;
       (7) reaffirms the importance of nuclear deterrence in NATO 
     planning and supports the modernization and development of 
     new systems while continuing risk-reduction discussions with 
     our adversaries;
       (8) reaffirms that all NATO territory is equally under the 
     protection of its collective defense;
       (9) strongly calls on all NATO member states to immediately 
     meet their pledges and raise their defense levels above the 2 
     percent GDP target, and to more fully share the security 
     burden by focusing on meeting capabilities targets, enhancing 
     interoperability, improving readiness, and modernization to 
     respond to the threats that face the alliance on each of its 
     flanks;
       (10) urges all NATO member countries to meet their 
     commitments to the principles of democracy, individual 
     liberty, and the rule of law;
       (11) stands in robust support of those NATO members who 
     spend 2 percent or more of their GDPs on defense and 
     acknowledges the 8 countries that have met that goal since 
     2014;
       (12) welcomes the recent additions of Finland and Sweden to 
     the alliance;
       (13) recognizes that NATO, in its planning processes, must 
     take into account security threats to the alliance from 
     around the world, including the People's Republic of China;
       (14) encourages NATO to build closer ties with the Indo-
     Pacific to confront the challenges posed by the deepening 
     partnership and alignment between the Russian Federation and 
     the People's Republic of China;
       (15) urges all members to consider the value that Ukraine 
     will add to NATO's defense and stability for Europe ahead of 
     the Washington Summit in 2024; and
       (16) reaffirms the commitment of the United States to 
     NATO's mission, and its belief that NATO is the most 
     successful security alliance in our Nation's history and one 
     that should continue to be a cornerstone of United States 
     national security.

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