[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 112 (Monday, July 8, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4219-S4220]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                                  NATO

  Madam President, on a separate topic, this will be a week of great 
global importance. World leaders from some of our closest and aspiring 
allies will gather this week in Washington for a momentous anniversary.
  Seventy-five years ago, out of the ashes of World War II, 12 nations 
signed an agreement to establish the North Atlantic Treaty 
Organization, known as NATO. This historic alliance was bound together 
by a commitment to collective defense enshrined under article 5. Quite 
simply, an attack on one of the allies is an attack on all.
  This simple but powerful commitment after World War II to share 
defense has helped to keep peace in Europe for generations. It has 
deterred and protected member nations from Soviet threats in the past 
and now Russian threats in the present.
  It has been so successful in its mission that additional members have 
regularly sought to join the alliance. It now includes 32 nations, the 
most recent being Sweden and Finland, two formidable allies that bring 
considerable capacity to the organization. We in the Senate voted 95 to 
1, on a bipartisan basis, to ratify their entry.
  Many nations previously under Soviet domination have joined, vowing 
that they will never live under Russian tyranny again.
  I know one in particular. My mother's homeland of Lithuania is a 
country that I have been lucky enough to visit before I was elected to 
Congress and since. I saw Soviet repression at its worst in 1978 and 
now see democracy at its best in this current situation.
  Under the leadership of my friend and former President, Valdas 
Adamkus, Lithuania joined NATO, along with its Baltic neighbors, Latvia 
and Estonia, in 2004. Two years ago, President Adamkus was honored by 
the Lithuanian Parliament for his contribution to the nation's 
integration into NATO and the European Union.
  Today, Lithuania is one of the alliance's most outspoken voices. I am 
so proud of Lithuania, a nation small in population and size but large 
in terms of its impact on the world with the courage they have shown 
over and over again.
  They have vocally supported Ukraine. They have welcomed Belarusian 
and Russian democratic voices. And they hosted last year's NATO summit, 
which I was honored to attend.
  My mother would be proud of her birth country.
  This week, the Senate Baltic Caucus cochairs, Senator Grassley and I, 
will introduce a resolution recognizing the strong U.S.-Baltic 
relationship and the important contributions these nations have made to 
NATO.
  In recent years, I have had the honor of joining several of my 
colleagues, led by Senators Shaheen and Tillis, to attend the annual 
NATO summit. What struck me at these summit meetings was the sustained 
resolve and common purpose in defeating Russia in the war against 
Ukraine. Our NATO allies, many former captives of the Soviet Union, 
have enduring memories of that experience. They are determined to not 
allow Russia's imperial actions in Ukraine prevail.
  I want to recognize President Joe Biden's clear-eyed leadership in 
galvanizing and reinvigorating the critical NATO alliance and its 
support for Ukraine.

[[Page S4220]]

  Let's put the cards on the table. Under former President Trump, the 
future of NATO was in doubt, and NATO members did not know if the 
alliance would continue to exist, let alone rise to any challenge. When 
President Biden took office, that changed immediately. He made this 
alliance alive again at a time when it was needed, now more than ever 
with the situation in Ukraine.
  To expand to include Finland and Sweden was a dramatic move forward. 
Hundreds of miles of Finnish border, for example, with Russia are now 
part of the NATO alliance on the Finnish side.
  I spoke to a man, Niinisto, who was the President of Finland, about 
the decision of his nation, after so many decades in the Cold War, to 
finally step out and join NATO against Russia. He said: Senator, it 
came down to a telephone conversation I had with Vladimir Putin. I 
called him to tell him that Finland was going to join NATO. Putin said 
to me: You don't have to worry about us. Don't join NATO. You don't 
need to.
  And President Niinisto said: I told him I could no longer trust him 
after what he did in Poland and Georgia and other places.
  That just shows how important the NATO alliance is--that a country as 
substantial and with a storied history like Finland would decide to 
step forward and finally enlist their support for the NATO alliance. It 
speaks well of the alliance, what it has achieved and what it can in 
the future. And it speaks well of President Biden's leadership in 
expanding NATO at a critical moment in history.
  Despite Putin's warped paranoia to the contrary, NATO is not a threat 
to Russia. It will defend every inch of its members' territory from 
Russia or any other attacker.
  Putin's colossal strategic blunder in Ukraine cost the lives of more 
than 100,000 Russians so far, and it has devastated Russia's standing 
around the world, leaving Russia no other choice than to beg for 
weapons from, of all places, North Korea and Iran.
  Much to his chagrin, Putin's senseless invasion strengthened and 
expanded NATO, and recent summits have included historic participation 
of several countries from the Asia-Pacific region, strengthening the 
alliance even more.
  I believe Ukraine's future rests ultimately within NATO, and, until 
then, the United States and our allies must continue to support the 
defense against Russia.
  I think Lithuanian President Nauseda argued this well: Europeans 
understand that Ukraine's fight is their fight, and it is our fight 
too.
  I share that sentiment.
  So on this 75th anniversary, let's recommit to this historic alliance 
that has served the world so well in maintaining stability and freedom. 
Let us continue to work toward peace.
  I yield the floor.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Texas.