[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 115 (Thursday, July 11, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5004-S5005]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 2707. Mr. RISCH submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by 
him to the bill S. 4638, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 
2025 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 F of title XII, add the following:

     SEC. 1291. SENSE OF CONGRESS IN SUPPORT OF NATO.

       (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
       (1) 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''.
       (2) 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.
       (3) 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.
       (4) Since the formation of NATO, 10 rounds of enlargement 
     have grown the alliance from 12 members to 32.
       (5) 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.
       (6) The sustained commitment of NATO to mutual defense has 
     contributed to the democratic and economic transformation of 
     Central and Eastern Europe.
       (7) 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.
       (8) 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.
       (9) 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.
       (10) 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.
       (11) 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.
       (12) Through the Partnership for Peace and Enhanced Forward 
     Presence, NATO has extended opportunities for cooperation 
     with non-NATO nations.
       (13) 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.
       (14) 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.''
       (15) 22 NATO nations have increased their military spending 
     since the Wales Declaration of 2014.
       (16) 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''.
       (17) 20 NATO members still fall short of meeting their 2 
     percent commitment.
       (18) Collective security demands real and sustained burden 
     sharing.
       (19) 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.
       (20) 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.
       (21) 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.
       (22) Nations must put defense spending in their base 
     budgets to provide long-term certainty to NATO planners and 
     their partners.
       (23) 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.
       (24) 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.

[[Page S5005]]

       (25) 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.
       (b) Sense of Congress.--Congress--
       (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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