[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 132 (Thursday, July 31, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Page S5085]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 3281. Mr. DURBIN (for himself, Mr. Grassley, Mr. Bennet, Mr. 
Welch, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Padilla, Mr. Gallego, and Ms. Baldwin) 
submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill S. 
2296, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2026 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, insert the 
     following:

     SEC. 12__. BALTIC SECURITY INITIATIVE.

       (a) Establishment.--Pursuant to the authority provided in 
     chapter 16 of title 10, United States Code, the Secretary of 
     Defense shall establish and carry out an initiative, to be 
     known as the ``Baltic Security Initiative'' (in this section 
     referred to as the ``Initiative''), for the purpose of 
     deepening security cooperation with the military forces of 
     the Baltic countries.
       (b) Relationship to Existing Authorities.--The Initiative 
     required by subsection (a) shall be carried out pursuant to 
     the authorities provided in title 10, United States Code.
       (c) Objectives.--The objectives of the Initiative shall 
     be--
       (1) to achieve United States national security objectives 
     by--
       (A) deterring aggression by the Russian Federation; and
       (B) implementing the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's 
     new Strategic Concept, which seeks to strengthen the 
     alliance's deterrence and defense posture by denying 
     potential adversaries any possible opportunities for 
     aggression;
       (2) to enhance regional planning and cooperation among the 
     military forces of the Baltic countries, particularly with 
     respect to long-term regional capability projects, 
     including--
       (A) long-range precision fire systems and capabilities;
       (B) integrated air and missile defense;
       (C) maritime domain awareness;
       (D) land forces development, including stockpiling large 
     caliber ammunition;
       (E) command, control, communications, computers, 
     intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance;
       (F) special operations forces development;
       (G) coordination with and security enhancements for Poland, 
     which is a neighboring North Atlantic Treaty Organization 
     ally; and
       (H) other military capabilities, as determined by the 
     Secretary; and
       (3) with respect to the military forces of the Baltic 
     countries, to improve cyber defenses and resilience to hybrid 
     threats.
       (d) Strategy.--
       (1) In general.--Not later than one year after the date of 
     the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the 
     Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of 
     Representatives a report setting forth a strategy for the 
     Department of Defense to achieve the objectives described in 
     subsection (b).
       (2) Considerations.--The strategy required by this 
     subsection shall include a consideration of--
       (A) security assistance programs for the Baltic countries 
     authorized as of the date on which the strategy is submitted;
       (B) the ongoing security threats to the North Atlantic 
     Treaty Organization's eastern flank posed by Russian 
     aggression, including as a result of the Russian Federation's 
     2022 invasion of Ukraine with support from Belarus; and
       (C) the ongoing security threats to the Baltic countries 
     posed by the presence, coercive economic policies, and other 
     malign activities of the People's Republic of China.
       (e) Authorization of Appropriations.--
       (1) In general.--There is authorized to be appropriated to 
     the Secretary $350,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2026, 
     2027, and 2028 to carry out the Initiative.
       (2) Sense of congress.--It is the sense of Congress that 
     the Secretary should seek to require matching funds from each 
     of the Baltic countries that participate in the Initiative in 
     amounts commensurate with amounts provided by the Department 
     for the Initiative.
       (f) Baltic Countries Defined.--In this section, the term 
     ``Baltic countries'' means--
       (1) Estonia;
       (2) Latvia; and
       (3) Lithuania.
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