[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 147 (Tuesday, September 9, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Page S6447]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



        National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, it has been my honor and one of the 
highlights of my Senate career to watch the restoration of democracy in 
the Baltic States: Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. I have said on the 
floor many times with real pride, my mother was born in Lithuania, and 
she was an immigrant to this country at the age of 2. And she never 
made it back to her home country where she was born, but I did, even to 
the town where she was baptized and raised before she came to the 
United States.
  It has been quite a journey. In 1978 or 1979, I visited what was then 
the Soviet Socialist Republic of Lithuania. I am still struck by the 
images which were so common there: the gray Soviet approach to things 
both physical and otherwise and the belief that these poor people were 
under the subjugation of Moscow at a time when they deserved 
independence.
  And then to have served in the House of Representatives and, again, 
in the Senate and to watch the evolution of Lithuania as well as Latvia 
and Estonia as democratic countries and the amazing development where 
they became part of NATO and part of the European Union and became 
Western-viewing nations and equal partners with other countries in 
Europe when it came to security and democracy--it is remarkable.
  And yet I am not naive, I know these are smaller countries, and they 
will be easily overwhelmed by Russia if that were the Russian ambition.
  So I have tried over the years to maintain the strong relationship 
between the Baltic States and NATO and also the strong relationship 
with the United States and these three Baltic nations.
  One of the things I worked on for a number of years is known as the 
Baltic Security Initiative. It is an investment by the United States of 
several million dollars in the training of troops in the Baltic States 
so that they are prepared if they are brought into enemy conflict. It 
is a modest investment. They have shown their good faith on their side 
by maintaining strong support from NATO and contributions to it. But 
the Baltic Security Initiative is an incentive for them to continue 
along those lines.
  As I have said, I am not naive about this situation. Being part of 
NATO means that our alliance will stand by them if they are ever 
invaded by another country. I hope that never happens, but if it does, 
it means that NATO is there. They cannot go it alone, but they have 
certainly shown they are prepared to do their part to demonstrate their 
commitment to democracy and the values the United States shares.
  We are now considering the National Defense Authorization bill. It is 
an important piece of legislation, which we, every year, take seriously 
and pass, and I hope we do this time as well.
  I have offered amendments that would strengthen our alliances in my 
bipartisan amendment to authorize the Baltic Security Initiative. Since 
I created the program by including it in the fiscal year 2021 
appropriations bill, this initiative has provided millions of dollars 
in dedicated security assistance to Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.
  These important NATO allies are on the frontlines against Russian 
aggression. They have a long history of experiencing Russian tyranny, 
and I firmly believe they have also been targets of Putin if they were 
not members of NATO. They are some of the top NATO members in terms of 
military expenditures and percentage of GDP, something President Trump 
has rightfully urged. I have visited bases in Lithuania where American 
and other NATO allies are working closely to deter Russian aggression.
  Yet, despite the clear success of this program, we recently learned 
that the Trump administration announced last week that it intends to 
suspend the European security programs, including the Baltic Security 
Initiative. That would be music to the ears of Vladimir Putin, and it 
sends a dangerous signal as Putin continues to attack Ukraine despite 
assurances from President Trump that he wanted to end the war on 
Ukraine on his first day in office.
  As I mentioned, I am the son of a Lithuanian immigrant. My mother's 
family knew she could depend on the United States and all it stood for 
when they gave up their home in Lithuania and came to this country.
  We should not allow the President to unilaterally threaten our 
alliance that has been carefully threaded over decades and decades.
  I am grateful to the senior Senator from Iowa, Senator Grassley, for 
joining me on the amendment which I am going to offer on the Baltic 
Security Initiative. I urge my colleagues to join us.
  I am reaching out to colleagues on both sides of the aisle and asking 
them to stand with me for the Baltics to make it clear to Putin this is 
not going to be easy picking for him in the future.
  They are part of the NATO alliance and a worthy part as well. We 
should continue our support, and I hope the Baltic Security Initiative 
is an indication of that.
  I urge colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join us in this 
bipartisan effort to support Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Mississippi.
  Mr. WICKER. Mr. President, first, I ask unanimous consent that the 
following Senators be permitted to speak prior to the scheduled 
rollcall vote: Wicker for up to 10 minutes, Reed for up to 15 minutes, 
Cotton for up to 5 minutes, and Tuberville for up to 10 minutes.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.