A resolution supporting the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and recognizing its 70 years of accomplishments.

III 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. RES. 123 Supporting the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and recognizing its 70 years of accomplishments. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MARCH 27, 2019 Mr. RISCH (for himself, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. TILLIS, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Mr. JOHNSON, Mr. MURPHY, Mr. ROMNEY, Mr. BARRASSO, Mr. UDALL, Mr. COONS, Mr. RUBIO, Mr. ISAKSON, Mr. GARDNER, Mr. GRAHAM, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. KAINE, Mr. CRUZ, Mr. YOUNG, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. PORTMAN, Ms. ERNST, and Mr. CASEY) submitted the following resolu- tion; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations APRIL 3, 2019 Reported by Mr. RISCH, without amendment APRIL 4, 2019 Considered and agreed to RESOLUTION Supporting the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and recognizing its 70 years of accomplishments. Resolved, 1 SECTION 1. FINDINGS. 2 The Senate makes the following findings: 3 (1) The North Atlantic Treaty Organization 4 (NATO) was founded on April 4, 1949, to ‘‘safe- 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:04 Apr 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR123.ATS SR123 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 2 SRES 123 ATS guard the freedom, common heritage and civilisation 1 of [its] peoples, founded on the principles of democ- 2 racy, individual liberty and the rule of law’’. 3 (2) The United States Senate approved the 4 North Atlantic Treaty of 1949 on July 21, 1949, 5 and the United States Government acceded to mem- 6 bership in NATO on August 24, 1949. 7 (3) NATO is a community of democracies that 8 acts collectively to promote freedom, stability, and 9 peace around the globe. 10 (4) NATO has continued to welcome into its 11 membership those nations that have evinced a desire 12 to partake in the alliance’s commitment to settle 13 international disputes peaceably, strengthen their 14 free institutions, promote conditions of stability and 15 well-being, and seek to eliminate conflict in their 16 international economic policies, and which are dedi- 17 cated to maintaining and developing their capacity 18 to resist armed attack. 19 (5) The sustained commitment of NATO to 20 mutual defense has made possible the democratic 21 and economic transformation of Central and Eastern 22 Europe. 23 (6) Lasting stability and security in Europe re- 24 quires the further military, economic, and political 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:04 Apr 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR123.ATS SR123 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 3 SRES 123 ATS integration of emerging democracies into existing 1 European and transatlantic structures. 2 (7) NATO serves as a force multiplier, whose 3 command structures, training institutions, and mul- 4 tilateral exercises have generated unprecedented 5 multinational contributions to United States na- 6 tional security priorities and enabled European and 7 Canadian soldiers to fight side-by-side with members 8 of the United States Armed Forces. 9 (8) The allies invoked NATO’s Article 5 collec- 10 tive defense clause and offered military assistance to 11 the United States in responding to the attacks of 12 September 11, 2001. 13 (9) NATO member nations stood in support of 14 the United States after it was attacked on Sep- 15 tember 11, 2001, sending tens of thousands troops 16 to fight alongside American soldiers in Afghanistan. 17 (10) NATO is currently involved in several op- 18 erations benefiting United States national security, 19 including Operation Resolute Support in Afghani- 20 stan, NATO’s Kosovo Force (KFOR), Operation 21 Sea Guardian in the Mediterranean Sea (maritime 22 situational awareness, counter-terrorism at sea, and 23 support to capacity-building), the capacity-building 24 NATO Mission Iraq, support for African Union mis- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:04 Apr 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR123.ATS SR123 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 4 SRES 123 ATS sions, and air policing missions in the member and 1 nonmember nations of Eastern Europe. 2 (11) NATO members have stood against Rus- 3 sian aggression in Eastern Europe, have supported 4 United States sanctions on that country and im- 5 posed their own, have responded, as noted in the 6 NATO Brussels Summit Declaration of 2018, ‘‘to 7 the deteriorated security environment by enhancing 8 our deterrence and defence posture, including by a 9 forward presence in the eastern part of the Alli- 10 ance,’’ and have asserted that ‘‘there can be no re- 11 turn to ‘business as usual’ until there is a clear, con- 12 structive change in Russia’s actions that dem- 13 onstrates compliance with international law and its 14 international obligations and responsibilities’’. 15 (12) The NATO Wales Summit Declaration of 16 2014 pledged, ‘‘Allies currently meeting the NATO 17 guideline to spend a minimum of 2% of their Gross 18 Domestic Product (GDP) on defence will aim to con- 19 tinue to do so . . . Allies whose current proportion 20 of GDP spent on defence is below this level will: halt 21 any decline in defence expenditure; aim to increase 22 defence expenditure in real terms as GDP grows; 23 aim to move towards the 2% guideline within a dec- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:04 Apr 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR123.ATS SR123 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 5 SRES 123 ATS ade with a view to meeting their NATO Capability 1 Targets and filling NATO’s capability shortfalls.’’. 2 (13) Twenty-two NATO nations have increased 3 their military spending since the Wales Declaration 4 of 2014. 5 (14) The NATO Brussels Summit Declaration 6 of 2018 stated, ‘‘We reaffirm our unwavering com- 7 mitment to all aspects of the Defence Investment 8 Pledge agreed at the 2014 Wales Summit, and to 9 submit credible national plans on its implementation, 10 including the spending guidelines for 2024, planned 11 capabilities, and contributions. Fair burden sharing 12 underpins the Alliance’s cohesion, solidarity, credi- 13 bility, and ability to fulfil our Article 3 and Article 14 5 commitments. We welcome the considerable 15 progress made since the Wales Summit with four 16 consecutive years of real growth in non-US defence 17 expenditure. All Allies have started to increase the 18 amount they spend on defence in real terms and 19 some two-thirds of Allies have national plans in 20 place to spend 2% of their Gross Domestic Product 21 on defence by 2024. More than half of Allies are 22 spending more than 20% of their defence expendi- 23 tures on major equipment, including related research 24 and development, and, according to their national 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:04 Apr 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR123.ATS SR123 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 6 SRES 123 ATS plans, 24 Allies will meet the 20% guideline by 1 2024. Allies are delivering more of the heavier, high- 2 end capabilities we require and are improving the 3 readiness, deployability, sustainability, and inter- 4 operability of their forces.’’. 5 (15) NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg 6 has stated, ‘‘By the end of next year, NATO allies 7 will add . . . 100 billion extra U.S. dollars toward 8 defense.’’. 9 (16) Allies who have recently acceded to NATO 10 are amongst the highest per capita contributors to 11 NATO missions. 12 (17) At the Bucharest Summit of the North At- 13 lantic Treaty Organization in April 2008, the Heads 14 of State and Government of the member countries of 15 NATO declared, ‘‘NATO’s ongoing enlargement 16 process has been an historic success in advancing 17 stability and cooperation and bringing us closer to 18 our common goal of a Europe whole and free, united 19 in peace, democracy and common values. NATO’s 20 door will remain open to European democracies will- 21 ing and able to assume the responsibilities and obli- 22 gations of membership, in accordance with Article 23 10 of the Washington Treaty. We reiterate that de- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:04 Apr 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR123.ATS SR123 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 7 SRES 123 ATS cisions on enlargement are for NATO itself to 1 make.’’. 2 (18) Vice President Mike Pence in June 2017 3 reiterated that the United States ‘‘commitment [to 4 NATO] is unwavering’’ and that ‘‘NATO’s open 5 door must always remain so’’. 6 (19) The governments, leaders, and parliaments 7 of Greece and the Republic of North Macedonia have 8 ended their dispute and ratified the Prespa Agree- 9 ment, resolving a long-standing bilateral dispute and 10 establishing a strategic partnership between the two 11 countries and clearing the way for North Macedo- 12 nia’s accession to NATO. 13 SEC. 2. SENSE OF THE SENATE. 14 The Senate— 15 (1) lauds NATO for its 70-year maintenance of 16 the alliance and recognizes its singular contributions 17 to maintaining the safety, security, and democratic 18 systems of its members; 19 (2) calls on NATO member states to continue 20 to fully meet their Wales pledges, more fully share 21 the security burden by increasing their defense 22 spending with a focus on meeting capabilities tar- 23 gets, enhancing interoperability, improving readi- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:04 Apr 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR123.ATS SR123 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 8 SRES 123 ATS ness, and modernization to respond to the threats 1 that face the alliance on each of its flanks; 2 (3) stands in robust support of those NATO 3 members who spend two percent or more of their 4 GDPs on defense, acknowledges the four countries 5 that have met that goal since 2014, and strongly en- 6 courages the remainder to strive to quickly reach 7 that goal; 8 (4) affirms that the Senate stands ready to con- 9 sider, if all applicable criteria are satisfied, the Re- 10 public of North Macedonia’s application to join 11 NATO; 12 (5) backs the White House’s 2017 affirmation 13 that the United States ‘‘stand[s] firmly behind Arti- 14 cle 5’’ of the NATO Treaty; 15 (6) welcomes former Secretary of Defense 16 James Mattis’ efforts to encourage significant 17 NATO reforms, especially regarding modernization, 18 readiness, command structure adaptation, military 19 mobility, and improving NATO’s speed of decision- 20 making to ensure the alliance remains fit for pur- 21 pose; and 22 (7) reaffirms the commitment of the United 23 States to NATO’s mission, and its belief that NATO 24 is the most successful security alliance in our Na- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:04 Apr 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR123.ATS SR123 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 9 SRES 123 ATS tion’s history and one that will continue to be a cor- 1 nerstone of United States security. 2 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:04 Apr 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\SR123.ATS SR123 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS