Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States remains committed to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

IV 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. RES. 286 Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States remains committed to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 3, 2019 Mr. CONNOLLY (for himself and Mr. TURNER) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs RESOLUTION Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States remains committed to the North At- lantic Treaty Organization. Whereas, for 70 years, the North Atlantic Treaty Organiza- tion (NATO) has served as the world’s preeminent polit- ical and military alliance committed to the collective de- fense of its members and dedicated to ensuring the peace, security, and stability of the Euro-Atlantic area; Whereas NATO was founded on the principles of democracy, individual liberty, and the rule of law; Whereas the security of the United States is inseparable from the participation and leadership of the United States in NATO; VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:41 Apr 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR286.IH HR286 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HRES 286 IH Whereas NATO continues to promote a Europe that is whole, free, and at peace; Whereas, since the end of the cold war, NATO has continued to redefine and transform itself and take on new missions and confront emerging threats such as terrorism, hybrid warfare, instability caused by failed states, cyber attacks, piracy, and threats to global energy security; Whereas after the 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, signed in Washington on April 4, 1949, was invoked for the first time in the history of the organization; Whereas NATO members subsequently deployed tens of thou- sands of troops to Afghanistan to respond to a dangerous terrorist threat; Whereas European allies and Canada suffered approximately one-third of all fatalities suffered by NATO forces in Af- ghanistan; Whereas NATO has worked to deter Russian aggression, in- cluding responding to the illegal invasions and occupa- tions of Georgia and Ukraine by the Russian Federation; Whereas the United States recognizes the significant in- creases in allied national defense budgets following the Wales Summit in 2014 and continues to recognize allied burden-sharing as a critical component of collective de- fense; Whereas NATO continues to support an open-door member- ship policy of admitting any European country that can contribute to the promotion and protection of freedom, democracy, stability, and peace throughout Europe; VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:41 Apr 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR286.IH HR286 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HRES 286 IH Whereas NATO continues to enhance the security of Europe and the world by strengthening partnerships with coun- tries around the world; and Whereas Congress recognizes its commitment to the alliance by actively participating in the NATO Parliamentary As- sembly and fulfilling its statutory commitment to the as- sembly in order to facilitate legislative awareness and un- derstanding of critical security issues affecting the alli- ance: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 1 (1) reaffirms its unequivocal support for the 2 North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and its 3 cornerstone article 5 collective defense commitment; 4 (2) calls on allies to uphold the founding prin- 5 ciples of the alliance by strengthening democratic in- 6 stitutions, respecting individual liberty, and rein- 7 forcing the rule of law; 8 (3) supports continued progress by all allies to- 9 wards the fair burden-sharing commitments made at 10 the Wales Summit; 11 (4) supports the statutory mandates regarding 12 United States participation in the NATO Parliamen- 13 tary Assembly; and 14 (5) recognizes the success of NATO as a tri- 15 umph for liberal democracy and a rules-based inter- 16 national order. 17 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:41 Apr 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\HR286.IH HR286 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS