Maintaining United States National Security Interests in Europe Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 7246 To reiterate the support of the Congress of the United States for the relation- ship between the United States and the Federal Republic of Germany, to prevent the weakening of the deterrence capacity of the United States in Europe, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 18, 2020 Mr. ENGEL introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on Armed Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To reiterate the support of the Congress of the United States for the relationship between the United States and the Federal Republic of Germany, to prevent the weakening of the deterrence capacity of the United States in Eu- rope, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Maintaining United 4 States National Security Interests in Europe Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:05 Jul 23, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7246.IH H7246 tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 7246 IH SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS. 1 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 2 (1) The 2017 National Security Strategy states, 3 ‘‘the United States will deepen collaboration with 4 our European allies and partners to confront forces 5 threatening to undermine our common values, secu- 6 rity interests, and shared vision. The United States 7 and Europe will work together to counter Russian 8 subversion and aggression, and the threats posed by 9 North Korea and Iran. We will continue to advance 10 our shared principles and interests in international 11 forums.’’. 12 (2) After the end of World War II, the presence 13 of foreign military forces in Germany was governed 14 by a law signed in April 1949 that allowed France, 15 the United Kingdom, and the United States to re- 16 tain forces in Germany. 17 (3) The initial law was succeeded by the Con- 18 vention on the Presence of Foreign Forces in the 19 Federal Republic of Germany, signed at Paris on 20 October 23, 1954, allowing eight North Atlantic 21 Treaty Organization (NATO) members, specifically 22 Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Luxembourg, 23 the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the 24 United States, to maintain a long-term presence of 25 military forces in Germany. 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:05 Jul 23, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7246.IH H7246 tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 7246 IH (4) Germany has made significant contributions 1 to the NATO alliance and, by hosting the largest 2 United States Armed Forces presence in Europe, 3 Germany has borne a significant burden in the inter- 4 est of collective security. 5 (5) As of June 2020, the United States pres- 6 ence in various locations in Germany, including in 7 Stuttgart at the United States European Command 8 and the United States Africa Command, consists 9 of— 10 (A) approximately— 11 (i) 35,000 members of the Armed 12 Forces; 13 (ii) 10,000 Department of Defense ci- 14 vilian employees; and 15 (iii) 2,000 defense contractors; 16 (B) personnel of the Department of State 17 and other United States Government agencies; 18 and 19 (C) the dependents of individuals described 20 in subparagraphs (A) and (B). 21 (6) The United States presence in Europe, in- 22 cluding in Germany— 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:05 Jul 23, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7246.IH H7246 tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 7246 IH (A) protects and defends the United States 1 and United States allies and partners by deter- 2 ring conflict with Russia and other adversaries; 3 (B) strengthens and supports the NATO 4 alliance and critical partnerships in Europe; 5 and 6 (C) serves as an essential support platform 7 for carrying out vital national security engage- 8 ments in Afghanistan, the Middle East, Africa, 9 and Europe. 10 (7) The deep bilateral ties between the United 11 States and Germany have led to decades of economic 12 prosperity for both countries and their allies and 13 have strengthened human rights and democracy 14 around the world. 15 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con- 16 gress that— 17 (1) the United States should continue to main- 18 tain and strengthen the bilateral relationship with 19 Germany and other European allies; 20 (2) the United States should maintain a robust 21 military presence in Germany so as to deter further 22 aggression from Russia or aggression from other ad- 23 versaries against the United States and its allies and 24 partners; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:05 Jul 23, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7246.IH H7246 tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 7246 IH (3) the United States should remain committed 1 to strong collaboration with European allies as out- 2 lined in the 2017 National Security Strategy. 3 SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON USE OF FUNDS TO WITHDRAW 4 THE ARMED FORCES FROM EUROPE. 5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 6 (b), notwithstanding any other provision of law, no Fed- 7 eral funds are authorized to be appropriated or otherwise 8 made available to take any action— 9 (1) to withdraw or otherwise reduce the overall 10 presence, including rotational presence, of members 11 of the Armed Forces or civilian employees of the De- 12 partment of Defense in Europe; 13 (2) to close or otherwise change the status of 14 any base or other facility of the Armed Forces lo- 15 cated in Europe; or 16 (3) to withdraw or otherwise reduce the overall 17 presence of Armed Forces assets in Europe. 18 (b) EXCEPTIONS.—The prohibition under subsection 19 (a) shall not apply if— 20 (1) a host government transmits to the United 21 States Government a written request for such a 22 withdrawal or other reduction; or 23 (2)(A) the President declares the intent to take 24 an action described in subsection (a); 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:05 Jul 23, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7246.IH H7246 tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 7246 IH (B) not later than 180 days before the in- 1 tended date of such action, the President sub- 2 mits to the appropriate committees of Congress 3 notice of such intent that includes— 4 (i) a justification for the action; 5 (ii) as applicable— 6 (I) the number of members of the 7 Armed Forces or civilian employees of 8 the Department of Defense to be 9 withdrawn or reduced; 10 (II) a description of any Armed 11 Forces assets to be withdrawn or re- 12 duced; and 13 (III) a description of any base or 14 facility of the United States Armed 15 Forces in Europe to be subject to clo- 16 sure or change of status; 17 (iii) an explanation of the national se- 18 curity benefit of the action to the United 19 States and the North Atlantic Treaty Or- 20 ganization; and 21 (iv) a plan to offset the reduction in 22 United States and North Atlantic Treaty 23 Organization conventional deterrence 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:05 Jul 23, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7246.IH H7246 tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 7246 IH against Russian aggression caused by the 1 action; and 2 (C) the action is expressly authorized by a 3 joint resolution or bill enacted after the date of 4 the declaration described in subparagraph (A). 5 (c) PUBLIC TESTIMONY.—Not later than 14 days 6 after the submission of the notice described in subsection 7 (b)(2)(B), the Secretary of State and the Secretary of De- 8 fense shall testify before the appropriate committees of 9 Congress in public session on such action. 10 SEC. 4. REPORT TO CONGRESS ON DECISION TO WITH- 11 DRAW THE ARMED FORCES FROM GERMANY. 12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after the 13 date of the enactment of this Act, the President, in con- 14 sultation with the Secretary of State, the Secretary of De- 15 fense, and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, shall 16 submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report 17 that details the decision-making process used to arrive at 18 the decision to withdraw members of the Armed Forces 19 from Germany that was announced on June 15, 2020. 20 (b) ELEMENTS.—The report required by subsection 21 (a) shall include the following: 22 (1) An assessment of whether any withdrawal 23 or reduction in United States Armed Forces per- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:05 Jul 23, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7246.IH H7246 tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 7246 IH sonnel in Germany was ordered by a Presidential di- 1 rective. 2 (2) A description of the interagency process un- 3 dertaken to inform the decision outlined in any such 4 Presidential directive or other document calling for 5 such a withdrawal or reduction. 6 (3) A description of the communications with 7 the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the Govern- 8 ment of Germany, or other member countries of the 9 North Atlantic Treaty Organization about the poten- 10 tial decision to change the United States force pos- 11 ture in Germany. 12 (4) An analysis of the United States national 13 security implications of the proposed withdrawal or 14 reduction of the Armed Forces presence in Germany. 15 SEC. 5. APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CONGRESS DE- 16 FINED. 17 In this Act, the term ‘‘appropriate committees of 18 Congress’’ means— 19 (1) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the 20 Committee on Armed Services, the Permanent Select 21 Committee on Intelligence, and the Committee on 22 Appropriations of the House of Representatives; and 23 (2) the Committee on Foreign Relations, the 24 Committee on Armed Services, the Select Committee 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:05 Jul 23, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7246.IH H7246 tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 7246 IH on Intelligence, and the Committee on Appropria- 1 tions of the Senate. 2 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:05 Jul 23, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H7246.IH H7246 tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with BILLS