This resolution lauds NATO for its 75-year maintenance of the alliance and recognizes its foundational contributions to maintaining the safety, security, and democratic systems of its members.
The resolution also (1) recognizes the key role NATO has played in enabling the most peaceful and prosperous period in history for the North Atlantic area, (2) calls on NATO member states to immediately meet their pledges and raise their defense spending levels above the target of two percent of their gross domestic product, and (3) welcomes the recent additions of Finland and Sweden to the alliance.
[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 630 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. RES. 630
Supporting the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and recognizing its
75 years of accomplishments.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
April 9, 2024
Mr. Risch (for himself, Mr. Cardin, Mrs. Shaheen, and Mr. Ricketts)
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee
on Foreign Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Supporting the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and recognizing its
75 years of accomplishments.
Whereas the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was founded on April 4,
1949, to ``safeguard the freedom, common heritage and civilisation of
[its] peoples, founded on the principles of democracy, individual
liberty and the rule of law'';
Whereas the United States Senate approved the North Atlantic Treaty of 1949 on
July 21, 1949, and the United States Government acceded to membership in
NATO on August 24, 1949;
Whereas NATO was originally founded to ensure the collective security of its
members, and stand against the Soviet threat to peace and acts
collectively to promote freedom, stability, and peace in the North
Atlantic region;
Whereas, since the formation of NATO, 10 rounds of enlargement have grown the
alliance from 12 members to 32;
Whereas NATO is the most successful political-military alliance in history and,
guided by a set of common values, provides collective defense to more
than 950,000,000 people living in its member nations;
Whereas the sustained commitment of NATO to mutual defense has contributed to
the democratic and economic transformation of Central and Eastern
Europe;
Whereas enlargement has strengthened NATO, and the Alliance remains open to
additional enlargement for European states that advance the principles
of the North Atlantic Treaty and contribute to the security of the North
Atlantic area, in line with article 10 of the Treaty;
Whereas the newest members of the alliance, Finland and Sweden, contribute
already interoperable militaries, including robust navies, powerful air
forces, strong cyber capabilities, and large numbers of active military
personnel and ready reservists to the alliance;
Whereas the allies invoked NATO's article 5 collective defense clause for the
first and only time to offer political and military assistance to the
United States in responding to the attacks of September 11, 2001;
Whereas NATO serves as a force multiplier, whose command structures, training
institutions, and multilateral exercises have generated multinational
contributions to United States national security priorities and enabled
European and Canadian soldiers to serve with members of the United
States Armed Forces in various missions;
Whereas NATO is currently involved in several operations benefitting United
States national security, including NATO's Kosovo Force (KFOR), Standing
Naval Forces, Operation Sea Guardian, NATO Mission Iraq, and air
policing missions in Eastern Europe;
Whereas, through the Partnership for Peace and Enhanced Forward Presence, NATO
has extended opportunities for cooperation with non-NATO nations;
Whereas NATO members have stood against Russian aggression in Eastern Europe,
reinforced existing battlegroups and established new ones, supported
United States sanctions on the Russian Federation, and imposed their own
sanctions measures in coordination with the United States and other
allies;
Whereas the NATO Wales Summit Declaration of 2014 pledged, ``Allies currently
meeting the NATO guideline to spend a minimum of 2 percent of their
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on defence will aim to continue to do so .
. . Allies whose current proportion of GDP spent on defence is below
this level will: halt any decline in defence expenditure; aim to
increase defence expenditure in real terms as GDP grows; aim to move
towards the 2 percent guideline within a decade with a view to meeting
their NATO Capability Targets and filling NATO's capability
shortfalls.'';
Whereas 22 NATO nations have increased their military spending since the Wales
Declaration of 2014;
Whereas, at the NATO Vilnius Summit in 2023, member countries affirmed their
commitment to spend ``at least'' 2 percent of GDP on defense, and noted
that ``in many cases, expenditure beyond 2 percent of GDP will be needed
in order to remedy existing shortfalls and meet the requirements across
all domains arising from a more contested security order'';
Whereas 20 NATO members still fall short of meeting their 2 percent commitment;
Whereas collective security demands real and sustained burden sharing;
Whereas NATO members that do not meet their 2 percent goal have a responsibility
to the other member states and should rapidly address their budget
shortfalls and prioritize defense spending;
Whereas NATO updated its Strategic Concept planning document in 2022 to
recognize emerging threats to the alliance, including from the People's
Republic of China, and begin the process of adapting our collective
approach to face them in the coming generation;
Whereas, at the NATO Vilnius Summit in 2023, NATO reaffirmed its commitment to
its core values and take decisive action to defend them against threats
across multiple domains;
Whereas nations must put defense spending in their base budgets to provide long-
term certainty to NATO planners and their partners;
Whereas the Russian Federation's invasion of Ukraine marks the largest military
conflict in Europe since World War II, representing a dramatic shift for
European security and requiring NATO to change its policies to increase,
modernize, and enhance its force posture and to create more strategic
depth to adequately confront new challenges;
Whereas, in adapting to growing aggression by the People's Republic of China,
NATO has deepened its partnerships with Indo-Pacific allies, including
South Korea, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand; and
Whereas section 1250A of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year
2024 (Public Law 118-31) requires the advice and consent of the Senate
for any President of the United States to suspend, terminate, denounce,
or withdraw the United States from the North Atlantic treaty: Now,
therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) lauds NATO for its 75-year maintenance of the alliance
and recognizes its foundational contributions to maintaining
the safety, security, and democratic systems of its members;
(2) welcomes all NATO members and observers as the United
States hosts the 75th Annual Summit in July 2024, in
Washington, DC;
(3) recognizes the key role NATO has played in enabling the
most peaceful and prosperous period in history for the North
Atlantic area and also that NATO does not only benefit the
defense of its own member states, but enhances security and
stability beyond its borders;
(4) appreciates the burden and sacrifice made by each
member nation and each service member who has acted to maintain
the collective security of NATO;
(5) reaffirms that NATO members join by free choice, not by
compulsion or coercion, and that sovereign nations should be
free to choose with whom they associate and enter into
alliances without fear of violent reprisal;
(6) continues to affirm the importance of Article 5 of the
North Atlantic Treaty;
(7) reaffirms the importance of nuclear deterrence in NATO
planning and supports the modernization and development of new
systems while continuing risk-reduction discussions with our
adversaries;
(8) reaffirms that all NATO territory is equally under the
protection of its collective defense;
(9) strongly calls on all NATO member states to immediately
meet their pledges and raise their defense levels above the 2
percent GDP target, and to more fully share the security burden
by focusing on meeting capabilities targets, enhancing
interoperability, improving readiness, and modernization to
respond to the threats that face the alliance on each of its
flanks;
(10) urges all NATO member countries to meet their
commitments to the principles of democracy, individual liberty,
and the rule of law;
(11) stands in robust support of those NATO members who
spend 2 percent or more of their GDPs on defense and
acknowledges the 8 countries that have met that goal since
2014;
(12) welcomes the recent additions of Finland and Sweden to
the alliance;
(13) recognizes that NATO, in its planning processes, must
take into account security threats to the alliance from around
the world, including the People's Republic of China;
(14) encourages NATO to build closer ties with the Indo-
Pacific to confront the challenges posed by the deepening
partnership and alignment between the Russian Federation and
the People's Republic of China;
(15) urges all members to consider the value that Ukraine
will add to NATO's defense and stability for Europe ahead of
the Washington Summit in 2024; and
(16) reaffirms the commitment of the United States to
NATO's mission, and its belief that NATO is the most successful
security alliance in our Nation's history and one that should
continue to be a cornerstone of United States national
security.
<all>
Introduced in Senate
Referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
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