NATO Revitalization Act

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``NATO Revitalization Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds that--
            (1) for over 40 years, the North Atlantic Treaty 
        Organization has helped guarantee the security, freedom, and 
        prosperity of the United States and our partners in the 
        alliance;
            (2) the North Atlantic Treaty Organization has expanded its 
        membership on 3 different occasions since its founding in 1949;
            (3) the steadfast and sustained commitment of the member 
        countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to mutual 
        defense against the threat of communist domination played a 
        significant role in precipitating the collapse of the Iron 
        Curtain and the demise of the Soviet Union;
            (4) in the place of that threat, new security threats are 
        emerging to the shared interests of the member countries of the 
        North Atlantic Treaty Organization;
            (5) although these new threats are more geographically and 
        functionally diverse and less predictable, they still imperil 
        shared interests of the United States and our North Atlantic 
        Treaty Organization allies;
            (6) Western interests must be protected on a cooperative 
        basis without an undue burden falling upon the United States;
            (7) the North Atlantic Treaty Organization is the only 
        multilateral organization that is capable of conducting 
        effective military operations to protect Western interests;
            (8) the valuable experience gained from ongoing military 
        cooperation within the North Atlantic Treaty Organization was 
        critical to the success of joint military operations in the 
        1991 liberation of Kuwait;
            (9) the North Atlantic Treaty Organization is an important 
        diplomatic forum for discussion of issues of concern to its 
        member states and for the peaceful resolution of disputes;
            (10) admission of Central and East European countries that 
        have recently been freed from Communist domination to the North 
        Atlantic Treaty Organization could contribute to international 
        peace and enhance the security of those countries;
            (11) a number of countries, including the Visegrad 
        countries (the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia) 
        and the Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania), have 
        expressed interest in North Atlantic Treaty Organization 
        membership; and
            (12) in recognition of this interest, the ``Partnership for 
        Peace'' proposal offers limited military cooperation to many 
        European countries not currently members of the North Atlantic 
        Treaty Organization, without establishing benchmarks or 
        guidelines for eventual North Atlantic Treaty Organization 
        membership.

SEC. 3. UNITED STATES POLICY.

    It should be the policy of the United States--
            (1) to continue our commitment to and active leadership 
        role in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization;
            (2) to join with our North Atlantic Treaty Organization 
        allies to redefine the role of the alliance in the post-Cold 
        War world, taking into account--
                    (A) the fundamentally changed security environment 
                of Central and Eastern Europe,
                    (B) the need to assure all countries of the 
                defensive nature of the alliance and the desire of its 
                members to work cooperatively with all former 
                adversaries,
                    (C) the emerging security threats posed by the 
                proliferation of nuclear, chemical, and biological 
                weapons of mass destruction and the means to deliver 
                them,
                    (D) the continuing challenges to the interests of 
                all North Atlantic Treaty Organization member countries 
                posed by unstable and undemocratic regimes harboring 
                hostile intentions, and
                    (E) the dependence of the global economy on a 
                stable energy supply and the free flow of commerce;
            (3) to urge the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to 
        support the eventual expansion of alliance membership to 
        European countries that meet appropriate standards, including--
                    (A) shared values and interests,
                    (B) democratic governments,
                    (C) free market economies,
                    (D) civilian control of the military,
                    (E) adherence to the values, principles, and 
                political commitments embodied in the Helsinki Final 
                Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in 
                Europe, and
                    (F) commitment to further the principles of the 
                North Atlantic Treaty Organization and to contribute to 
                the security of the North Atlantic area;
            (4) to urge the North Atlantic Treaty Organization--
                    (A) to extend membership to countries that meet the 
                standards set forth by the North Atlantic Treaty 
                Organization, and
                    (B) to establish benchmarks and a timetable for 
                eventual membership for selected countries in 
                transition; and
            (5) to affirm that North Atlantic Treaty Organization 
        military planning should include joint military operations 
        beyond the geographic bounds of the alliance under Article 4 of 
        the North Atlantic Treaty when the shared interests of the 
        United States and other member countries require such action to 
        defend vital interests.

Summary: NATO Revitalization Act - Declares that it should be US policy to: (1) continue the commitment to and an active leadership role in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). (2) join with NATO allies to redefine the role of the alliance in the post-Cold War world, taking into account specified factors. (3) urge NATO to extend membership to European countries that meet appropriate standards and establish benchmarks and a timetable for eventual membership for selected countries in transition. And (4) affirm that NATO military planning should include joint military operations beyond the geographic bounds of the alliance under the North Atlantic Treaty when the shared interests of the United States and other member countries require such action to defend vital interests.