IV

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. CON. RES. 100

Expressing the sense of Congress that the national security policy of the

United States should be based upon a national strategy for peace through

strength.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

SEPTEMBER 6, 1995

Mr. HUNTER (for himself, Mr. BROWDER, Mr. CUNNINGHAM, Mr. EDWARDS,

Mr. GILMAN, Ms. HARMAN, Mr. HYDE, Mr. LAUGHLIN, Mr. MONTGOMERY, Mr. MURTHA, Mr. SPENCE, and Mr. WILSON) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on International Relations

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

Expressing the sense of Congress that the national security

policy of the United States should be based upon a

national strategy for peace through strength.

Whereas a steadfast and bipartisan Peace Through

Strength Strategy won the Cold War;

Whereas one of the great assurances of peace is being

prepared for war;

Whereas military capability, once lost, is very expensive

to regain, very difficult to regain, and very time-consuming to regain;
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Whereas since the end of the Cold War the United States

has been dramatically reducing the strength and

readiness of the Armed Forces;

Whereas in an increasingly interdependent world, the

United States cannot achieve foreign and domestic

policy goals nor maintain credibility abroad if it does

not sustain economic dynamism and competitiveness

both at home and abroad;

Whereas the United States faces security problems

throughout the world due to a variety of causes, including nationalism and religious and ethnic differences; and

Whereas the House of Representatives, in the One Hundred Second Congress, unanimously passed House

Resolution 284 calling for ‘‘the development of a

comprehensive, coordinated strategy’’ which ‘‘will

help the United States achieve its goal of being the

strongest Nation on Earth economically and militarily, so that it remain the greatest Nation in support of human dignity, freedom, and democratic

ideals’’: Now, therefore, be it

1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate

2 concurring), That it is the sense of Congress that, to guide

3 the United States toward a new era of peace, freedom,

4 and prosperity through the enhancement of moral, eco5 nomic, and military strength, the President and Congress

6 should adopt a Peace Through Strength Strategy for the

7 post-Cold War era, the general principles and goals of

8 which are as follows:
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1 (1) GLOBAL LEADERSHIP.—The United States

2 must accept and maintain global leadership through

3 a clear and consistent articulation of vital United

4 States national interests and goals. One of those

5 vital United States national interests is maintaining

6 and enhancing United States peace with freedom

7 and prosperity, which can best be achieved by

8 strengthening and asserting the moral, economic,

9 and military principles stated in paragraphs (2)

10 through (10).

11 (2) NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS.—To deter ag12 gression and defend vital United States national in13 terests, it is essential for the United States to main14 tain highly trained, well-equipped, and combat-ready

15 military forces (composed of the active forces, the

16 Reserves, and the National Guard) and the national

17 will to prevail in any conflict. It is essential to estab18 lish and maintain the capability to defend the

19 United States against weapons of mass destruction,

20 especially weapons delivered by ballistic missiles. The

21 use of military force by the United States must be

22 a thoughtful, publicly supported action of last resort,

23 applied decisively to achieve clearly stated objectives

24 that are consistent with a vital national interest of

25 the United States.
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1 (3) COOPERATIVE SECURITY.—United States

2 national security and national interests are promoted

3 through participation in global and regional political,

4 military, and economic organizations, treaties, and

5 alliances. However, the United States must always

6 retain its sovereignty and reserve the right to act

7 unilaterally in accord with its own interests. United

8 States Armed Forces should not serve under foreign

9 command without certification by the President that

10 such a command arrangement is essential for rea11 sons of national security.

12 (4) ECONOMIC SECURITY.—National wealth and

13 economic strength are the foundation of all forms of

14 power. National economic policy must be to foster

15 private enterprise, to promote successful competition

16 in the global marketplace, and to ensure free and

17 fair access to critical resources and international

18 markets.

19 (5) FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY.—The economic vi20 tality of the United States rests not only on free

21 market competitiveness, but also on responsible fi22 nancial management. National policy must be to re23 duce the size of the Federal Government, to balance

24 the Federal budget, and to erase the national debt
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1 in a systematic manner that does not undermine

2 economic growth or national security.

3 (6) VIGILANCE.—The United States must ex4 pand effective human and technical intelligence ca5 pabilities in order to ensure the capability to antici6 pate, detect, and respond to emerging military, eco7 nomic, and political threats.

8 (7) OTHER SECURITY THREATS.—The United

9 States will act to lessen, prevent, and eliminate secu10 rity threats, including threats posed by the prolifera11 tion of weapons of mass destruction and of high

12 technology conventional arms, terrorism, drug traf13 ficking, and disruption of access to vital resources.

14 (8) NATIONAL UNITY.—The principal goals of

15 the United States have always been peace and free16 dom. To achieve these goals requires the active in17 volvement of a broad range of the citizenry of the

18 United States. For this reason, national security pol19 icy must be explained to the public in the clear con20 text of national interests and a realistic strategy for

21 protecting those interests. By identifying United

22 States goals and the means to achieve them, the na23 tional strategy of Peace Through Strength will unite

24 the American people behind their Government in

25 world affairs.
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1 (9) TECHNOLOGICAL SUPERIORITY.—The

2 United States must maintain a strong technological

3 and industrial base with a skilled workforce to fully

4 support superior United States global economic com5 petitiveness and military preparedness. At the same

6 time, safeguards must be placed against the transfer

7 of potentially dangerous technology to foreign pow8 ers hostile to the interests of the United States.

9 (10) ENERGY INDEPENDENCE.—The United

10 States must systematically and sharply reduce its

11 dependence on imported oil through the fostering of

12 conservation, the expansion of the use of nuclear

13 power and clean coal technology, and the develop14 ment of new and environmentally compatible fuels,

15 renewable sources of energy, or both.

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