I

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 3564

To amend the NATO Participation Act of 1994 to expedite the transition

to full membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization of emerging democracies in Central and Eastern Europe.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JUNE 4, 1996

Mr. GILMAN (for himself, Mr. BEREUTER, Mr. GEJDENSON, Mr. HYDE, Mr.

LIPINSKI, Mr. SOLOMON, Mr. OBERSTAR, Mr. COX of California, Ms.

KAPTUR, Mr. LEACH, Mrs. MALONEY, Mr. ZIMMER, Mr. SMITH of New

Jersey, Mr. TORRICELLI, Mr. BROWNBACK, Ms. LOFGREN, Mr. HOKE,

Mr. PALLONE, Mr. QUINN, Mr. HOLDEN, Mr. KIM, Mr. HOSTETTLER,

Mr. GALLEGLY, and Mr. KING) introduced the following bill; which was

referred to the Committee on International Relations, and in addition to

the Committee on Rules, 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 amend the NATO Participation Act of 1994 to expedite

the transition to full membership in the North Atlantic

Treaty Organization of emerging democracies in Central

and Eastern Europe.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘NATO Enlargement

3 Facilitation Act of 1996’’.

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

5 The Congress makes the following findings:

6 (1) Since 1949, the North Atlantic Treaty Or7 ganization (NATO) has played an essential role in

8 guaranteeing the security, freedom, and prosperity

9 of the United States and its partners in the Alliance.

10 (2) The NATO Alliance is, and has been since

11 its inception, purely defensive in character, and it

12 poses no threat to any nation. The enlargement of

13 the NATO Alliance to include as full and equal

14 members emerging democracies in Central and East15 ern Europe does not threaten any nation. America’s

16 security, freedom, and prosperity remain linked to

17 the security of the countries of Europe.

18 (3) The sustained commitment of the member

19 countries of NATO to a mutual defense has made

20 possible the democratic transformation of Eastern

21 Europe. Members of the Alliance can and should

22 play a critical role in addressing the security chal23 lenges of the post-Cold War era and in creating the

24 stable environment needed for those emerging de25 mocracies in Central and Eastern Europe to success26 fully complete political and economic transformation.
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1 (4) NATO has enlarged its membership on 3

2 different occasions since 1949.

3 (5) Congress has sought to facilitate the further

4 enlargement of NATO at an early date by enacting

5 the NATO Participation Act of 1994 (title II of

6 Public Law 103–447; 22 U.S.C. 1928 note) and the

7 NATO Participation Act Amendments of 1995 (sec8 tion 585 of Public Law 104–107).

9 (6) As new members of NATO assume the re10 sponsibilities of Alliance membership, the costs of

11 maintaining stability in Europe will be shared more

12 widely. Facilitation of the enlargement process will

13 require current members of NATO, and the United

14 States in particular, to demonstrate the political will

15 needed to build on successful ongoing programs such

16 as the Warsaw Initiative and the Partnership for

17 Peace by making available the resources necessary to

18 supplement efforts prospective new members are

19 themselves undertaking.

20 (7) New members will be full members of the

21 Alliance, enjoying all rights and assuming all the ob22 ligations under the Washington Treaty.

23 (8) Cooperative regional peacekeeping initiatives

24 involving emerging democracies in Central and East25 ern Europe that have expressed interest in joining
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1 NATO, such as the Baltic Peacekeeping Battalion,

2 the Polish-Lithuanian Joint Peacekeeping Force,

3 and the Polish-Ukrainian Peacekeeping Force, can

4 make an important contribution to European peace

5 and security and international peacekeeping efforts,

6 assist those countries preparing to assume the re7 sponsibilities of possible NATO membership, and ac8 cordingly should receive appropriate support from

9 the United States.

10 (9) The United States continues to regard the

11 political independence and territorial integrity of all

12 emerging democracies in Central and Eastern Eu13 rope as vital to European peace and security.

14 (10) NATO remains the only multilateral secu15 rity organization capable of conducting effective

16 military operations and preserving security and sta17 bility of the Euro-Atlantic region.

18 (11) NATO is an important diplomatic forum

19 and has played a positive role in defusing tensions

20 between members of the Alliance and, as a result, no

21 military action has occurred between two Alliance

22 member states since the inception of NATO in 1949.

23 (12) The admission to NATO of emerging de24 mocracies in Central and Eastern Europe that meet

25 specific criteria for NATO membership would con-
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1 tribute to international peace and enhance the secu2 rity of the region.

3 (13) A number of Eastern European countries

4 have expressed interest in NATO membership, and

5 have taken concrete steps to demonstrate this com6 mitment; including their participation in Partnership

7 for Peace activities.

8 (14) In recognition that not all countries which

9 have requested membership in NATO will nec10 essarily qualify at the same pace, the accession date

11 for each new member will vary.

12 (15) The eventual membership of Austria, Fin13 land, and Sweden is fully expected and is not pre14 cluded by this Act.

15 (16) The provision of additional NATO transi16 tion assistance should include those emerging de17 mocracies most ready for closer ties with NATO and

18 should be designed to assist other countries meeting

19 specified criteria of eligibility to move forward to20 ward eventual NATO membership.

21 (17) The Congress of the United States finds

22 that Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic have

23 made the most progress toward achieving the stated

24 criteria and should be eligible for the additional as25 sistance described in this bill.
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1 (18) The evaluation of future membership in

2 NATO for emerging democracies in Central and

3 Eastern Europe should be based on the progress of

4 those nations in meeting criteria for NATO member5 ship, which require enhancement of NATO’s security

6 and the approval of all NATO members.

7 SEC. 3. UNITED STATES POLICY.

8 It should be the policy of the United States—

9 (1) to join with the NATO allies of the United

10 States to redefine the role of the NATO Alliance in

11 the post-Cold War world;

12 (2) to actively assist the emerging democracies

13 in Central and Eastern Europe in their transition so

14 that such countries may eventually qualify for

15 NATO membership; and

16 (3) to work to define a constructive and cooper17 ative political and security relationship between an

18 enlarged NATO and the Russian Federation.

19 SEC. 4. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.

20 It is the sense of the Congress that in order to pro21 mote economic stability and security in Estonia, Latvia,

22 Lithuania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Romania, Alba23 nia, Moldova, and Ukraine—

24 (1) the United States should support the full

25 and active participation of these countries in activi-
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1 ties appropriate for qualifying for NATO member2 ship;

3 (2) the United States Government should use

4 all diplomatic means available to press the European

5 Union to admit as soon as possible any country

6 which qualifies for membership; and

7 (3) the United States Government and the

8 North Atlantic Treaty Organization should support

9 military exercises and peacekeeping initiatives be10 tween and among these nations, nations of the

11 North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and Russia.

12 SEC. 5. DESIGNATION OF COUNTRIES ELIGIBLE FOR NATO

13 ENLARGEMENT ASSISTANCE.

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—The following countries are des15 ignated as eligible to receive assistance under the program

16 established under section 203(a) of the NATO Participa17 tion Act of 1994: Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Repub18 lic.

19 (b) DESIGNATION OF OTHER COUNTRIES.—The

20 President shall designate other emerging democracies in

21 Central and Eastern Europe as eligible to receive assist22 ance under the program established under section 203(a)

23 of such Act if such countries—

24 (1) have expressed a clear desire to join NATO;
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1 (2) have begun an individualized dialogue with

2 NATO in preparation for accession;

3 (3) are strategically significant to an effective

4 NATO defense; and

5 (4) have met the other criteria outlined in sec6 tion 203(d) of the NATO Participation Act of 1994

7 (title II of Public Law 103–447; 22 U.S.C. 1928

8 note).

9 (c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Subsection (a) does

10 not preclude the designation by the President of Slovakia,

11 Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovenia, or any

12 other emerging democracy in Central and Eastern Europe

13 pursuant to section 203(d) of the NATO Participation Act

14 of 1994 as eligible to receive assistance under the program

15 established under section 203(a) of such Act.

16 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR NATO

17 ENLARGEMENT ASSISTANCE.

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro19 priated $60,000,000 for fiscal year 1997 for the program

20 established under section 203(a) of the NATO Participa21 tion Act of 1994.

22 (b) AVAILABILITY.—Of the funds authorized to be

23 appropriated by subsection (a)—

24 (1) $20,000,000 shall be available for the sub25 sidy cost, as defined in section 502(5) of the Credit
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1 Reform Act of 1990, of direct loans pursuant to the

2 authority of section 203(c)(4) of the NATO Partici3 pation Act of 1994 and section 23 of the Arms Ex4 port Control Act (relating to the ‘‘Foreign Military

5 Financing Program’’);

6 (2) $30,000,000 shall be available for assist7 ance on a grant basis pursuant to the authority of

8 section 203(c)(4) of the NATO Participation Act of

9 1994 and section 23 of the Arms Export Control

10 Act (relating to the ‘‘Foreign Military Financing

11 Program’’); and

12 (3) $10,000,000 shall be available for assist13 ance pursuant to the authority of section 203(c)(3)

14 of the NATO Participation Act of 1994 and chapter

15 5 of part II of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961

16 (relating to international military education and

17 training).

18 (c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Amounts authorized

19 to be appropriated under this section are authorized to

20 be appropriated in addition to such amounts as otherwise

21 may be available for such purposes.

22 SEC. 7. EXCESS DEFENSE ARTICLES.

23 (a) PRIORITY DELIVERY.—Notwithstanding any

24 other provision of law, the provision and delivery of excess

25 defense articles under the authority of section 203(c) (1)
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1 and (2) of the NATO Participation Act of 1994 and sec2 tion 516 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 shall be

3 given priority to the maximum extent feasible over the pro4 vision and delivery of such excess defense articles to all

5 other countries except those countries referred to in sec6 tion 541 of the Foreign Operations, Export Financing,

7 and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1995 (Public

8 Law 103–306; 108 Stat. 1640).

9 (b) COOPERATIVE REGIONAL PEACEKEEPING INITIA10 TIVES.—The Congress encourages the President to pro11 vide excess defense articles and other appropriate assist12 ance to cooperative regional peacekeeping initiatives in13 volving emerging democracies in Central and Eastern Eu14 rope that have expressed an interest in joining NATO in

15 order to enhance their ability to contribute to European

16 peace and security and international peacekeeping efforts.

17 SEC. 8. MODERNIZATION OF DEFENSE CAPABILITY.

18 The Congress endorses efforts by the United States

19 to modernize the defense capability of Poland, Hungary,

20 the Czech Republic, and any other countries designated

21 by the President pursuant to section 203(d) of the NATO

22 Participation Act of 1994, by exploring with such coun23 tries options for the sale or lease to such countries of

24 weapons systems compatible with those used by NATO
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1 members, including air defense systems, advanced fighter

2 aircraft, and telecommunications infrastructure.

3 SEC. 9. TERMINATION OF ELIGIBILITY.

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 203(f) of the NATO Par5 ticipation Act of 1994 (title II of Public Law 103–447;

6 22 U.S.C. 1928 note) is amended to read as follows:

7 ‘‘(f) TERMINATION OF ELIGIBILITY.—(1) The eligi8 bility of a country designated under subsection (d) for the

9 program established in subsection (a) shall terminate 60

10 days after the President makes a certification under para11 graph (2) unless, within the 60-day period, the Congress

12 enacts a joint resolution disapproving the termination of

13 eligibility.

14 ‘‘(2) Whenever the President determines that the gov15 ernment of a country designated under subsection (d)—

16 ‘‘(A) no longer meets the criteria set forth in

17 subsection (d)(2)(A);

18 ‘‘(B) is hostile to the NATO Alliance; or

19 ‘‘(C) poses a national security threat to the

20 United States,

21 then the President shall so certify to the appropriate con22 gressional committees.

23 ‘‘(3) Nothing in this Act affects the eligibility of

24 countries to participate under other provisions of law in

25 programs described in this Act.’’.
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1 (b) CONGRESSIONAL PRIORITY PROCEDURES.—Sec2 tion 203 of such Act is amended by adding at the end

3 the following new subsection:

4 ‘‘(g) CONGRESSIONAL PRIORITY PROCEDURES.—

5 ‘‘(1) APPLICABLE PROCEDURES.—A joint reso6 lution described in paragraph (2) which is intro7 duced in a House of Congress shall be considered in

8 accordance with the procedures set forth in para9 graphs (3) through (7) of section 8066(c) of the De10 partment of Defense Appropriations Act, 1985 (as

11 contained in Public Law 98–473; 98 Stat. 1936), ex12 cept that—

13 ‘‘(A) references to the ‘resolution described

14 in paragraph (1)’ shall be deemed to be ref15 erences to the joint resolution; and

16 ‘‘(B) references to the Committee on Ap17 propriations of the House of Representatives

18 and the Committee on Appropriations of the

19 Senate shall be deemed to be references to the

20 Committee on International Relations of the

21 House of Representatives and the Committee

22 on Foreign Relations of the Senate, respec23 tively.

24 ‘‘(2) TEXT OF JOINT RESOLUTION.—A joint

25 resolution under this paragraph is a joint resolution
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1 the matter after the resolving clause of which is as

2 follows: ‘That the Congress disapproves the certifi3 cation submitted by the President on 

4 pursuant to section 203(f) of the NATO Participa5 tion Act of 1994.’.’’.

6 SEC. 10. AMENDMENTS TO THE NATO PARTICIPATION ACT.

7 (a) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The NATO Par8 ticipation Act of 1994 (title II of Public Law 103–447;

9 22 U.S.C. 1928 note) is amended in sections 203(a),

10 203(d)(1), and 203(d)(2) by striking ‘‘countries emerging

11 from communist domination’’ each place it appears and

12 inserting ‘‘emerging democracies in Central and Eastern

13 Europe’’.

14 (b) DEFINITIONS.—The NATO Participation Act of

15 1994 (title II of Public Law 103–447; 22 U.S.C. 1928

16 note) is amended by adding at the end the following new

17 section:

18 ‘‘SEC. 206. DEFINITIONS.

19 ‘‘The term ‘emerging democracies in Central and

20 Eastern Europe’ includes, but is not limited to, Albania,

21 Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia,

22 Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia,

23 and Ukraine.’’.

24 SEC. 11. DEFINITIONS.

25 As used in this Act:
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1 (1) EMERGING DEMOCRACIES IN CENTRAL AND

2 EASTERN EUROPE.—The term ‘‘emerging democ3 racies in Central and Eastern Europe’’ includes, but

4 is not limited to, Albania, Bulgaria, the Czech Re5 public, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania,

6 Moldova, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, and

7 Ukraine.

8 (2) NATO.—The term ‘‘NATO’’ means the

9 North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

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