I

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 4358

To express United States policy with respect to the North Atlantic Treaty

Organization.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MAY 5, 1994

Mr. HYDE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee

on Foreign Affairs

A BILL

To express United States policy with respect to the North

Atlantic Treaty Organization.

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘NATO Revitalization

5 Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 The Congress finds that—

8 (1) for over 40 years, the North Atlantic Treaty

9 Organization has helped guarantee the security,
2

•HR 4358 IH

1 freedom, and prosperity of the United States and

2 our partners in the alliance;

3 (2) the North Atlantic Treaty Organization has

4 expanded its membership on 3 different occasions

5 since its founding in 1949;

6 (3) the steadfast and sustained commitment of

7 the member countries of the North Atlantic Treaty

8 Organization to mutual defense against the threat of

9 Communist domination played a significant role in

10 precipitating the collapse of the Iron Curtain and

11 the demise of the Soviet Union;

12 (4) in the place of that threat, new security

13 threats are emerging to the shared interests of the

14 member countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Or15 ganization;

16 (5) although these new threats are more geo17 graphically and functionally diverse and less predict18 able, they still imperil shared interests of the United

19 States and our North Atlantic Treaty Organization

20 allies;

21 (6) Western interests must be protected on a

22 cooperative basis without an undue burden falling

23 upon the United States;

24 (7) the North Atlantic Treaty Organization is

25 the only multilateral organization that is capable of
3

•HR 4358 IH

1 conducting effective military operations to protect

2 Western interests;

3 (8) the valuable experience gained from ongoing

4 military cooperation within the North Atlantic Trea5 ty Organization was critical to the success of joint

6 military operations in the 1991 liberation of Kuwait;

7 (9) the North Atlantic Treaty Organization is

8 an important diplomatic forum for discussion of is9 sues of concern to its member states and for the

10 peaceful resolution of disputes;

11 (10) admission of Central and East European

12 countries that have recently been freed from Com13 munist domination to the North Atlantic Treaty Or14 ganization could contribute to international peace

15 and enhance the security of those countries;

16 (11) a number of countries, including the

17 Visegrad countries (the Czech Republic, Hungary,

18 Poland, and Slovakia) and the Baltic states (Esto19 nia, Latvia, and Lithuania), have expressed interest

20 in North Atlantic Treaty Organization membership;

21 and

22 (12) in recognition of this interest, the ‘‘Part23 nership for Peace’’ proposal offers limited military

24 cooperation to many European countries not cur25 rently members of the North Atlantic Treaty Orga-
4

•HR 4358 IH

1 nization, without establishing benchmarks or guide2 lines for eventual North Atlantic Treaty Organiza3 tion membership.

4 SEC. 3. UNITED STATES POLICY.

5 It should be the policy of the United States—

6 (1) to continue our commitment to and active

7 leadership role in the North Atlantic Treaty Organi8 zation;

9 (2) to join with our North Atlantic Treaty Or10 ganization allies to redefine the role of the alliance

11 in the post-Cold War world, taking into account—

12 (A) the fundamentally changed security en13 vironment of Central and Eastern Europe,

14 (B) the need to assure all countries of the

15 defensive nature of the alliance and the desire

16 of its members to work cooperatively with all

17 former adversaries,

18 (C) the emerging security threats posed by

19 the proliferation of nuclear, chemical, and bio20 logical weapons of mass destruction and the

21 means to deliver them,

22 (D) the continuing challenges to the inter23 ests of all North Atlantic Treaty Organization

24 member countries posed by unstable and un-
5

•HR 4358 IH

1 democratic regimes harboring hostile intentions,

2 and

3 (E) the dependence of the global economy

4 on a stable energy supply and the free flow of

5 commerce;

6 (3) to urge the North Atlantic Treaty Organiza7 tion to support the eventual expansion of alliance

8 membership to European countries that meet appro9 priate standards, including—

10 (A) shared values and interests,

11 (B) democratic governments,

12 (C) free market economies,

13 (D) civilian control of the military,

14 (E) adherence to the values, principles,

15 and political commitments embodied in the Hel16 sinki Final Act of the Conference on Security

17 and Cooperation in Europe, and

18 (F) commitment to further the principles

19 of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and

20 to contribute to the security of the North Atlan21 tic area;

22 (4) to urge the North Atlantic Treaty Organiza23 tion—
6

•HR 4358 IH

1 (A) to extend membership to countries that

2 meet the standards set forth by the North At3 lantic Treaty Organization, and

4 (B) to establish benchmarks and a time5 table for eventual membership for selected

6 countries in transition; and

7 (5) to affirm that North Atlantic Treaty Orga8 nization military planning should include joint mili9 tary operations beyond the geographic bounds of the

10 alliance under Article 4 of the North Atlantic Treaty

11 when the shared interests of the United States and

12 other member countries require such action to de13 fend vital interests.

Æ