III 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 54 

Expressing the unwavering commitment of the United States to the North 

Atlantic Treaty Organization. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 7 (legislative day, FEBRUARY 6), 2017 

Mr. BLUMENTHAL (for himself, Mr. GARDNER, Mr. RUBIO, and Mrs. MCCASKILL) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing the unwavering commitment of the United States 

to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. 

Whereas, following World War II, the United States rejected 

isolationism, established its role as a world leader, and 

developed an international alliance system that protected 

the United States while supporting democracy, freedom, 

and economic prosperity with European nations; 

Whereas, 70 years ago, the United States announced the 

Marshall Plan for Europe, a strategic investment in Europe, as well as articulated the Truman Doctrine, which 

sought to contain a growing Soviet threat in Southern 

Europe; 

Whereas, in 1949, the United States, Canada, Belgium, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxemburg, the NetherVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:42 Feb 08, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR54.IS SR54

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•SRES 54 IS 

lands, Norway, Portugal, and the United Kingdom signed 

the North Atlantic Treaty that formed the basis of the 

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (in this preamble referred to as ‘‘NATO’’); 

Whereas NATO was created to protect countries from a 

growing Soviet threat, promote international peace and 

stability, and defend freedom; 

Whereas, to date, 28 countries have joined NATO; 

Whereas, for more than 67 years, NATO has served as a central pillar of United States national security and a deterrent against adversaries and external threats; 

Whereas NATO continues to improve its collective defense 

measures, enhance its military capabilities to address a 

full spectrum of complex threats, and partner with nonNATO countries to promote international stability; 

Whereas Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty is an integral 

part of NATO and states that ‘‘[t]he Parties agree that 

an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe 

or North America shall be considered an attack against 

them all . . .’’; 

Whereas NATO invoked Article 5 for the first time less than 

24 hours after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks 

against the United States; 

Whereas, in Afghanistan, NATO allies and partners have 

served alongside United States forces since 2001, reaching a peak of more than 42,000 ally and partner forces, 

6,300 NATO forces continue to serve today alongside the 

6,900 United States forces there, and more than 1,100 

NATO ally and partner forces have paid the ultimate 

price in service to the collective defense of NATO; 


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•SRES 54 IS 

Whereas NATO took the lead in helping combat the terrorist 

threat in Afghanistan through the International Security 

Assistance Force and Operation Resolute Support, contributing to the safety of the United States and the international community; 

Whereas all 28 NATO allies and many NATO partners are 

contributing to the Global Coalition to Counter the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant; 

Whereas approximately 18,000 military personnel are currently engaged in NATO missions around the world, conducting operations in Afghanistan, Kosovo, the Mediterranean, and off the Horn of Africa; 

Whereas NATO conducts a range of maritime security operations in the Mediterranean and is essential to establishing stability along the borders of Europe and to responding to the ongoing refugee and migrant crisis; 

Whereas, for nearly 10 years, NATO has provided airlift support for the mission of the African Union in Somalia, as 

well as assisted with training the African Standby Force 

at the request of the African Union; 

Whereas, for more than 17 years, NATO has led peace-support operations in Kosovo to maintain safety and security 

in a volatile region; 

Whereas NATO has three standing forces on active duty at 

all times to defend the Alliance, air policing capability, 

maritime forces, and an integrated air defense system; 

Whereas NATO allies and the international community continue to look to NATO to deter the increasingly revanchist activities of Russia; 

Whereas Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Joseph Dunford, testified before the Committee on Armed 


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Services of the Senate on July 19, 2015, that Russia presents the ‘‘greatest existential threat’’ to the United 

States; 

Whereas the malign actions of Russia—its 2008 incursion 

into Georgia, its illegal annexation of Crimea, its continued military action in Ukraine, its targeting of civilians 

in Syria, its ongoing information war in Europe, its continued violations of the Intermediate Nuclear Forces 

Agreement, and its cyberattacks aimed at influencing 

United States elections—have violated international laws 

and norms; 

Whereas Russia continues to use disinformation campaigns 

and promote state propaganda to discredit democracy 

and undermine NATO members; 

Whereas, since the illegal annexation of Crimea and direct 

support to the conflict in Eastern Ukraine by Russia in 

2014, NATO members have undertaken the biggest reinforcement of the collective defense of NATO since the 

end of the Cold War, enhancing allied readiness and deterrence measures in response to Russian aggression; 

Whereas the efforts of NATO to confront and deter Russian 

aggression in Eastern Europe have included a three-fold 

increase in the size of the NATO Response Force (NRF) 

to 40,000 troops; the creation of a Spearhead Force of 

5,000 troops capable of deploying within a few days to 

respond to any threat against an ally, particularly on the 

eastern flank of NATO; the forward deployment of up to 

4,000 troops to Poland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania; 

an increase in the air policing and maritime missions of 

NATO in Eastern Europe; and a significant increase in 

NATO training and military exercises in Eastern Europe; 


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Whereas, following the invasion of Ukraine by Russia in 

2014, the United States established Operation Atlantic 

Resolve and the European Reassurance Initiative to reassure NATO allies that the United States would uphold 

its global security commitments and work in coordination 

with European partners to deter Russian aggression; 

Whereas, since 2014, Operation Atlantic Resolve and the European Reassurance Initiative have demonstrated the 

continued commitment of the United States to its NATO 

allies and partners by engaging in deterrence and security measures against potential Russian aggression in the 

region; 

Whereas the United States is further strengthening its force 

presence in Europe through the continuous deployment of 

an armored brigade combat team to Poland on a rotating 

basis; 

Whereas, on January 6, 2017, as a part of Operation Atlantic Resolve, 3,500 United States troops from the 4th Infantry Division in Fort Carson, Colorado, along with 

more than 2,500 military vehicles, were deployed to Eastern Europe to deter regional aggression; 

Whereas continued United States leadership in NATO is critical to ensuring that NATO remains the greatest military 

alliance in history; 

Whereas all NATO members have recommitted themselves to 

sharing the security burden of NATO at the 2014 NATO 

Wales Summit by pledging to meet the defense spending 

target for NATO members of 2 percent of gross domestic 

product within 10 years; 


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Whereas the United States, Greece, Poland, Estonia, and the 

United Kingdom all have exceeded that defense spending 

target; 

Whereas, since the Wales Summit, Latvia, Lithuania, and 

many other allies have increased defense spending in an 

effort to meet that defense spending target; 

Whereas NATO remains committed to its open door policy on 

enlargement, working with countries in the Euro-Atlantic 

region that aspire to join NATO to help meet the requirements for membership; 

Whereas, at the 2016 NATO Warsaw Summit, NATO Heads 

of State and Government formally invited Montenegro to 

become the 29th member of NATO; 

Whereas General James Jones, United States Marine Corps 

(retired), former National Security Advisor, testified before the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate in 

July 2016 that ‘‘[o]ur 27 NATO allies offer America forward basing, which allows us to better fight enemies like 

ISIS and deter adversaries like the new Russia and to 

meet shared challenges. Twenty-eight countries acting as 

one is a powerful alliance’’; 

Whereas Secretary of Defense James Mattis testified before 

the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate, during 

his hearing as nominee for Secretary of Defense, that 

‘‘[w]e must also embrace our international alliances and 

security partnerships. History is clear: Nations with 

strong allies thrive and those without them wither’’; 

Whereas there is a long tradition of strong bipartisan agreement that participation in NATO strengthens the security of the United States; 


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Whereas NATO is the first peacetime military alliance the 

United States entered into outside the Western Hemisphere and today remains the largest peacetime military 

alliance in the world; 

Whereas a fractured NATO alliance would harm the interests 

of the United States and embolden adversaries of the 

United States; and 

Whereas a strong and united Europe is important to United 

States strategic interests: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) pledges that the United States will continue 

3 to maintain strong leadership and strengthen its 

4 commitments to the North Atlantic Treaty Organi5 zation (in this resolution referred to as ‘‘NATO’’); 

6 (2) strongly encourages NATO members to ful7 fill their pledge to invest at least 2 percent of gross 

8 domestic product on defense spending, invest at 

9 least 20 percent of such spending on major equip10 ment (including research and development), and 

11 shoulder appropriate responsibility within NATO; 

12 (3) recognizes the historic contribution and sac13 rifice NATO member countries have made while 

14 combating terrorism in Afghanistan through the 

15 International Security Assistance Force and Oper16 ation Resolute Support; and 


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1 (4) honors the men and women who served 

2 under NATO and gave their lives to promote peace, 

3 security, and international cooperation since 1949. 

Æ 


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