III 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 630 

Supporting the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and recognizing its 75 

years of accomplishments. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 9, 2024 

Mr. RISCH (for himself, Mr. CARDIN, Mrs. SHAHEEN, and Mr. RICKETTS) 

submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 

on Foreign Relations 

RESOLUTION 

Supporting the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and 

recognizing its 75 years of accomplishments. 

Whereas the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) 

was founded on April 4, 1949, to ‘‘safeguard the freedom, common heritage and civilisation of [its] peoples, 

founded on the principles of democracy, individual liberty 

and the rule of law’’; 

Whereas the United States Senate approved the North Atlantic Treaty of 1949 on July 21, 1949, and the United 

States Government acceded to membership in NATO on 

August 24, 1949; 

Whereas NATO was originally founded to ensure the collective security of its members, and stand against the Soviet 


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threat to peace and acts collectively to promote freedom, 

stability, and peace in the North Atlantic region; 

Whereas, since the formation of NATO, 10 rounds of enlargement have grown the alliance from 12 members to 

32; 

Whereas NATO is the most successful political-military alliance in history and, guided by a set of common values, 

provides collective defense to more than 950,000,000 people living in its member nations; 

Whereas the sustained commitment of NATO to mutual defense has contributed to the democratic and economic 

transformation of Central and Eastern Europe; 

Whereas enlargement has strengthened NATO, and the Alliance remains open to additional enlargement for European states that advance the principles of the North Atlantic Treaty and contribute to the security of the North 

Atlantic area, in line with article 10 of the Treaty; 

Whereas the newest members of the alliance, Finland and 

Sweden, contribute already interoperable militaries, including robust navies, powerful air forces, strong cyber 

capabilities, and large numbers of active military personnel and ready reservists to the alliance; 

Whereas the allies invoked NATO’s article 5 collective defense clause for the first and only time to offer political 

and military assistance to the United States in responding to the attacks of September 11, 2001; 

Whereas NATO serves as a force multiplier, whose command 

structures, training institutions, and multilateral exercises have generated multinational contributions to 

United States national security priorities and enabled 


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European and Canadian soldiers to serve with members 

of the United States Armed Forces in various missions; 

Whereas NATO is currently involved in several operations 

benefitting United States national security, including 

NATO’s Kosovo Force (KFOR), Standing Naval Forces, 

Operation Sea Guardian, NATO Mission Iraq, and air 

policing missions in Eastern Europe; 

Whereas, through the Partnership for Peace and Enhanced 

Forward Presence, NATO has extended opportunities for 

cooperation with non-NATO nations; 

Whereas NATO members have stood against Russian aggression in Eastern Europe, reinforced existing battlegroups 

and established new ones, supported United States sanctions on the Russian Federation, and imposed their own 

sanctions measures in coordination with the United 

States and other allies; 

Whereas the NATO Wales Summit Declaration of 2014 

pledged, ‘‘Allies currently meeting the NATO guideline to 

spend a minimum of 2 percent of their Gross Domestic 

Product (GDP) on defence will aim to continue to do so 

. . . Allies whose current proportion of GDP spent on 

defence is below this level will: halt any decline in defence 

expenditure; aim to increase defence expenditure in real 

terms as GDP grows; aim to move towards the 2 percent 

guideline within a decade with a view to meeting their 

NATO Capability Targets and filling NATO’s capability 

shortfalls.’’; 

Whereas 22 NATO nations have increased their military 

spending since the Wales Declaration of 2014; 

Whereas, at the NATO Vilnius Summit in 2023, member 

countries affirmed their commitment to spend ‘‘at least’’ 


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2 percent of GDP on defense, and noted that ‘‘in many 

cases, expenditure beyond 2 percent of GDP will be needed in order to remedy existing shortfalls and meet the requirements across all domains arising from a more contested security order’’; 

Whereas 20 NATO members still fall short of meeting their 

2 percent commitment; 

Whereas collective security demands real and sustained burden sharing; 

Whereas NATO members that do not meet their 2 percent 

goal have a responsibility to the other member states and 

should rapidly address their budget shortfalls and 

prioritize defense spending; 

Whereas NATO updated its Strategic Concept planning document in 2022 to recognize emerging threats to the alliance, including from the People’s Republic of China, and 

begin the process of adapting our collective approach to 

face them in the coming generation; 

Whereas, at the NATO Vilnius Summit in 2023, NATO reaffirmed its commitment to its core values and take decisive action to defend them against threats across multiple 

domains; 

Whereas nations must put defense spending in their base 

budgets to provide long-term certainty to NATO planners 

and their partners; 

Whereas the Russian Federation’s invasion of Ukraine marks 

the largest military conflict in Europe since World War 

II, representing a dramatic shift for European security 

and requiring NATO to change its policies to increase, 

modernize, and enhance its force posture and to create 


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more strategic depth to adequately confront new challenges; 

Whereas, in adapting to growing aggression by the People’s 

Republic of China, NATO has deepened its partnerships 

with Indo-Pacific allies, including South Korea, Japan, 

Australia, and New Zealand; and 

Whereas section 1250A of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024 (Public Law 118–31) requires the advice and consent of the Senate for any 

President of the United States to suspend, terminate, denounce, or withdraw the United States from the North 

Atlantic treaty: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) lauds NATO for its 75-year maintenance of 

3 the alliance and recognizes its foundational contribu4 tions to maintaining the safety, security, and demo5 cratic systems of its members; 

6 (2) welcomes all NATO members and observers 

7 as the United States hosts the 75th Annual Summit 

8 in July 2024, in Washington, DC; 

9 (3) recognizes the key role NATO has played in 

10 enabling the most peaceful and prosperous period in 

11 history for the North Atlantic area and also that 

12 NATO does not only benefit the defense of its own 

13 member states, but enhances security and stability 

14 beyond its borders; 

15 (4) appreciates the burden and sacrifice made 

16 by each member nation and each service member 


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1 who has acted to maintain the collective security of 

2 NATO; 

3 (5) reaffirms that NATO members join by free 

4 choice, not by compulsion or coercion, and that sov5 ereign nations should be free to choose with whom 

6 they associate and enter into alliances without fear 

7 of violent reprisal; 

8 (6) continues to affirm the importance of Arti9 cle 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty; 

10 (7) reaffirms the importance of nuclear deter11 rence in NATO planning and supports the mod12 ernization and development of new systems while 

13 continuing risk-reduction discussions with our adver14 saries; 

15 (8) reaffirms that all NATO territory is equally 

16 under the protection of its collective defense; 

17 (9) strongly calls on all NATO member states 

18 to immediately meet their pledges and raise their de19 fense levels above the 2 percent GDP target, and to 

20 more fully share the security burden by focusing on 

21 meeting capabilities targets, enhancing interoper22 ability, improving readiness, and modernization to 

23 respond to the threats that face the alliance on each 

24 of its flanks; 


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1 (10) urges all NATO member countries to meet 

2 their commitments to the principles of democracy, 

3 individual liberty, and the rule of law; 

4 (11) stands in robust support of those NATO 

5 members who spend 2 percent or more of their 

6 GDPs on defense and acknowledges the 8 countries 

7 that have met that goal since 2014; 

8 (12) welcomes the recent additions of Finland 

9 and Sweden to the alliance; 

10 (13) recognizes that NATO, in its planning 

11 processes, must take into account security threats to 

12 the alliance from around the world, including the 

13 People’s Republic of China; 

14 (14) encourages NATO to build closer ties with 

15 the Indo-Pacific to confront the challenges posed by 

16 the deepening partnership and alignment between 

17 the Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of 

18 China; 

19 (15) urges all members to consider the value 

20 that Ukraine will add to NATO’s defense and sta21 bility for Europe ahead of the Washington Summit 

22 in 2024; and 

23 (16) reaffirms the commitment of the United 

24 States to NATO’s mission, and its belief that NATO 

25 is the most successful security alliance in our NaVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:10 Apr 10, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR630.IS SR630

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1 tion’s history and one that should continue to be a 

2 cornerstone of United States national security. 

Æ 


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