IV 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 152 

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States 

remains committed to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 10, 2009 

Mr. TANNER (for himself, Mr. BERMAN, Mr. SHIMKUS, Mr. WEXLER, Mr. 

GALLEGLY, Mrs. EMERSON, Mr. MOORE of Kansas, Mr. ROSS, Mrs. 

TAUSCHER, Mr. MILLER of Florida, Mr. BOOZMAN, Mr. CHANDLER, Mr. 

SCOTT of Georgia, Mrs. MCCARTHY of New York, Mr. LARSON of Connecticut, and Mr. MEEK of Florida) submitted the following resolution; 

which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that 

the United States remains committed to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). 

Whereas for 60 years the North Atlantic Treaty Organization 

(NATO) has served as the preeminent organization to defend the territories of its member states against all external threats; 

Whereas NATO, founded on the principles of democracy, individual liberty, and the rule of law, has proved an indispensable instrument for forging a trans-Atlantic community of nations working together to safeguard the freeVerDate Nov 24 2008 04:34 Feb 11, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR152.IH HR152

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dom and common heritage of its peoples, and promoting 

stability in the North Atlantic area; 

Whereas NATO has acted to address new risks emerging 

from outside the treaty area in the interests of preserving 

peace and security in the Euro-Atlantic area, and maintains a unique collective capability to address these new 

challenges which may affect Allied interests and values; 

Whereas such challenges to NATO Allied interests and values 

include the potential for the re-emergence of unresolved 

historical disputes confronting Europe, rogue states and 

non-state actors possessing nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons and their means of delivery, transnational 

terrorism and disruption of the flow of energy resources, 

and conflicts outside the treaty area that affect vital security interests; 

Whereas the security of NATO member states is inseparably 

linked to that of the whole of Europe, and the consolidation and strengthening of democratic and free societies 

on the entire continent, in accordance with the principles 

and commitments of the Organization for Security and 

Cooperation in Europe, is of direct and material concern 

to the NATO Alliance and its partners; 

Whereas NATO enhances the security of the United States 

by providing an integrated military structure and a 

framework for consultations on political and security concerns of any member state; 

Whereas NATO remains the embodiment of United States 

engagement in Europe and therefore membership in 

NATO remains a vital national security interest of the 

United States; 


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•HRES 152 IH 

Whereas the impending membership of Albania and Croatia 

will add to NATO’s ability to perform the full range of 

NATO missions and bolster its capability to integrate 

former communist countries into a community of democracies; 

Whereas the organization of NATO national parliamentarians, the NATO Parliamentary Assembly (NPA), serves 

as a unique trans-Atlantic forum for generating and 

maintaining legislative and public support for the Alliance, and has played a key role in initiating constructive 

dialogue between NATO parliamentarians and parliamentarians in associate and observer states; 

Whereas NPA activities, such as the Rose-Roth program, 

have played a pioneering role in promoting democratic institutions and encouraging adherence with the principles 

of the rule of law; and 

Whereas the 60th anniversary NATO summit meeting, to be 

held on April 4, 2009, in Strasbourg, France, and Kehl, 

Germany, offers the historic opportunity to chart a 

course for NATO for the next decade: Now, therefore, be 

it 

1 Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep2 resentatives that— 

3 (1) the North Atlantic Treaty Organization 

4 (NATO) is to be commended for its pivotal role in 

5 preserving trans-Atlantic peace and stability; 

6 (2) NATO continues to be the premier institu7 tion that promotes a uniquely trans-Atlantic perVerDate Nov 24 2008 04:34 Feb 11, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR152.IH HR152

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1 spective and approach to issues concerning the inter2 ests and security of North America and Europe; 

3 (3) the NATO allies, at the Summit meeting to 

4 be held in Strasbourg, France, and Kehl, Germany, 

5 in April 2009, should articulate a concrete vision for 

6 the Alliance in the 21st century, clearly setting out 

7 the continued importance of NATO for the citizens 

8 of the Allied nations; 

9 (4) the Alliance should begin considering a new 

10 strategic concept that takes into account the chang11 ing international security environment, reaffirms the 

12 Alliance’s functional and symbolic purposes, and 

13 outlines how to develop its military capabilities ac14 cordingly; 

15 (5) the Alliance, while maintaining collective de16 fense as its core function, should, as a fundamental 

17 Alliance task, continue to identify and address new 

18 areas where it can provide added value in tackling 

19 future threats outside the NATO treaty area, based 

20 on case-by-case consensual Alliance decision; 

21 (6) the Alliance should make clear commit22 ments to remedy shortfalls in areas such as logistics, 

23 command, control, communications, intelligence, 

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1 ity, sustainability, survivability, armaments coopera2 tion, and effective engagement; 

3 (7) the Alliance must ensure equitable sharing 

4 of contributions to the NATO operations, common 

5 budgets, and overall defense expenditure and capa6 bility building; 

7 (8) the Alliance must recognize and act upon 

8 the threat posed by the proliferation of weapons of 

9 mass destruction and terrorism by intensifying con10 sultations among political and military leaders, and 

11 consider alternative capabilities to counter these 

12 threats to the international community; 

13 (9) the Alliance should pace the process of 

14 NATO enlargement and remain prepared to extend 

15 invitations for accession negotiations to any appro16 priate European democracy meeting the criteria for 

17 NATO membership as established in the Alliance’s 

18 1995 Study on NATO Enlargement; 

19 (10) while maintaining its unequivocal right to 

20 make its own decisions, NATO should seek to 

21 strengthen its relations with Russia as an essential 

22 partner in building long-term peace in the Euro-At23 lantic area; and 

24 (11) the Alliance should fully support the 

25 NPA’s activities in continuing to deepen cooperation 


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1 within the Alliance to forge strong links with asso2 ciate and observer nations. 

Æ 


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