IV 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 291 

Recognizing that contributions of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization 

are vital to United States national security. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 4, 2019 

Ms. FRANKEL (for herself, Mr. ENGEL, Mr. CICILLINE, Mr. DEUTCH, Mr. 

KEATING, Mr. SUOZZI, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. GARAMENDI, Mr. BERA, 

Mr. GALLEGO, Ms. SHALALA, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, Ms. HOULAHAN, Mr. 

COHEN, Mrs. BUSTOS, Mr. COSTA, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS

of Illinois, Mrs. DAVIS of California, Mr. RUSH, Ms. CLARKE of New 

York, Mr. VARGAS, Mr. CROW, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. MEEKS, Mr. SIRES, Mr. 

CLEAVER, Ms. HILL of California, Mr. PANETTA, Ms. ADAMS, Mr. LIPINSKI, Mr. VELA, Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI, Ms. SPEIER, Ms. WASSERMAN

SCHULTZ, Mr. TED LIEU of California, Ms. NORTON, Ms. SEWELL of 

Alabama, Mr. HIMES, Mr. HASTINGS, Ms. SLOTKIN, Mr. SCHIFF, Mr. 

PASCRELL, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mr. SMITH of Washington, and Mr. 

MALINOWSKI) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 

the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

RESOLUTION 

Recognizing that contributions of the North Atlantic Treaty 

Organization are vital to United States national security. 

Whereas, on April 4, 1949, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was founded as a defensive alliance to 

enhance security cooperation between member states and 

deter a military attack on the allies; 


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Whereas the United States military presence in Europe has 

deterred the outbreak of another world war and protects 

the territorial integrity of NATO allies; 

Whereas the 2017 National Security Strategy of the United 

States of America reaffirms that NATO is ‘‘one of our 

great advantages over our competitors, and the United 

States remains committed to Article 5 [of the North Atlantic Treaty]’’; 

Whereas 29 countries have joined NATO, including most recently the Republic of Montenegro, which was admitted 

in 2017; 

Whereas, on February 9, 2019, NATO member states signed 

an accession protocol with the Republic of North Macedonia, which officially launches the process to make 

North Macedonia the 30th member of the alliance; 

Whereas continued NATO enlargement has promoted peaceful democratic transitions and stability in Central and 

Eastern Europe, key United States interests; 

Whereas NATO provides a deployable and integrated multilateral military capability, enabling the United States to 

rapidly shape and lead coalitions to address security 

threats; 

Whereas joint NATO planning, training, and exercises boost 

United States military readiness and ensure interoperability, defined in this context ‘‘as the ability for [NATO] 

allies to act together coherently, effectively and efficiently 

to achieve tactical, operational and strategic objectives’’; 

Whereas NATO has played a critical role in securing stability 

in the Balkans, including through its current deployment 

of approximately 3,210 non-United States troops in 

Kosovo as part of NATO’s Kosovo Force (KFOR), an 


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international peacekeeping mission in existence since 

1999; 

Whereas NATO invoked Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, its collective defense clause, for the first and only time 

in response to the terrorist attacks on the United States 

that occurred on September 11, 2001; 

Whereas NATO has deployed thousands of troops to Afghanistan, where more than 1,100 non-United States NATO 

ally and partner forces have been killed; 

Whereas Admiral James Stavridis, a former NATO Supreme 

Allied Commander, testified that, ‘‘I signed, sadly, thousands of letters of condolence to Europeans who died 

fighting because the United States had been attacked’’; 

Whereas in 2001, NATO agreed on eight measures to support the United States on counter-terrorism, including 

enhancing intelligence-sharing and providing blanket 

overflight clearances and access for the United States to 

ports and airfields for operations against terrorism; 

Whereas NATO allies are reinforcing NATO’s eastern flank 

by leading three of the four battlegroups of NATO’s Enhanced Forward Presence in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, 

and Poland; 

Whereas NATO is a member of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS and supports it through a non-combat training 

and capacity building mission in Iraq and with the deployment of aircraft to provide intelligence and greater 

situational awareness; 

Whereas the Russian Federation continues to undermine 

transatlantic unity and security, including through its invasions of Georgia and Ukraine, noncompliance with its 

arms control commitments, support for the Assad regime 


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and destabilizing role in Syria, interference in democratic 

elections, downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 in 

Ukraine on July 17, 2014, and its use of a nerve agent 

in Salisbury, United Kingdom on March 4, 2018; 

Whereas NATO carries out disaster relief operations and 

missions to protect populations against natural or humanitarian disasters, and has adopted anti-piracy responsibilities to ensure freedom of the seas; 

Whereas NATO enhances United States cybersecurity, including through the Cyber Operations Center, which incorporates cyber warfare into the alliance’s defense operations, and the Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence, which supports its member states with cyber 

defence expertise; 

Whereas NATO member states have participated in economic 

sanctions and reduced trade activity with Russia and 

Iran following the imposition of United States sanctions; 

Whereas at the 2014 Wales Summit Declaration, all NATO 

member states aimed to allocate 2 percent of their gross 

domestic product toward defense spending and 20 percent of their annual defense spending on major new 

equipment, including related research and development 

by 2024; 

Whereas NATO members, not including the United States, 

have increased defense spending for 4 consecutive years, 

and more than half of NATO member states now spend 

more than 20 percent of their annual defense expenditures on major new equipment; and 

Whereas, on April 3, 2019, NATO Secretary General Jens 

Stoltenberg addressed a joint meeting of Congress to 


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mark the seventieth anniversary of the Alliance: Now, 

therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) reaffirms the enduring commitment of the 

3 United States to the North Atlantic Treaty Organi4 zation (NATO) as the bedrock of transatlantic secu5 rity and stability; 

6 (2) appreciates the many contributions that 

7 NATO member states have made to support and ad8 vance vital United States security interests; and 

9 (3) recognizes that continued United States 

10 leadership in NATO is essential to addressing evolv11 ing threats to national security and to fulfilling 

12 NATO’s three core tasks: collective defense, crisis 

13 management, and cooperative security. 

Æ 


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