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 Con-
necticut, 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 At-
lantic Treaty Organization (NATO). 
Whereas for 60 years the North Atlantic Treaty Organization 
(NATO) has served as the preeminent organization to de-
fend the territories of its member states against all exter-
nal threats; 
Whereas NATO, founded on the principles of democracy, in-
dividual liberty, and the rule of law, has proved an indis-
pensable instrument for forging a trans-Atlantic commu-
nity of nations working together to safeguard the free-
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
04:34 Feb 11, 2009
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HR152.IH
HR152
rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS
•HRES 152 IH 
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 main-
tains 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 chem-
ical 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 se-
curity interests; 
Whereas the security of NATO member states is inseparably 
linked to that of the whole of Europe, and the consolida-
tion 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 con-
cerns 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; 
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
04:34 Feb 11, 2009
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HR152.IH
HR152
rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS
•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 democ-
racies; 
Whereas the organization of NATO national parliamentar-
ians, the NATO Parliamentary Assembly (NPA), serves 
as a unique trans-Atlantic forum for generating and 
maintaining legislative and public support for the Alli-
ance, and has played a key role in initiating constructive 
dialogue between NATO parliamentarians and parliamen-
tarians in associate and observer states; 
Whereas NPA activities, such as the Rose-Roth program, 
have played a pioneering role in promoting democratic in-
stitutions 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 
Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep-
resentatives that— 
(1) the North Atlantic Treaty Organization 
(NATO) is to be commended for its pivotal role in 
preserving trans-Atlantic peace and stability; 
(2) NATO continues to be the premier institu-
tion that promotes a uniquely trans-Atlantic per-
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
04:34 Feb 11, 2009
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\HR152.IH
HR152
rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS
•HRES 152 IH 
spective and approach to issues concerning the inter-
ests and security of North America and Europe; 
(3) the NATO allies, at the Summit meeting to 
be held in Strasbourg, France, and Kehl, Germany, 
in April 2009, should articulate a concrete vision for 
the Alliance in the 21st century, clearly setting out 
the continued importance of NATO for the citizens 
of the Allied nations; 
(4) the Alliance should begin considering a new 
strategic concept that takes into account the chang-
ing international security environment, reaffirms the 
Alliance’s functional and symbolic purposes, and 
outlines how to develop its military capabilities ac-
cordingly; 
(5) the Alliance, while maintaining collective de-
fense as its core function, should, as a fundamental 
Alliance task, continue to identify and address new 
areas where it can provide added value in tackling 
future threats outside the NATO treaty area, based 
on case-by-case consensual Alliance decision; 
(6) the Alliance should make clear commit-
ments to remedy shortfalls in areas such as logistics, 
command, control, communications, intelligence, 
ground surveillance, readiness, deployability, mobil-
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
04:34 Feb 11, 2009
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\HR152.IH
HR152
rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS
•HRES 152 IH 
ity, sustainability, survivability, armaments coopera-
tion, and effective engagement; 
(7) the Alliance must ensure equitable sharing 
of contributions to the NATO operations, common 
budgets, and overall defense expenditure and capa-
bility building; 
(8) the Alliance must recognize and act upon 
the threat posed by the proliferation of weapons of 
mass destruction and terrorism by intensifying con-
sultations among political and military leaders, and 
consider alternative capabilities to counter these 
threats to the international community; 
(9) the Alliance should pace the process of 
NATO enlargement and remain prepared to extend 
invitations for accession negotiations to any appro-
priate European democracy meeting the criteria for 
NATO membership as established in the Alliance’s 
1995 Study on NATO Enlargement; 
(10) while maintaining its unequivocal right to 
make its own decisions, NATO should seek to 
strengthen its relations with Russia as an essential 
partner in building long-term peace in the Euro-At-
lantic area; and 
(11) the Alliance should fully support the 
NPA’s activities in continuing to deepen cooperation 
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
04:34 Feb 11, 2009
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\HR152.IH
HR152
rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS
•HRES 152 IH 
within the Alliance to forge strong links with asso-
ciate and observer nations. 
Æ 
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
04:34 Feb 11, 2009
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\HR152.IH
HR152
rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS