I
103D CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 4358
To express United States policy with respect to the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MAY 5, 1994
Mr. HYDE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee
on Foreign Affairs
A BILL
To express United States policy with respect to the North
Atlantic Treaty Organization.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘NATO Revitalization
Act’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds that—
(1) for over 40 years, the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization has helped guarantee the security,
freedom, and prosperity of the United States and
our partners in the alliance;
(2) the North Atlantic Treaty Organization has
expanded its membership on 3 different occasions
since its founding in 1949;
(3) the steadfast and sustained commitment of
the member countries of the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization to mutual defense against the threat of
Communist domination played a significant role in
precipitating the collapse of the Iron Curtain and
the demise of the Soviet Union;
(4) in the place of that threat, new security
threats are emerging to the shared interests of the
member countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Or-
ganization;
(5) although these new threats are more geo-
graphically and functionally diverse and less predict-
able, they still imperil shared interests of the United
States and our North Atlantic Treaty Organization
allies;
(6) Western interests must be protected on a
cooperative basis without an undue burden falling
upon the United States;
(7) the North Atlantic Treaty Organization is
the only multilateral organization that is capable of
conducting effective military operations to protect
Western interests;
(8) the valuable experience gained from ongoing
military cooperation within the North Atlantic Trea-
ty Organization was critical to the success of joint
military operations in the 1991 liberation of Kuwait;
(9) the North Atlantic Treaty Organization is
an important diplomatic forum for discussion of is-
sues of concern to its member states and for the
peaceful resolution of disputes;
(10) admission of Central and East European
countries that have recently been freed from Com-
munist domination to the North Atlantic Treaty Or-
ganization could contribute to international peace
and enhance the security of those countries;
(11) a number of countries, including the
Visegrad countries (the Czech Republic, Hungary,
Poland, and Slovakia) and the Baltic states (Esto-
nia, Latvia, and Lithuania), have expressed interest
in North Atlantic Treaty Organization membership;
and
(12) in recognition of this interest, the ‘‘Part-
nership for Peace’’ proposal offers limited military
cooperation to many European countries not cur-
rently members of the North Atlantic Treaty Orga-
nization, without establishing benchmarks or guide-
lines for eventual North Atlantic Treaty Organiza-
tion membership.
SEC. 3. UNITED STATES POLICY.
It should be the policy of the United States—
(1) to continue our commitment to and active
leadership role in the North Atlantic Treaty Organi-
zation;
(2) to join with our North Atlantic Treaty Or-
ganization allies to redefine the role of the alliance
in the post-Cold War world, taking into account—
(A) the fundamentally changed security en-
vironment of Central and Eastern Europe,
(B) the need to assure all countries of the
defensive nature of the alliance and the desire
of its members to work cooperatively with all
former adversaries,
(C) the emerging security threats posed by
the proliferation of nuclear, chemical, and bio-
logical weapons of mass destruction and the
means to deliver them,
(D) the continuing challenges to the inter-
ests of all North Atlantic Treaty Organization
member countries posed by unstable and un-
democratic regimes harboring hostile intentions,
and
(E) the dependence of the global economy
on a stable energy supply and the free flow of
commerce;
(3) to urge the North Atlantic Treaty Organiza-
tion to support the eventual expansion of alliance
membership to European countries that meet appro-
priate standards, including—
(A) shared values and interests,
(B) democratic governments,
(C) free market economies,
(D) civilian control of the military,
(E) adherence to the values, principles,
and political commitments embodied in the Hel-
sinki Final Act of the Conference on Security
and Cooperation in Europe, and
(F) commitment to further the principles
of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and
to contribute to the security of the North Atlan-
tic area;
(4) to urge the North Atlantic Treaty Organiza-
tion—
(A) to extend membership to countries that
meet the standards set forth by the North At-
lantic Treaty Organization, and
(B) to establish benchmarks and a time-
table for eventual membership for selected
countries in transition; and
(5) to affirm that North Atlantic Treaty Orga-
nization military planning should include joint mili-
tary operations beyond the geographic bounds of the
alliance under Article 4 of the North Atlantic Treaty
when the shared interests of the United States and
other member countries require such action to de-
fend vital interests.
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