Title: A resolution supporting renaming NATO Headquarters after the late United States Senator John Sidney McCain, III.
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
Supports renaming the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, after Senator John McCain in recognition of his long support for NATO.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 622 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 622

  Supporting renaming NATO Headquarters after the late United States 
                    Senator John Sidney McCain, III.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 6, 2018

Mr. Rubio (for himself, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Flake, Mrs. Shaheen, Mr. Young, 
Mr. Merkley, Mr. Kennedy, Mrs. Gillibrand, Ms. Collins, Mr. Markey, Mr. 
   Johnson, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. Coons, and Mr. Booker) submitted the 
 following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 
                               Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Supporting renaming NATO Headquarters after the late United States 
                    Senator John Sidney McCain, III.

Whereas the late United States Senator John Sidney McCain, III, wrote on 
        February 4, 2006, ``We in the transatlantic community should dare to 
        dream today of the future we might help build in Europe's borderlands, 
        in Central Asia, and throughout the Broader Middle East. As partners in 
        a shared and historic endeavor that has already transformed the lives of 
        millions, we should discount neither the power of our ideals nor the 
        capacity of our democracies. In turning back the forces of tyranny and 
        terror, and in helping to secure the blessings of liberty everywhere, we 
        will embark on a project worthy of this grand alliance. And in doing so, 
        we will prevail, as we have prevailed before--together.'';
Whereas Senator McCain, as Chairman of the Committee on Armed Services of the 
        Senate, said during his opening statement on March 23, 2017, ``The price 
        our NATO allies paid in blood fighting alongside us should never be 
        diminished. And we must never forget that America is safer and more 
        secure because it has allies that are willing to step up and share the 
        burden of collective security.'';
Whereas Senator McCain stated on July 10, 2018, ``As we face the most complex 
        and dangerous security environment since the end of the Cold War, we 
        must not forget that America is safer and more secure because we work 
        with and through our allies. Throughout the past seven decades, the 
        United States and its NATO allies have served together, fought together, 
        and sacrificed together for a vision of the world based on freedom, 
        democracy, human rights and rule of law. Our enduring alliance stands as 
        an important safeguard in preserving this world order--and it is 
        essential to securing our national interests.'';
Whereas Member of Parliament of the United Kingdom Tom Tugendhat, Chair of the 
        Foreign Affairs Committee in the House of Commons, has advocated for 
        NATO to rename its headquarters after Senator McCain, saying that 
        ``[f]ew argued more passionately for a shared commitment to each other's 
        security or understood better that we are all part of one great 
        experiment in freedom'';
Whereas NATO has already stated that it would ``carefully consider'' renaming 
        its headquarters building after Senator McCain;
Whereas NATO's new headquarters building was inaugurated on May 25, 2017, is the 
        political and administrative center for NATO activities, is home to the 
        North Atlantic Council and NATO's international staff and international 
        military staff, and hosts approximately 6,000 meetings a year;
Whereas former NATO Secretaries General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Lord George 
        Robertson, and Javier Solana have urged NATO to rename its new 
        headquarters after Senator McCain, writing that ``few things symbolise 
        this alliance, and the enduring benefits of American global leadership, 
        more vividly than the life and work of John McCain'' and that 
        ``[w]hether advancing the cause of freedom across the former Soviet 
        states of eastern Europe or defending the multilateral international 
        order at a time of skepticism, his work was a beacon for all of us who 
        believe that transatlantic unity is the only means for ensuring peace'';
Whereas current NATO Secretary General Jans Stoltenberg wrote that Senator 
        McCain ``will be remembered both in Europe and North America for his 
        courage and character, and as a strong supporter of NATO''; and
Whereas renaming NATO headquarters after Senator McCain would need the unanimous 
        approval of all 29 members of NATO: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) recognizes, as the late United States Senator John 
        Sidney McCain, III, did, the immense benefits to the United 
        States and the world of the NATO alliance;
            (2) strongly supports the renaming of NATO headquarters in 
        Brussels, Belgium, after Senator McCain;
            (3) calls on all NATO members to support renaming NATO 
        headquarters after Senator McCain, in recognition of his long 
        and ironclad support for NATO; and
            (4) urges the President to support renaming NATO 
        headquarters after Senator McCain and to direct appropriate 
        officials at the Department of State and the Department of 
        Defense to advocate for their counterparts in NATO member 
        states to support renaming NATO headquarters after Senator 
        McCain.
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