NATO Edge Act

Bill: 119-hr-2010
Sponsor: full_name: Rep. Panetta, Jimmy [D-CA-19]
Introduced: 2025-03-10
Policy area: International Affairs
Latest action: action_date: 2025-03-10
text: Referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on Rules, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

Summaries:

tv_txt: I 119th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 2010 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES March 10, 2025 Mr. Panetta (for himself and Mr. Bacon ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs , and in addition to the Committee on Rules , for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To prevent the President of the United States from withdrawing from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the NATO Edge Act . 2. Findings Congress finds the following: (1) The North Atlantic Treaty Organization ( NATO ) has served as a pillar of international peace and stability, a critical component of United States security, and a deterrent against adversaries and external threats. (2) The House of Representatives affirmed in H. Res. 397, on June 27, 2017, that— (A) NATO is one of the most successful military alliances in history, deterring the outbreak of another world war, protecting the territorial integrity of its members, and concluding the Cold War peacefully; (B) NATO remains the foundation of United States foreign policy to promote prosperity, freedom, and peace in Europe; (C) the United States is solemnly committed to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s principle of collective defense as enumerated in Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty; (D) condemns any threat to the sovereignty, territorial integrity, freedom, and democracy of any NATO ally; and (E) strongly supports collaboration with NATO allies to enforce Ukraine’s territorial integrity against unprovoked aggression from the Russian Federation. (3) NATO members should abide by the decision at the NATO Wales Summit in 2014 that each alliance member aim to spend at least 2 percent of its nation’s gross domestic product on defense by 2024. (4) Investing in multinational training exercises and joint research and education programs with NATO allies have offered improvements for interoperability and readiness against threats to European security, particularly from the Russian Federation. 3. Modification of limitation on withdrawal from NATO Section 1250A of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024 ( 22 U.S.C. 1928f ) is amended— (1) in subsection (a), by inserting after an Act of Congress the following: , and unless all remaining members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization who have not allocated a minimum of 2 percent of their Gross Domestic Product to annual defense spending have not made an explicit commitment to spend 2 percent of their Gross Domestic Product, as defined by NATO standards, on defense within 5 years from the given fiscal year to which the President is seeking to so suspend, terminate, denounce, or withdraw the United States from the North Atlantic Treaty ; (2) by amending subsection (b) to read as follows: (b) Prohibition on the use of funds To withdraw from NATO No funds authorized or appropriated by any Act may be made available to support, directly or indirectly, any decision on the part of any United States Government official to suspend, terminate, denounce, or withdraw the United States from the North Atlantic Treaty, done at Washington, DC, 3 April 4, 1949, except by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, provided that two-thirds of the Senators present concur, or pursuant to an Act of Congress, and unless all remaining members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization who have not spent a minimum of 2 percent of their Gross Domestic Product to defense have not made an explicit commitment to spend 2 percent of their Gross Domestic Product, as defined by NATO standards, on defense within 5 years from the given fiscal year to which the President is seeking to so suspend, terminate, denounce, or withdraw the United States from the North Atlantic Treaty. ; (3) by redesignating subsections (c), (d), (e), and (f) as subsections (f), (g), (h), and (i), respectively; and (4) by inserting after subsection (b) the following new subsections: (c) In general By adoption of a resolution of the Senate or the House of Representatives, respectively, the Senate Legal Counsel or the General Counsel to the House of Representatives may be authorized to initiate, or intervene in, in the name of the Senate or the House of Representatives, as the case may be, independently, or jointly, any judicial proceedings in any Federal court of competent jurisdiction in order to oppose any action to suspend, terminate, denounce, or withdraw the United States from the North Atlantic Treaty in a manner inconsistent with this section. (d) Consideration Any resolution or joint resolution introduced relating to any action to suspend, terminate, denounce or withdraw the United States from the North Atlantic Treaty and introduced pursuant to subsection (a) shall be considered in accordance with the procedures of section 601(b) of the International Security Assistance and Arms Export Control Act of 1976 ( Public Law 94–329 ; 90 Stat. 765). (e) Reporting requirement Any legal counsel operating pursuant to section 1299R shall report as soon as practicable to the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate with respect to any judicial proceedings which the Senate Legal Counsel or the General Counsel to the House of Representatives, as the case may be, initiates or in which it intervenes pursuant to section 1299R. . 4. Sunset The amendments made by section 3 of this Act shall terminate on September 30, 2033. Section 1250A of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024 ( 22 U.S.C. 1928f ) shall be restored on such date as if such amendments had not been enacted and as in effect on the day after the date of the amendment of such Act National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024.