H.Res. 59 (ih) Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States remains committed to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). [Introduced in House] ...

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H. Res. 59

                 In the House of Representatives, U.S.,

                                                      November 2, 1999.
Whereas for 50 years the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (hereafter in this 
        preamble referred to as ``NATO'') has served as the preeminent 
        organization to defend the territories of its member states against all 
        external threats;
Whereas NATO, founded on the principles of democracy, individual liberty, and 
        the rule of law, has proved an indispensable instrument for forging a 
        trans-Atlantic community of nations working together to safeguard the 
        freedom 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 maintains 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 a hegemonic power confronting Europe; 
        rogue states and non-state actors possessing nuclear, biological, or 
        chemical weapons and their means of delivery; transnational terrorism 
        and disruption of the flow of vital resources; and conflicts outside the 
        treaty area stemming from unresolved historical disputes and the actions 
        of undemocratic governments and sub-state actors who reject the peaceful 
        settlement of disputes;
Whereas the security of NATO member states is inseparably linked to that of the 
        whole of Europe, and the consolidation 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 the 50th anniversary NATO summit meeting, held on April 24-25, 1999, in 
        Washington, D.C., provided an historic opportunity to chart a course for 
        NATO in the next millennium;
Whereas NATO enhances the security of the United States by providing an 
        integrated military structure and a framework for consultations on 
        political and security concerns 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;
Whereas the European members of NATO are today developing within the Alliance a 
        European Security and Defense Identity (ESDI) in order to enhance their 
        role within the Alliance, while at the same time the European Union (EU) 
        is seeking to forge among its members a Common Foreign and Security 
        Policy (CFSP);
Whereas the Berlin decisions of 1996 provided the framework for strengthening 
        the European pillar in NATO;
Whereas NATO should remain the core security organization of the evolving Euro-
        Atlantic architecture in which all states enjoy the same freedom, 
        cooperation, and security;
Whereas NATO has embarked upon an historic mission to share its benefits and 
        patterns of consultation and cooperation with other nations in the Euro-
        Atlantic area through both enlargement and active partnership;
Whereas the membership of the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland has 
        strengthened NATO's ability to perform the full range of NATO missions 
        and bolstered its capability to integrate former communist adversary 
        nations into a community of democracies;
Whereas the organization of NATO national parliamentarians, the NATO 
        Parliamentary Assembly, serves as a unique transatlantic forum for 
        generating and maintaining legislative and public support for the 
        Alliance, and has played a key role in initiating constructive dialogue 
        between NATO parliamentarians and parliamentarians in Central and 
        Eastern Europe; and
Whereas NATO Parliamentary Assembly activities, such as the Rose-Roth program to 
        engage and educate Central and Eastern European parliamentarians, have 
        played a pioneering role in familiarizing the new democracies with 
        democratic institutions and a civil society: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives 
that--
            (1) the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (hereafter in 
        this resolution referred to as ``NATO'') is to be commended for 
        its pivotal role in preserving trans-Atlantic peace and 
        stability;
            (2) the new NATO strategic concept, adopted by the Allies 
        at the summit meeting held in Washington, D.C. in April of 
        1999, articulates 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, and establishing 
        that defense of shared interests and values is as important for 
        peace and stability as maintaining a vigorous capability to 
        carry out collective defense;
            (3) the Alliance, while maintaining collective defense as 
        its core function, should, as a fundamental Alliance task, 
        identify crisis management operations outside the NATO treaty 
        area, based on case-by-case consensual Alliance decisions;
            (4) the Alliance must recognize and act upon the threat 
        posed by the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and 
        terrorism by intensifying consultations among political and 
        military leaders, and deploying comprehensive capabilities to 
        counter these threats to the international community at the 
        earliest possible date;
            (5) the Alliance should make clear commitments to remedy 
        shortfalls in areas such as logistics, command, control, 
        communications, intelligence, ground surveillance, readiness, 
        deployability, mobility, sustainability, survivability, 
        armaments cooperation, and effective engagement, including 
        early progress in the NATO force structure review;
            (6) the Alliance must ensure equitable sharing of 
        contributions to the NATO common budgets and overall defense 
        expenditure and capability-building;
            (7) the Alliance should welcome efforts by members of the 
        European Union (EU) to strengthen their military capabilities 
        and enhance their role within the Alliance through the European 
        Security and Defense Identity (ESDI);
            (8) the key to a vibrant and more influential ESDI is the 
        improvement of European military capabilities that will 
        strengthen the Alliance;
            (9) in order to preserve the solidarity and effectiveness 
        that has been achieved within the Alliance over the last 50 
        years, it is essential that security arrangements elaborated 
        under the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) 
        complement, rather than duplicate NATO efforts and 
        institutions, and be linked to, rather than decoupled from NATO 
        structures, and provide for full and active involvement of all 
        European Allies rather than discriminating against European 
        Allies that are not members of the EU;
            (10) the Alliance should remain prepared to extend 
        invitations for accession negotiations to any appropriate 
        European democracy meeting the criteria for NATO membership as 
        established in the Alliance's 1995 Study on NATO Enlargement 
        and section 203(d)(3)(A) of the NATO Participation Act of 1994 
        (22 U.S.C. 1928 note), on the same conditions as applied to the 
        Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland;
            (11) while maintaining its unchallenged right to make its 
        own decisions, NATO should seek to strengthen its relations 
        with Russia and Ukraine as essential partners in building long-
        term peace in the Euro-Atlantic area; and
            (12) the Alliance should fully support the NATO 
        Parliamentary Assembly's activities in enhancing and 
        stabilizing parliamentary democracy in the nations of Central 
        and Eastern Europe, ensuring ratification of appropriate new 
        NATO members, continuing to deepen cooperation within the 
        Alliance, and forging democratic links with the new European 
        democracies.

            Attest:

                                                                 Clerk.

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