[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4358 Introduced in House (IH)]
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 Representatives 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 Organization;
(5) although these new threats are more geographically and
functionally diverse and less predictable, 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 Treaty 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 issues 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 Communist domination to the North
Atlantic Treaty Organization 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 (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania), have
expressed interest in North Atlantic Treaty Organization
membership; and
(12) in recognition of this interest, the ``Partnership for
Peace'' proposal offers limited military cooperation to many
European countries not currently members of the North Atlantic
Treaty Organization, without establishing benchmarks or
guidelines for eventual North Atlantic Treaty Organization
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 Organization;
(2) to join with our North Atlantic Treaty Organization
allies to redefine the role of the alliance in the post-Cold
War world, taking into account--
(A) the fundamentally changed security environment
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 biological
weapons of mass destruction and the means to deliver
them,
(D) the continuing challenges to the interests of
all North Atlantic Treaty Organization member countries
posed by unstable and undemocratic 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 Organization to
support the eventual expansion of alliance membership to
European countries that meet appropriate 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 Helsinki 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 Atlantic area;
(4) to urge the North Atlantic Treaty Organization--
(A) to extend membership to countries that meet the
standards set forth by the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization, and
(B) to establish benchmarks and a timetable for
eventual membership for selected countries in
transition; and
(5) to affirm that North Atlantic Treaty Organization
military planning should include joint military 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
defend vital interests.
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