Sec. 1242. Sense of Congress on support for coordinated action to ensure the security of Baltic allies
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It is the sense of Congress that— the continued security of the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania is critical to achieving United States national security interests and defense objectives against the acute and formidable threat posed by Russia; the United States and the Baltic states are leaders in the mission of defending independence and democracy from aggression and in promoting stability and security within the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), with non-NATO partners, and with other international organizations such as the European Union; the Baltic states are model NATO allies in terms of burden sharing and capital investment in materiel critical to United States and allied security, investment of over 2 percent of their gross domestic product on defense expenditure, allocating over 20 percent of their defense budgets on capital modernization, matching security assistance from the United States, frequently deploying their forces around the world in support of allied and United States objectives, and sharing diplomatic, technical, military, and analytical expertise on defense and security matters; the United States should continue to strengthen bilateral and multilateral defense by, with, and through allied nations, particularly those that possess expertise and dexterity but do not enjoy the benefits of national economies of scale; the United States should pursue a dedicated initiative focused on defense and security assistance, coordination, and planning designed to ensure the continued security of the Baltic states and on deterring current and future challenges to the national sovereignty of United States allies and partners in the Baltic region; and such an initiative should include an innovative and comprehensive conflict deterrence strategy for the Baltic region encompassing the unique geography of the Baltic states, modern and diffuse threats to their land, sea, and air spaces, and necessary improvements to their defense posture, including command-and-control infrastructure, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities, communications equipment and networks, and special forces.