Sec. 1247. Sense of Congress on NATO’s response to the COVID–19 pandemic
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Congress finds the following: The North Atlantic Treaty Organization
(NATO)has been working with allies and partners to provide support to the civilian response to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (commonly referred to as COVID–19 ) pandemic, including logistics and planning, field hospitals, and transport, while maintaining NATO’s operational readiness and continuing to carry out critical NATO missions. Since the beginning of the pandemic, NATO allies and partners have completed more than 350 airlift flights, supplying hundreds of tons of critical supplies globally, have built nearly 100 field hospitals and dedicated more than half a million troops to support the civilian response to the pandemic. NATO’s Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Centre has been operating 24 hours, 7 days a week to coordinate requests for supplies and resources. The NATO Support and Procurement Agency’s Strategic Airlift Capability and Strategic Airlift International Solution programs have chartered flights to transport medical supplies between partners and allies. NATO established Rapid Air Mobility to speed up military air transport of medical supplies and resources to allies and partners experiencing a shortage of medical supplies and personal protective equipment. In June 2020, NATO Defense Ministers agreed to future steps to prepare for a potential second wave of the COVID–19 pandemic, including a new operation plan, establishing a stockpile of medical equipment and supplies, and a new fund to acquire medical supplies and services. It is the sense of Congress that— NATO’s response to the COVID–19 pandemic is an excellent example of the democratic alliance’s capacity tackling overwhelming logistical challenges through close collaboration; the United States should remain committed to strengthening NATO’s operational response to the pandemic; and the United States should fulfill its commitments made at the 2020 NATO Defense Ministerial and continue to bolster the work of the Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Centre, the NATO Support and Procurement Agency’s Strategic Airlift Capability and Strategic Airlift International Solution programs, and other efforts to utilize NATO’s capabilities to support the civilian pandemic response.