Sec. 1233. Baltic Security Initiative
348 words·~2 min read·
/bill/118/hr/2670/rh/section-1233·A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
It is the sense of Congress that— supporting and strengthening the security of the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania is in the national security interests of the United States; 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, investing 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 pursue consistent efforts focused on defense and security assistance, coordination, and planning, such as the United States Baltic Dialogue, 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; the Secretary of Defense and Secretary of State should seek to require matching funds from those Baltic states in amounts commensurate with amounts provided.
Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense, with the concurrence of the Secretary of State, shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report setting forth a strategy to deepen security cooperation with the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania to— achieve United States national security strategy objectives; enhance regional planning and cooperation among Baltic states, particularly with respect to long-term regional capability projects; and enhance the Baltic states’ defenses and resiliency.
In this section, the term appropriate congressional committees means— the Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives; and the Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate.