Sec. 1248. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON ENHANCING DETERRENCE AGAINST RUSSIAN AGGRESSION IN EUROPE
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## SEC. 1248 SENSE OF CONGRESS ON ENHANCING DETERRENCE AGAINST RUSSIAN AGGRESSION IN EUROPE ###
(a)Statement of Policy To protect the national security of the United States and fulfill the ironclad commitment of the United States to its obligations under the North Atlantic Treaty, it is the policy of the United States to pursue, in full coordination with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), an integrated approach to strengthening the defense of allies and partners in Europe as part of a broader, long-term strategy backed by all elements of United States national power to deter and, if necessary, defeat Russian aggression. ###
(b)Sense of Congress It is the sense of Congress that in order to strengthen the defense of United States allies and partners in Europe, the Secretary of Defense, in coordination with the Secretary of State and in consultation with the commander of United States European Command, should— ####
(1)prioritize the need for additional United States forward presence in Europe, especially increased forward-stationed combat enablers to enhance United States capability and capacity; ####
(2)review the balance of United States presence in Europe between rotationally deployed and forward-stationed forces to assure allies and partners in Europe and deter Russian aggression; ####
(3)support robust United States security cooperation with, and security assistance for, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, including through continuous and enduring presence of United States forces, training and support activities of United States special operations forces, and increased joint training and exercises to deter aggression, promote interoperability, build resilience, and enable NATO to take collective action if required; ####
(4)continue rotational deployments of United States forces to southeastern Europe, including Romania and Bulgaria; ####
(5)support enhanced defense cooperation with Poland, including continued presence of United States forces in Poland and increased training, exercises, and other activities focused on improving effective joint response in a crisis; ####
(6)conduct exercises focused on demonstrating the capability to flow United States forces from the continental United States and surge forces from central to eastern Europe in a nonpermissive environment; ####
(7)focus training activities of United States forces in Europe, including joint training with allied forces, on operating against adversary cyber, electronic warfare, and information operations capabilities; ####
(8)support robust security sector assistance for Ukraine, including defensive lethal assistance, while promoting necessary reforms of the defense institutions of Ukraine; ####
(9)support robust security sector assistance for Georgia, including defensive lethal assistance, to strengthen the defense capabilities and readiness of Georgia, and improve interoperability with NATO forces; ####
(10)execute enhanced military-to-military engagement between the United States and the militaries of the countries of the Western Balkans to promote interoperability with NATO, civilian control of the military, procurement reforms, and regional security cooperation; ####
(11)develop and implement a comprehensive security cooperation strategy that integrates support for allies and partners in Europe, especially the allies and partners most directly threatened by Russian aggression and malign influence; and ####
(12)in NATO or through other multilateral formats— #####
(A)promote reforms to accelerate the speed of decision and deployability within NATO; #####
(B)promote a more robust NATO defense planning process; #####
(C)pursue planning agreements with allies and partners in Europe on rules of engagement and arrangements for command and control, access, transit, and support in crisis situations, which occur prior to an invocation of Article 5 of the Washington Treaty by the North Atlantic Council; #####
(D)promote NATO operational readiness as a key element of alliance burden sharing alongside spending commitments made at the 2014 Wales Summit; #####
(E)explore transitioning the Baltic air policing mission of NATO to a Baltic air defense mission; #####
(F)support multilateral efforts to improve maritime domain awareness in the Baltic Sea; #####
(G)support enhanced NATO-European Union cooperation, especially with respect to capability development and defense planning; #####
(H)support coordinated NATO and European Union actions on expediting or waiving diplomatic clearances for the movement of United States and allied forces during contingencies; #####
(I)support cooperative investment frameworks that promote increased military mobility in Europe; #####
(J)expand cooperation and joint planning with allies and partners on intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance; #####
(K)promote efforts to improve the capability and readiness of NATO Standing Maritime Groups; #####
(L)encourage regular review and update of the Alliance Maritime Strategy of NATO to reflect the changing military balance in the Black Sea and increased military activity in the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans; #####
(M)explore increasing the frequency, scale, and scope of NATO and other multilateral exercises in the Black Sea with the participation of Ukraine and Georgia; #####
(N)promote integration of United States Marines in Norway with the United Kingdom-led Joint Expeditionary Force to increase multilateral cooperation and interoperability between NATO and regional partners such as Sweden and Finland; and #####
(O)affirm support for the Open Door policy of NATO, including the eventual membership of Georgia in NATO. ## Subtitle E Matters Relating to the Indo-Pacific Region