Sec. 1244. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON SUPPORT FOR THE NORTH ATLANTIC TREATY ORGANIZATION

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## SEC. 1244 SENSE OF CONGRESS ON SUPPORT FOR THE NORTH ATLANTIC TREATY ORGANIZATION It is the sense of Congress that— ####

(1)the success of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization

(NATO)is critical to achieving United States national security objectives in Europe and around the world; ####

(2)NATO remains the strongest and most successful military alliance in the world, founded on a commitment by its members to uphold the principles of democracy, individual liberty, and the rule of law, and its contributions to the collective defense are indispensable to the security, prosperity, and freedom of its members; ####

(3)the United States reaffirms its ironclad commitment to NATO as the foundation of transatlantic security and to uphold its obligations under the North Atlantic Treaty, including Article 5 of the Treaty; ####

(4)the 2018 National Defense Strategy identifies long-term strategic competition with Russia as a principal priority and highlights the essential role that a strong NATO alliance must play in implementing that strategy and addressing shared security concerns; ####

(5)the United States should deepen defense cooperation with non-NATO European partners, reaffirm the open-door policy of NATO, and encourage security sector cooperation between NATO and non-NATO defense partners that complements and strengthens collective defense, interoperability, and allies’ commitment to Article 3 of the North Atlantic Treaty; ####

(6)bolstering NATO cohesion and enhancing security relationships with non-NATO European partners to counter Russian aggression, including Russia’s use of hybrid warfare tactics and its willingness to use military power to alter the status quo, strengthens the United States security interests for the long-term strategic competition; ####

(7)the continued prioritization of funding for the European Deterrence Initiative, including for purposes of strengthening allied and partner capability and power projection along the eastern flank of NATO, remains critically important; ####

(8)the United States and NATO should continue to cooperate on other major shared challenges, such as the COVID-19 pandemic; and ####

(9)the policy of the United States should be to work with its NATO and other allies and partners to build permanent mechanisms to strengthen supply chains, enhance supply chain security, fill supply chain gaps, and maintain commitments made at the June 2020 NATO Defense Ministerial, particularly regarding pandemic response preparations.