Cloture Motion
Floor Speech
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Mr. TILLIS. Mr. President, I want to speak briefly about a historic day, April 4. It was the day the agreement in Washington was signed to create the NATO alliance after the Second World War.
I want to start by repeating what President Truman said on that day. He said:
We hope to create a shield against aggression and the fear of aggression--all bulwark which will permit us to get on with the real business of government and society, the business of achieving a fuller and happier life for all of our citizens.
That agreement was signed on April 4, 1949. Since the 70 years that have followed, the alliance has gotten stronger. The alliance has grown. In fact, there are a number of countries that hope someday to also be a member of the NATO alliance. It has been important and what I believe is the most important alliance in the history of mankind.
This week is NATO Week. Yesterday we had the Secretary General speak to us before a joint session of Congress. The Secretary General was actually very optimistic about the future of NATO, and I am as well.
I was with a group a couple of weeks ago who were wondering about NATO and some of the discussions or disagreements we have among our NATO allies. I liken it to the kind of disagreements I have with family. I grew up in a family of six kids. It is a big family. All of us have very different views, are of very different ages and life experiences. I really believe the disagreements we have among our allies are like the disagreements you have among your family members, but at the end of the day, make no mistake about it, an attack on any one of us is viewed as an attack on every one of us, and every country takes that seriously.
In fact, in the 70 years since NATO was created--there is an obligation within article 5 of the agreement that if there is an attack on any one of us, then we consider it an attack on every one of us. It happened on 9/11. The only time in the history of the alliance that the article 5 obligation under the treaty has been exercised is when NATO countries joined with the United States in the War on Terror.
Many people may not realize it, but there was a huge human toll for living up to their commitment. Many nations sent their men and women into harm's way, and over 1,000 of them have died since 9/11. Many others have been gravely wounded, but they lived up to their commitment. It was the first test of the treaty. That happened only less than 20 years ago.
Senator Shaheen and I are now cochairs of the Senate NATO Observer Group. I want to compliment Senator Shaheen for actually coming up with the idea to reconstitute the group because we need to make sure our partners, our allies, understand that Congress believes NATO is a very important alliance to ensure our mutual safety and security.
There was another interesting point that the Secretary General made in his speech yesterday before Congress. Some people have criticized President Trump for telling our partners that they need to pay their agreed-to fair share. The Secretary General said the President's call has actually been answered and that it was a positive step that he took to make these other nations recognize we must invest in our mutual defense and our mutual security. That can only come through innovating technologies that will defend the regions within the NATO alliance, making sure our troops are working together and working very well on a military-to-military basis, and we are doing that, but without that sustained commitment from our NATO allies, we could lose ground, and it is in their best interest to do it.
As I said earlier, NATO is growing. We have a long list of countries that hope they can meet the requirements to someday come into NATO. Many of them were within the sphere of influence for the Soviet Union before the end of the Cold War.
We all know Russia is the greatest threat to Europe. We all know Russia has done things that are illegal, according to international law. They have annexed the Crimean region of the Ukraine. Every week, Ukrainians are dying in a war that very few people know about. We have to make sure that we actually confront Russian aggression, and the best way to do that is to have a strong NATO alliance.
On this historic day, April 4, 70 years later, I believe the alliance is strong. I believe that is what the Secretary General talked about yesterday, and I believe every Member of Congress shares the view that the NATO treaty, the NATO alliance, is the most important bulwark against aggression and threats to freedom.
I look forward to continuing to serve with Co-Chair Shaheen to make sure our partners know this Congress is prepared to support them and to make sure the alliance grows and remains strong.
Thank you.
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