William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021

Floor Speech

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Mr. PANETTA. Mr. Speaker, I rise to offer amendment No. 167 as the designee of Mr. Hastings.

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Mr. PANETTA. Mr. Speaker, in 1955, President Eisenhower proposed an agreement which would allow overflight of the participant countries to gather information about military forces and activities with the direct intent of minimizing military escalation between the West and Russia.

In 1992, Eisenhower's vision was realized after negotiations by a Republican administration that led to the Open Skies Treaty, a treaty which has brought more openness but also more mutual understanding and an avenue to hold Russia accountable for their aggression against our allies in Europe. But, more importantly, the Open Skies Treaty calls for higher levels of openness and transparency, leading to better predictability and stability, which, ultimately, will lessen tensions by trusting and, yes, by verifying.

Unfortunately, on May 22, the administration submitted a notice of intent that the U.S. would withdraw from the treaty in violation of the fiscal year 2020 NDAA, which requires a 120-day notice to Congress prior to doing so.

This announcement was obviously met with strong opposition from our NATO allies and treaty participants and, yes, many here in the United States, for no country adherent has benefited more from this transparency than the United States, which, together with its allies, overflies Russia far more often than Russia can overfly NATO countries.

There is no better example of this benefit of the Open Skies Treaty than the support it has provided to Ukraine, both in 2014, when it was used to confirm that Russia had deployed thousands of troops near the Ukrainian-Russian border, and again in December 2018, when an extraordinary flight was conducted following the unprovoked Russian attack of Ukrainian vessels in the Kerch Strait.

Now, we cannot ignore Russian violations of the treaty, but, one, they do not negate the value of the treaty and certainly do not justify withdrawal. Instead, the administration should do what was required in previous NDAAs: put together a plan for broad sanctions tied to these violations and continue to use diplomatic means together with our allies to pressure Russia into compliance.

Walking away from this 34-nation treaty will negatively impact our relationships in Europe, give Russia a gift in creating discord amongst our partners in the region, and vacate a key U.S. leadership role in countering Russian malign activities.

The worth of this treaty does not necessarily come in the form of the images that are captured but, instead, the value it brings to our alliances, particularly with our Eastern European partners and friends. It was stated by former Secretary Mattis: ``Despite Russia's violations of its obligations under the treaty, it is my view that it is in our Nation's best interest to remain a party to the Open Skies Treaty.''

This amendment, Mr. Speaker, would provide a sense of Congress about the importance of this treaty, the value it brings to our allies, and express that the notice of intent to withdraw was done in violation of the law.

That is why I urge a ``yes'' vote on this amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.
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