“A bill to strengthen strategic defense cooperation between the United States and NATO allies on the Eastern Flank, and for other purposes.”
No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section states congressional findings on (1) the critical role of frontline NATO allies—Bulgaria, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia—in regional and transatlantic security; (2) those allies' commitments to NATO defense spending targets, support for Ukraine, and forward deployments to deter Russian aggression; (3) their frontline position against threats from Russia and Belarus and need for continued U.S. coordination, defense cooperation, and security assistance; (4) Ukraine's frontline role in defending against Russian aggression; and (5) existing U.S. authorities and tools—including Foreign Military Financing under section 23 of the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2763), assistance under 10 U.S.C. 333, excess defense articles under section 516 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2321j), and War Reserve Stocks for Allies under section 514 of that Act (22 U.S.C. 2321h)—to enhance their resilience, logistics, and interoperability.
This section defines, for purposes of the Act—(1) "appropriate congressional committees" as the Senate Committee on Armed Services and the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations; and (2) "Eastern Flank strategic defense partner" as a NATO member state that shares a land border or is in direct geographic proximity to Russia, Belarus, or Ukraine and plays a role in defending NATO's Eastern Flank due to that proximity, has committed to allocating 5% of gross domestic product annually to defense by 2035 (with at least 3.5% for core defense requirements and NATO capability targets and 1.5% for other defense- and security-related investments), hosts or supports forward deployment of NATO military forces (including rotational deployments), and faces persistent threats from hostile state actors—including Bulgaria, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia.
This section declares it the policy of the United States to prioritize defense cooperation and security assistance with Eastern Flank strategic defense partners (i.e., NATO allies on Russia's border) to deter aggression and support Ukraine. The section directs the Secretaries of State and Defense, as appropriate and consistent with law, to give such partners priority for (1) Foreign Military Financing program assistance under section 23 of the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2763), (2) capacity-building assistance under 10 U.S.C. 333 (i.e., DOD authority to provide training, equipment, and related support to foreign national security forces for counterterrorism and similar operations, with State Department concurrence), (3) excess defense articles transfers under section 516 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2321j), and (4) participation in bilateral and multilateral military exercises, interoperability training, logistics, and forward mobility planning. The section requires implementation of these priorities to reinforce bilateral defense cooperation agreements.
This section directs the Secretary of Defense, consistent with operational requirements and in consultation with NATO allies—and with the goal of increasing regional deterrence and reducing strategic response time—to (1) prioritize Eastern Flank strategic defense partners under the War Reserve Stocks for Allies program (22 U.S.C. 2321h); and (2) consider expanding stockpiles under such program in additional Eastern Flank strategic defense partner countries, as appropriate. (The program authorizes pre-positioning of Department of Defense defense articles outside the United States for allied use in contingencies.)
This section directs the Secretary of Defense, in coordination with the Secretary of State, to brief the appropriate congressional committees not later than 180 days after enactment on the implementation of sections 3 and 4, including timelines, goals, and cooperative mechanisms.