Ahead Of NATO Summit, Senators Lankford and Inhofe Encourage Allies To Increase Defense Contributions

WASHINGTON, DC – Senators James Lankford (R-OK) and Jim Inhofe (R-OK) today joined a group of Senators to introduce a Senate resolution to reinforce the need for greater defense spending in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and stress the importance of the Alliance. This week, President Trump is meeting with world leaders at the annual NATO summit, where he will reaffirm the United States’ commitment to global security and encourage NATO allies to fulfill defense spending commitments. Senators David Perdue (R-GA), Tom Cotton (R-AR), and Mike Lee (R-UT) also co-sponsored this resolution. 

“The importance of NATO to the national security of the United States cannot be understated,” said Lankford. “Most NATO countries are in Europe, a continent that is at the frontlines of the confrontation with Russia and continues to deal with the large influx of refugees from crisis-torn areas. Europe’s security is important for America’s security; however, our allies must also meet their defense spending commitments. For the NATO Alliance to be most effective, all Member States must carry their share of the security burden.”

“Only fair and equitable burden sharing will make ‘peace through strength’ a NATO reality in the face of growing threats, including Russian aggression, terrorism and cybersecurity,” said Inhofe. “President Trump is right to strongly encourage all of our NATO allies to meet their commitment to defense spending under the collective security obligations.”

The Senators’ resolution:

• Reaffirms US commitment to NATO as the foundation of transatlantic security and defense
• Encourages NATO allies to fulfill defense spending commitments that were agreed upon at the 2014 Wales Summit
• Calls on NATO allies to finance, equip, and train their military to achieve interoperability and fulfill their national security interests
• Recognizes NATO allies who meet their defense spending commitments

Read the full text of the resolution here. 

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