S.Amdt. 1727

SA 1727. Mr. INHOFE submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to
amendment SA 1463 proposed by Mr. McCain to the bill H.R. 1735, to
authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2016 for military activities
of the Department of Defense and for military construction, to
prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

At the end of subtitle D of title XII, add the following:

SEC. 1257. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON OPERATION ATLANTIC RESOLVE
AND THE EUROPEAN REASSURANCE INITIATIVE.

It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) continued United States commitment to the North
Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and our allies in Europe
is critical to peace and stability in the region and critical
to United States national security;
(2) actions by Russia, including the invasion and
occupation of territories of Georgia, the invasion of Ukraine
and annexation of Crimea, continued violations of allied
airspace by Russian military aircraft, and continued
unprofessional and potentially dangerous close passes with
civilian and military aircraft and vessels by Russia threaten
that peace and stability;
(3) Operation Atlantic Resolve, launched in April 2014,
demonstrates the steadfast commitment of the United States to
our allies in the region against any threat to territorial
integrity or sovereignty;
(4) the European Reassurance Initiative, signed into law in
December 2014, has improved United States and North Atlantic
Treaty Organization capability and readiness in Central and
Eastern Europe;
(5) pre-positioning ammunition, fuel, and equipment for use
in regional training and exercises, as well as improving
infrastructure, will enhance North Atlantic Treaty
Organization operations and enable Eastern European allies to
rapidly receive reinforcements;
(6) increasing the presence of United States forces in the
region, including naval forces in the Black Sea, Baltic Sea,
and Barents Seas, through stepped-up rotations, training, and
exercises will enhance and improve United States and North
Atlantic Treaty Organization interoperability and
cooperation; and
(7) it is in the United States national interest to
continue to these efforts while the threat to the territorial
integrity and sovereignty of our allies persists.
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