S.Amdt. 3518

SA 3518. Mr. TILLIS (for himself and Mr. Justice) submitted an
amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill S. 2296, to
authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2026 for military activities
of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for
defense activities of the Department of Energy, 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 appropriate place in title XII, insert the
following:

SEC. ____. SENSE OF CONGRESS WITH RESPECT TO NATO DEFENSE
SPENDING.

(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Applicable defense investment benchmarks.--The term
``applicable defense investment benchmarks'' means--
(A) the defense spending commitment of 2 percent of GDP for
fiscal years prior to January 1, 2030;
(B) the defense spending commitment of 3.5 percent of GDP
for fiscal years 2030 through 2034;
(C) the defense spending commitment of 5 percent of GDP for
fiscal year 2035 and beyond; and
(D) any alternative defense investment benchmarks adopted
unanimously by the North Atlantic Council that are consistent
with NATO defense investment commitments.
(2) NATO defense investment commitments.--The term ``NATO
defense investment commitments'' means the commitments agreed
to by the Head of State and Government of each member country
of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (referred to in
this section as ``NATO'') in the Hague Summit Declaration of
June 25, 2025, including the target of investing 5 percent of
gross domestic product (referred to in this section as
``GDP'') to defense spending by 2035 and related
implementation and accountability measures.
(b) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
(1) In 2014, the Heads of State and Government of each
member country of NATO renewed their earlier commitment to
invest 2 percent of their national GDP to defense spending to
help ensure the continued military readiness of NATO.

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(2) NATO considers the 2 percent commitment as a floor and
not a ceiling for what member countries of NATO have
committed to invest in their national defense efforts.
(3) The current global security environment has caused the
current leadership of NATO and the United States to consider
raising this commitment even higher.
(4) In 2024, 23 of the 31 member countries spent at least 2
percent of their GDP on national defense.
(5) Since the year 2000, NATO has lost almost
$2,000,000,000,000 in mutual defense spending capability from
member countries not meeting the commitment of 2 percent of
their GDP towards defense.
(6) On June 25, 2025, at the NATO Summit in The Hague, the
Head of State and Government of each member country of NATO
adopted an ambitious new defense investment schedule and
commitment to increase total national defense and security-
related spending to 5 percent of GDP by 2035.
(7) The NATO defense investment commitments adopted at the
NATO Summit in The Hague in June 2025 comprise 2 essential
categories of investment, which are the following:
(A) At least 3.5 percent of GDP annually by 2035 will be
allocated, based on the agreed NATO definition, to resource
core defense requirements and meet NATO capability targets;
and
(B) One and one-half percent of GDP annually may be
allocated to protect critical infrastructure, defend cyber
and digital networks, ensure civil preparedness and
resilience, unleash innovation, and strengthen defense
industrial capacity.
(8) The NATO defense investment commitments adopted at the
NATO Summit in The Hague in June 2025 require member
countries--
(A) to submit annual national plans showing a credible,
incremental path to meet the spending commitments;
(B) to conduct, in 2029, a review to assess the trajectory
and balance of spending in light of evolving strategic
conditions and updated NATO capability targets; and
(C) to reaffirm sovereign commitments to the defense of
Ukraine, including direct contribution to the armed forces
and industrial base of Ukraine, which may be counted toward
the defense spending total of each member country.
(c) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) a citizen of a member country of NATO that has not met
the applicable defense investment benchmarks should not be
eligible to serve in senior leadership positions of NATO,
including--
(A) the Secretary General of NATO;
(B) the Deputy Secretary General of NATO;
(C) any Assistant Secretaries General of NATO;
(D) the NATO Spokesperson; and
(E) any uniformed command billet at or above the OF-7 level
(2-star equivalent); and
(2) any member country of NATO that does not met the
applicable defense investment benchmarks in the preceding
fiscal year should not be permitted to host any high-profile
NATO events, including--
(A) NATO Summits;
(B) meetings of NATO Foreign or Defense Ministers;
(C) NATO Parliamentary Assembly sessions;
(D) NATO Youth Summits; and
(E) other formal gatherings of ministerial or strategic
significance that confer prestige or economic benefit.
(3) any member country of NATO that fails to demonstrate
measurable annual progress toward NATO defense investment
commitments should be subject to the same restrictions
described in paragraphs (1) and (2).
(d) Diplomatic Engagement.--The President shall direct the
United States Permanent Representative to NATO to use the
voice, vote, and influence of the United States at NATO--
(1) to advocate for full integration of the NATO defense
investment commitments into the personnel and venue selection
processes of NATO;
(2) to withhold support of the United States for any
nomination or appointment to a senior leadership position of
NATO submitted by a country that is not in compliance with
applicable defense investment benchmarks; and
(3) to oppose proposals to host NATO Summits or other
ministerial events in countries that have failed to meet the
applicable defense investment benchmarks in the preceding
fiscal year.
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