July 30, 2025
Mr. Kennedy (for himself, Mrs. Blackburn, Mr. Tuberville, Mr. Wicker, Mr. Budd, Mr. Cornyn, and Ms. Lummis) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
Urging all members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to spend a minimum of 5 percent of gross domestic product on defense.
Whereas the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has long served as a pillar of collective security and transatlantic cooperation, ensuring stability and shared defense among member states;
Whereas President Donald J. Trump played a leading role in securing increased defense spending commitments from NATO allies to ensure the Alliance remains capable of addressing 21st-century threats;
Whereas the Hague Summit Declaration encouraged allies to allocate at least 5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) to defense spending, demonstrating a commitment to sharing the burden of collective defense;
Whereas the 5 percent GDP spending commitment will be split between spending 3.5 percent on military spending and 1.5 percent on non-traditional defense spending such as infrastructure and cyber security resilience;
Whereas this target, if implemented with discipline and transparency, has the potential to significantly enhance NATO’s military readiness, deterrence posture, and ability to respond to evolving threats including cyber warfare;
Whereas the imprecise language of the Hague Agreement leaves ambiguity about the requirement of all allies reaching the 5 percent of GDP goal;
Whereas the exclusion of certain member countries from the commitment to spend 5 percent of GDP on defense undermines fidelity to the Alliance;
Whereas the commitment to spending 5 percent of GDP on verifiable defense expenditures is important to the defense of all member nations;
Whereas the inclusion of domestic infrastructure in allies’ calculations toward their 1.5 percent commitment to non-traditional defense expenditures contributes minimally to the Alliance’s ability to address external threats; and
Whereas the commitment from economies of all sizes within NATO to meet the former goal of spending 2 percent GDP on defense shows that not meeting spending commitments is a choice of will and not of circumstance: Now, therefore, be it
That the Senate—
(1)
congratulates President Donald J. Trump and NATO leadership on the new commitment to defense investment, and commends the Alliance for its renewed focus on collective defense;
(2)
lauds NATO members who spent more than 2 percent of their GDP on defense prior to the Hague Summit;
(3)
strongly urges NATO leadership to compel members to adhere to the 5 percent GDP commitment to defense spending;
(4)
calls on all NATO allies to ensure their non-traditional defense expenditures are demonstrably aligned with legitimate defense objectives; and
(5)
reaffirms the importance of NATO and the commitment of the United States Senate to maintaining a strong, capable, and united Alliance.