Oct 30, 2024
Healthcare
U.S. House Passes Bipartisan Bill Spanberger Helped Introduce to Reinforce the Importance of the NATO Alliance
Jan 22, 2019
National Defense & Foreign Affairs
Press
Legislation Would Reinforce the U.S. Commitment to Fellow NATO Member States, Support Defense Spending
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Representative Abigail Spanberger announced that a bipartisan bill she helped introduce to reiterate strong congressional support for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) today overwhelmingly passed in the U.S. House of Representatives.
The NATO Support Act would reject any efforts by the administration to withdraw from the NATO alliance, which is the longest-standing military alliance in the world. Additionally, the Spanberger-backed measure would support NATO member efforts to spend at least two percent of their gross domestic product on defense and would promote robust funding for the European Deterrence Initiative to counter Russian aggression.
“To keep our country protected during uncertain times, we must reaffirm the importance of our security relationships with our key allies—including fellow NATO member states. I’m proud to have helped introduce this bipartisan legislation, which would signal Congress’ unwavering support for the mission of NATO,” said Spanberger. “There is no question that the NATO alliance has strengthened our national security for decades. I’m committed to maintaining U.S. leadership in this successful international partnership, and I’ll keep working to reiterate our commitment to international cooperation and mutual security.”
The bipartisan legislation was introduced by U.S. Representative Jimmy Panetta (D-CA-20), and the bill is also cosponsored by House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Eliot Engel (D-NY-16) and U.S. Representatives Tom Malinowski (D-NJ-7), Don Bacon (R-NE-2), Seth Moulton (D-MA-6), Will Hurd (R-TX-23), Fred Upton (R-MI-6), Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA-6), Adam Kinzinger (R-IL-16), and Mike Gallagher (R-WI-8).
Last week, Spanberger secured an appointment to serve on the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs, which is responsible for legislation related to U.S. foreign policy, national security developments affecting foreign policy, and all aspects of congressional oversight over the diplomatic community.
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