Do NATO Member Countries Need to Meet Their Defense Spending Commitments? (H. Res. 469)

What is H. Res. 469?

(Updated May 3, 2020)

This resolution would call on other North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member countries to meet or exceed their defense spending obligations that they committed to when joining the alliance. Members of NATO are required to spend at least two percent of their country’s gross domestic product (GDP) on defense, and 20 percent of their defense spending must go toward major equipment. In 2016, only five countries are expected to meet the requirement to spend two percent of GDP on defense: the U.S., Greece, Great Britain, Estonia, and Poland.

The NATO alliance was formed in 1949 by 12 North American and European nations to provide for a unified defense if one member came under armed attack from an enemy, which was expected to be the Soviet Union and its Warsaw Pact allies during the Cold War. Article 5 of the NATO charter is sometimes known as “The Three Musketeers Clause” because an attack on one member country is considered an attack on all, thus requiring the alliance to come to the country’s defense.

NATO isn’t only a military alliance though, as it also promotes democratic values through political means. Since its founding, another 16 countries have joined NATO and several others are considering joining — including some of the 22 Partnership for Peace partner nations.

As a simple resolution, this legislation would neither have the force of law nor advance to the Senate if passed.

Argument in favor

It’s unacceptable that the vast majority of NATO members aren’t meeting spending as much on defense as they’d committed to when they joined. Congress should do what it can to encourage them to fulfill their obligations.

Argument opposed

There may be a chance that the governments of NATO member countries that haven’t spent what they’d committed to on defense will listen to Congress and change their ways, but it’s more likely that they won’t.

Impact

NATO member countries; and Congress.

Cost of H. Res. 469

A CBO cost estimate is unavailable.

Additional Info

In-Depth: Sponsoring Rep. Mike Bishop (R-MI) introduced this bill to encourage NATO countries to spend what they had committed on defense, which would strengthen the alliance collectively:

“While the costs may seem significant and burdensome in difficult economic times, the consequences of conflict due to perceived weakness on the part of NATO would be far greater. Without modern equipment, resources, manpower and training necessary to maintain a deterrent force, we risk continued challenges to peace. I call on my colleagues in Congress to support this reasonable resolution, and on our NATO members to honor their commitment as well.”

Currently, this legislation has the support of 45 bipartisan cosponsors in the House — including 32 Republicans and 13 Democrats.

Of Note: According to the Economist, between the end of the Cold War and 2012, defense spending from European countries dropped from 34 percent of all NATO military expenditures to 21 percent. Due to Russian aggression in the Crimea, Ukraine, and elsewhere several European NATO members are contemplating increasing their defense spending.

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump made headlines on July 21, 2016 when the New York Times released the transcript of an interview in which Trump implied that NATO members must meet their defense spending obligations for the U.S. to defend that country from attack. That prompted concerned responses from the NATO Secretary General and the president of Estonia.

Media:

• Sponsoring Rep. Mike Bishop (R-MI) Press Release
• Ripon Advance
• NATO Defense Expenditures (Context)