PROTOCOLS TO THE NORTH ATLANTIC TREATY OF 1949 ON ACCESSION OF POLAND, HUNGARY, AND THE CZECH REPUBLIC (Senate

PROTOCOLS TO THE NORTH ATLANTIC TREATY OF 1949 ON ACCESSION OF POLAND, HUNGARY, AND THE CZECH REPUBLIC (Senate - April 27, 1998)

CRAIG EXECUTIVE AMENDMENT NO. 2311 (Senate - April 27, 1998)

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(Ordered to lie on the table.)

Mr. CRAIG submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by him to the resolution of ratification for the treaty (Treaty Doc. No. 105-36) protocols to the North Atlantic Treaty of 1949 on the accession of Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic. These protocols were opened for signature at Brussels on December 16, 1997, and signed on behalf of the United States of America and other parties to the North Atlantic Treaty; as follows:

Insert after subparagraph (A) of section 3(1) the following new subparagraph:

(B) Requirement of united nations commitment for reimbursement or crediting of united states expenditures for certain nato missions: Prior to the deposit of the United States instrument of ratification, the President shall certify to the Senate that he has obtained a commitment from the United Nations that United States expenditures for costs incurred in any mission described in subparagraph (A)(ii) shall be treated by the United Nations as in-kind contributions by the United States to a United Nations peacekeeping operation and shall be--

(1) reimbursed to the United States out of funds available to the United Nations; or

(2) credited toward contributions assessed the United States by the United Nations for such operations.

Redesignate subsequent subparagraphs in section 3(1) accordingly.

Mr. CRAIG. Mr. President, today I am filing an amendment related to the resolution of ratification for the proposed expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

Last May, President Clinton publicly embraced the idea of a `new NATO' mission. It is my concern that the President's vision of a new NATO will signal the end of NATO as a defensive alliance and begin its role as a global peacekeeping organization.

I have several concerns about the President's vision for NATO, not the least of which is cost for a `new' NATO. It seems to me that if the President continues to eagerly commit our men and women in uniform to dangerous peace-keeping missions, for which, the U.S. invariably pays the lion's share of the cost, the United Nations should either be forced to reimburse us for those costs, or relieve our so-called arrears.

Therefore, I will be offering an amendment which requires that prior to the deposit of the instrument of ratification for NATO expansion, the President must certify that the Senate has obtained a commitment from the United Nations that the U.S. will be reimbursed or credited for costs incurred in peace-keeping missions.

I am offering this amendment because I am both concerned and frustrated by the tremendous costs that the U.S. incurs in peacekeeping and humanitarian missions around the globe. Our men and women in uniform are asked to do more and more, with less and less. Meanwhile, American taxpayers foot the bill for these missions. Yet, the United States is handed the single largest assessed contribution for any U.N. member, despite the huge commitments we maintain across the globe.

I hope my colleagues will support this common-sense amendment to force the United Nations to account for the contributions that the United States has made to peace-keeping around the world.

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