SPEAKERS CONTENTS INSERTS
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2004
PROVIDING FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A COMMISSION IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TO ASSIST PARLIAMENTS
IN EMERGING DEMOCRACIES; AND WELCOMING THE ACCESSION OF BULGARIA, ESTONIA, LATVIA, LITHUANIA, ROMANIA,
SLOVAKIA, AND SLOVENIA TO THE NORTH ATLANTIC TREATY ORGANIZATION [NATO], AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
MARKUP
BEFORE THE
SUBCOMMITTEE ON EUROPE
OF THE
COMMITTEE ON
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED EIGHTH CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION
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ON
H. Res. 543 and H. Res. 558
MARCH 17, 2004
Serial No. 108–76
Printed for the use of the Committee on International Relations
Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.house.gov/international—relations
COMMITTEE ON INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
HENRY J. HYDE, Illinois, Chairman
JAMES A. LEACH, Iowa
DOUG BEREUTER, Nebraska
CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey,
Vice Chairman
DAN BURTON, Indiana
ELTON GALLEGLY, California
ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida
CASS BALLENGER, North Carolina
DANA ROHRABACHER, California
EDWARD R. ROYCE, California
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PETER T. KING, New York
STEVE CHABOT, Ohio
AMO HOUGHTON, New York
JOHN M. McHUGH, New York
ROY BLUNT, Missouri
THOMAS G. TANCREDO, Colorado
RON PAUL, Texas
NICK SMITH, Michigan
JOSEPH R. PITTS, Pennsylvania
JEFF FLAKE, Arizona
JO ANN DAVIS, Virginia
MARK GREEN, Wisconsin
JERRY WELLER, Illinois
MIKE PENCE, Indiana
THADDEUS G. McCOTTER, Michigan
KATHERINE HARRIS, Florida
TOM LANTOS, California
HOWARD L. BERMAN, California
GARY L. ACKERMAN, New York
ENI F.H. FALEOMAVAEGA, American Samoa
DONALD M. PAYNE, New Jersey
ROBERT MENENDEZ, New Jersey
SHERROD BROWN, Ohio
BRAD SHERMAN, California
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ROBERT WEXLER, Florida
ELIOT L. ENGEL, New York
WILLIAM D. DELAHUNT, Massachusetts
GREGORY W. MEEKS, New York
BARBARA LEE, California
JOSEPH CROWLEY, New York
JOSEPH M. HOEFFEL, Pennsylvania
EARL BLUMENAUER, Oregon
SHELLEY BERKLEY, Nevada
GRACE F. NAPOLITANO, California
ADAM B. SCHIFF, California
DIANE E. WATSON, California
ADAM SMITH, Washington
BETTY McCOLLUM, Minnesota
CHRIS BELL, Texas
THOMAS E. MOONEY, SR., Staff Director/General Counsel
ROBERT R. KING, Democratic Staff Director
Subcommittee on Europe
DOUG BEREUTER, Nebraska, Chairman
DAN BURTON, Indiana
ELTON GALLEGLY, California
PETER T. KING, New York
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JO ANN DAVIS, Virginia
THADDEUS G. McCOTTER, Michigan
ROY BLUNT, Missouri
ROBERT WEXLER, Florida
ELIOT L. ENGEL, New York
WILLIAM D. DELAHUNT, Massachusetts
BARBARA LEE, California
JOSEPH M. HOEFFEL, Pennsylvania
EARL BLUMENAUER, Oregon
VINCE MORELLI, Subcommittee Staff Director
JONATHAN KATZ, Democratic Professional Staff Member
PATRICK PRISCO, Professional Staff Member
BEVERLY HALLOCK, Staff Associate
C O N T E N T S
Markup of:
H. Res. 543, Providing for the establishment of a commission in the House of Representatives to assist parliaments in emerging democracies
H. Res. 558, Welcoming the accession of Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and for other purposes
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Amendment to H. Res. 558 offered by the Honorable Doug Bereuter, a Representative in Congress from the State of Nebraska, and Chairman, Subcommittee on Europe
LETTERS, STATEMENTS, ETC., SUBMITTED FOR THE RECORD
The Honorable Doug Bereuter: Prepared statements
The Honorable David Price, a Representative in Congress from the State of North Carolina: Prepared statement on H. Res. 543
PROVIDING FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A COMMISSION IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TO ASSIST PARLIAMENTS IN EMERGING DEMOCRACIES; AND WELCOMING THE ACCESSION OF BULGARIA, ESTONIA, LATVIA, LITHUANIA, ROMANIA, SLOVAKIA, AND SLOVENIA TO THE NORTH ATLANTIC TREATY ORGANIZATION [NATO], AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 17, 2004
House of Representatives,
Subcommittee on Europe,
Committee on International Relations,
Washington, DC.
The Committee met, pursuant to call, at 4:07 p.m. in Room 2172, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Doug Bereuter presiding.
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Mr. BEREUTER. Pursuant to notice, I call up the resolution, H. Res. 543, for the purposes of markup. Without objection, the resolution will be considered as read and open for amendment at any point.
[H. Res. 543 follows:]
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Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Wexler, with your consent, I would like to depart from normal practice and call upon the primary co-sponsor of the resolution, our colleague from North Carolina, Mr. Price, who has been working with me, and introduce this resolution, which I am the co-sponsor of, to create a House commission for assisting democratic parliaments. Mr. Price, if you would take the witness table, we would like very much to have your statement. Is there objection?
[No response.]
Mr. BEREUTER. Hearing no objection, thank you, Mr. Wexler.
Mr. Price, you may proceed, and your entire statement will be made a part of the record. Thank you very much for your appearance here today.
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[The prepared statement of Mr. Bereuter follows:]
PREPARED STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE DOUG BEREUTER, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF NEBRASKA, AND CHAIRMAN, SUBCOMMITTEE ON EUROPE
H. RES. 543
As the primary original co-sponsor of the resolution before us, I first want to thank my friend, the distinguished gentleman from North Carolina, Mr. Price, for working with me and introducing this resolution to establish the House Commission for Assisting Democratic Parliaments.
Having been involved in the Frost-Solomon Task Force, which undertook a similar effort a decade ago, I am enthused to offer this new initiative. Mr. Frost and Mr. Dreier join us as original co-sponsors of this resolution.
The spread of parliamentary democracy in Central and Eastern Europe is one of the great success stories in recent history. Of course, the efforts by those nations to overthrow their communist dictatorships in some cases traces back several decades, but the rapid downfall of those regimes began after the events of 1989 and accelerated in the early 1990s.
Sadly, of course, some countries that gained independence after the collapse of the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia simply traded communist dictatorships for new dictatorships of nationalists and former apparatchiks. However, most of these countries moved quickly to establish new democracies, holding free and fair elections and beginning the process of transforming their parliaments from rubber-stamp facAE9ades into independent legislatures. This latter task proved easier to accomplish on paper than in practice.
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As we well know in this Congress, our ability to successfully legislate independently of the executive in large part depends on our access to independent information and analysis. We are fortunate to have our own staffs and support agencies to which we can turn to research an issue and provide alternative points of view.
Recognizing the importance of this, the Congress has created agencies like the General Accounting Office, Congressional Research Service and Congressional Budget Office to provide Members with independent views and oversight. In this respect, the Congress is the envy of every other parliamentary body in the world.
In the newly democratic parliaments, this capacity and expertise was lacking. Recognizing its importance for legislative autonomy, in 1990 the gentleman from Texas, Mr. Frost—an original cosponsor of this resolution—was instrumental in establishing a task force through the Speaker's office to help develop the needed capabilities in the parliaments of the newly emerging democracies of Central and Eastern Europe.
In cooperation with the late gentleman from New York, Mr. Solomon, Mr. Frost developed and led a multi-member effort that allowed the House of Representatives to share with the newly democratic parliaments the expertise of Members and staff, especially from the Congressional Research Service.
The task force provided modest donations of information technology-related office equipment and reference materials for parliamentary libraries, thereby facilitating the establishment of independent research services.
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The task force also helped those parliaments develop parliamentary procedures and legislative information systems to inform Members and the general public about parliamentary activities in a timely and open fashion. At a modest cost, we were able to help these parliaments become effective legislatures and play their crucial part in a democratic system.
Largely because of its success, the Frost-Solomon Task Force was terminated in 1996. However, while most of those countries that received aid have indeed become full-fledged democracies, others still need a helping hand. The Price-Bereuter Resolution aims to provide that assistance.
The resolution before us would create a House Commission for Assisting Democratic Parliaments, comprised of eight House Members—four Republicans and four Democrats—and it would have a small staff to coordinate its activities and help Members determine which parliaments would most benefit from such assistance.
Much of the expertise that these parliaments require can be found in the House and its support agencies, so the resolution would allow congressional offices to detail employees to the Commission. Recognizing that many of those who worked so effectively and energetically on the initial Frost-Solomon Task Force have retired or are about to retire from congressional employment, the resolution also would allow the Commission to use those retirees as consultants, so that parliaments can benefit from their years of expertise.
In addition to providing expert advice from Commission members and staff, the resolution envisions a modest assistance program to provide parliaments with information technology-related equipment and with reference materials so that they can establish a research service and a legislative information system. Furthermore, when the Commission identified needs in selected parliaments, it could recommend that the Agency for International Development provide certain equipment, materials or technical assistance to enable those parliaments to become more efficient and transparent.
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The first task of this Commission should be to finish the work that was begun in Central and Eastern Europe, which is the reason I am holding a markup today in this subcommittee.
I think the logical place to start would be the countries of the Western Balkans: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, and Serbia and Montenegro. Albania was part of the original Frost Task Force, as was Ukraine, which could be considered under this new program, though I have some concerns about the direction of the current parliament. Georgia, with a new, pro-Western government and parliament, might be another country to consider.
However, the resolution does not limit the Commission's scope to the western Balkans and Eastern Europe. Once established, this program could expand to assist parliaments in other qualified countries in the Caucasus, North African, and Central Asian areas, and perhaps other parts of the world.
For example, the United States is committed to help create representative democracies in Afghanistan and Iraq.
It would send a strong, positive signal if the House were to offer practical assistance to the new parliaments in those nations to help them develop as autonomous institutions in a democratic society.
I was pleased to play a small part in the Frost-Solomon Task Force in the 1990s by participating in our trips to Albania, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and the Czech Republic that reviewed the results of the assistance provided.
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Today, we have an opportunity to further assist in the emergence of democratic parliaments by enabling this House to share its expertise and to work with USAID to provide the necessary assistance.
So, this afternoon I urge my colleagues to favorably report to the full Committee House Resolution 543, the Price-Bereuter-Dreier-Frost Resolution to create the House Commission for Assisting Democratic Parliaments.
Mr. PRICE. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate very much the chance to speak with you about this resolution and, before this, to have worked with you in putting this resolution together and securing co-sponsors and otherwise expediting the setting up of this much-needed commission, a commission that would assist parliaments in emerging democracies with various kinds of support and assistance from the House of Representatives.
I will be very brief in outlining the purpose of the resolution.
We all know the great success story that the spread of parliamentary democracy represents in Central and Eastern Europe. We also know that sometimes these new democracies are very fragile, that democratic institutions do not arise automatically. The U.S. Congress itself evolved over a couple of centuries, and some would say we have not arrived yet. Certainly, there is a painstaking kind of work and support that is required if parliamentary institutions are to function well.
We are very fortunate in this House. We have a Library of Congress with incomparable resources, a Congressional Research Service. We have the latest technology, House Information Resources, to help us understand and use that technology. We have trained experts in every conceivable area. We have come a long way from the days when Congress was nothing more than a building and a few official rooms.
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Well, many new democracies are starting where we started over 200 years ago. Members of these newly formed parliaments, the people they represent, have chosen democracy, and I believe it is our duty, as champions of democracy, to help them to build strong and enduring institutions.
Mr. Chairman, from 1990 through 1996, you and I and many other colleagues worked with our friend, Martin Frost, the late Gerald Solomon, who led a House task force that provided assistance, equipment, and training to new parliaments in Central and Eastern European countries in an effort to strengthen those institutions.
In the space of just a few years, the program made significant contributions to the development of democratic parliaments in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, seven other nations, and increased the transparency and the accountability of those institutions as well. House Members and congressional staff trained over 2,200 members and staff in those new parliaments. At a modest cost, we helped those parliaments become effective legislatures.
So, as one who participated in the Frost-Solomon Task Force, I found our work immensely rewarding and was struck, even moved, by the way the parliamentary leaders we worked with looked to the U.S. Congress for inspiration.
In addition to serving our foreign policy goal of helping to establish democratic institutions, we developed extraordinary goodwill in the countries we worked with, goodwill that still exists today, and that work is still very, very important. We have a tremendous opportunity before us to continue to serve, not just as a model but as a partner, in strengthening democracy across the globe.
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We should begin, I believe, by finishing the work we started in Central and Eastern Europe, in the countries of the former Yugoslavia and other countries in the Balkan region, extend our efforts then, as independent functioning parliaments emerge, to Central Asia, the Middle East, and possibly other regions. The House has made clear its commitment to help create representative democracies in Afghanistan and Iraq. I believe, down the road, this commission could play a critical role in providing the support necessary for these and other new democracies to succeed.
So, Mr. Chairman, I, again, appreciate your leadership on this and your expedited scheduling of this markup. I would be happy to answer any questions, but I do believe this is a resolution that has broad support. It has attracted good bipartisan co-sponsorship. I do think the time is ripe to undertake this kind of outreach effort with our sister democracies, and so I urge that we move the resolution forward so that, in Fiscal 2005, we can actually get this work underway.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Price follows:]
PREPARED STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE DAVID PRICE, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA
REMARKS ON H. RES. 543, A RESOLUTION PROVIDING FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A COMMISSION IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TO ASSIST PARLIAMENTS IN EMERGING DEMOCRACIES.
The spread of parliamentary democracy in Central and Eastern Europe is one of the great success stories in recent history.
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While the House of Representatives has celebrated the fall of oppressive regimes and the formation of newly democratic governments, I am here today to point out that it also has recognized that new democracies are very fragile.
Functioning parliamentary systems do not merely appear once a country becomes a democracy. Look at the U.S. Congress, an institution that has existed for over two centuries—in many ways, we're still figuring things out!
We have the good fortune of having a Library of Congress and a Congressional Research Service. We have the latest technology and House Information Resources to help us understand and use that technology. We have highly trained experts in every conceivable area, who we can turn to for help and guidance. We have come a long way from the days when Congress was nothing more than a building with rooms.
Many new democracies are starting where we started over 200 years ago. Members of these newly formed parliaments and the people they represent have chosen democracy. I believe it is our duty, as champions of democracy everywhere, to help them build strong and enduring institutions.
From 1990 through 1996, our colleagues Martin Frost and the late Gerald Solomon, led a House Task Force that provided assistance, equipment, and training to new parliaments in Central and Eastern European countries in an effort to develop and strengthen those institutions.
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In a brief time, the program made significant contributions to the development of democracies in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and other nations, and increased transparency and accountability, as well.
House Members and congressional staff trained over 2,200 Members and staff in those newly established parliaments. At a modest cost, we helped those parliaments become effective legislatures and play their part in a democratic system.
As one who participated in the Frost-Solomon Task Force, I found our work immensely rewarding and was struck by the ways the parliamentary leaders we worked with looked to the U.S. Congress for inspiration.
In addition to serving our foreign policy goal of helping to establish democratic institutions in other countries, we developed significant goodwill in the countries we helped—goodwill that still exists today.
That work has arguably never been more important than it is today. We have a tremendous opportunity before us to continue to serve not just as a model, but as a partner in the effort to strengthen democracy across the globe.
We could begin by finishing the work we started in Central and Eastern Europe, and then extend our efforts to the western Balkans, Caucasus, Central Asia, and the Middle East.
The House has made clear its commitment to helping create representative democracies in Afghanistan and Iraq, and this Commission could play a critical role in providing the support necessary for these new democracies to succeed.
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I hope you will join me and Chairman Bereuter in supporting this resolution.
Mr. BEREUTER. Thank you very much Mr. Price, and I would recognize myself for a few comments.
I want to thank you for your initiative, and I remember well our participation in the previous Frost-Solomon Codel. Mr. Frost and Mr. Dreier join us as original co-sponsors.
I ask unanimous consent that my entire statement be made a part of the record.
[No response.]
Mr. BEREUTER. Hearing no objection, I will just hit a few additional points or perhaps a few reiterating points.
Mr. Frost really was instrumental in establishing a task force, through the Speaker's office, to help develop the needed capabilities of parliaments in newly emerging democracies of Central and Eastern Europe. And you pointed out how fortunate, indeed, we are, Mr. Price, in having the capabilities that this Congress has to assist us in legislation and oversight. They are unmatched in the world.
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The task force provided modest donations of information, technology-related office equipment, reference material for parliamentary libraries, thereby facilitating the establishment of independent research services. The task force also helped those parliaments develop parliamentary procedures and legislative information systems to inform members and the general public about parliamentary activities in a timely and open fashion. At a modest cost, we were able to help these parliaments become effective legislatures and play their crucial part in a democratic system.
Largely because of its success, the Frost-Solomon Task Force was terminated in 1996. However, while most of those countries that received aid have, indeed, become full-fledged democracies, others still need a helping hand. The Price-Bereuter Resolution, I think, aims, of course, to provide that assistance.
The commission itself would be comprised of eight House Members, four Republicans, four Democrats, would have a small staff to coordinate its activities and help Members determine which parliaments would most benefit from such assistance. I think that much of the expertise that these parliaments require can be found in the House itself and in our support agencies, so the resolution would allow congressional offices to detail employees to the commission.
Recognizing that many of those who worked so effectively and energetically on the initial Frost-Solomon Task Force have retired or are about to retire from congressional employment, the resolution would also allow the commission to use those retirees as consultants so the parliaments can benefit from their years of expertise.
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I think the first task of the commission would be to finish the work, as I mentioned, already begun in Central and Eastern Europe, where that needs to be the case, and the logical place to start, then, after that would be the countries of the Western Balkans: Albania, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Serbia, and Montenegro. Albania was part of the original Frost Task Force effort, as was Ukraine, which could be considered again under this new program, although I have some concerns about the direction of the current parliament with respect to Ukraine. Georgia, with a new, pro-western government in parliament, might be another country to consider, and there is no reason why, in fact, this kind of assistance could not be given to the countries of the Caucasus, North African, and Central Asian regions. And, of course, we are committed to help create representative democracies in Afghanistan and Iraq.
I recall visiting Albania, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and Czech Republic to review the results of the assistance provided, and I was very heartened, as were Members, on a bipartisan basis, of what had been the result of our effort.
So I urge my colleagues to favorably report to the Full Committee House Resolution 543, the Price-Bereuter-Dreier-Frost Resolution to create the House Commission for Assisting Democratic Parliaments.
And I would recognize now the distinguished Ranking Member of the Subcommittee, the gentleman from Florida, Mr. Wexler, for a statement but also to ask any questions he might wish to of Mr. Price or myself. Mr. Wexler.
Mr. WEXLER. Amen.
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Mr. BEREUTER. I take it, you are ready to move to markup, then.
Mr. WEXLER. Thank you.
Mr. BEREUTER. Are there any amendments?
[No response.]
Mr. BEREUTER. Hearing none, then the Chair will now entertain a motion that the resolution be reported favorably to the Full Committee. A question occurs on the motion to report the resolution to the Full Committee favorably. All of those in favor will say aye.
[A chorus of ayes.]
Mr. BEREUTER. Those opposed, say no.
[No response.]
Mr. BEREUTER. The motion approved. The bill is reported favorably. Thank you very much. Thank you, Mr. Price.
We will now move to the second item on our markup agenda today. Pursuant to notice, I call up the resolution, H. Res. 558, for purposes of markup. Without objection, the resolution will be considered as read and open for amendment at any point.
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[H. Res. 558 follows:]
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Mr. BEREUTER. I do have an opening statement. I want to thank the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee for co-sponsoring the resolution and helping me to move it forward in a bipartisan fashion.
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The Bereuter-Wexler Resolution welcomes the accession to NATO membership of seven Central European democracies: Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia. In the past few days, I have learned that the actual date of accession will now be March 29th, and there will be ceremonies here in Washington to mark the occasion.
The resolution also reaffirms the support of the House for the process of NATO enlargement and for keeping NATO's door open to all democratic democracies in Europe which seek to meet the criteria for NATO membership.
I have a recitation of what has happened, the amazing movement forward of the three countries already brought into NATO in recent years and the progress being made by the seven that will shortly join NATO in meeting the criteria, both written and unwritten. I think it has been a dramatic, successful story.
Beyond that, we have three other candidate nations at this point,—Albania, Croatia, and Macedonia—and we are not forgetting those countries. All three have contributed forces to the NATO mission in Afghanistan, Albania, and Macedonia, and they have forces in Iraq as well. In addition, the resolution notes the commitment of the new Croatian government to implement the necessary reforms for membership in NATO and the European Union.
And I would ask unanimous consent that the entire statement be made a part of the record.
[No response.]
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[The prepared statement of Mr. Bereuter follows:]
PREPARED STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE DOUG BEREUTER, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF NEBRASKA, AND CHAIRMAN, SUBCOMMITTEE ON EUROPE
H. RES. 558
As the sponsor of this resolution, I first want to thank the Ranking Democratic Member of this Subcommittee, the gentleman from Florida, Mr. Wexler, for co-sponsoring this resolution and helping me to move it forward in a bipartisan fashion.
This Bereuter-Wexler resolution welcomes the accession to NATO membership of seven Central European democracies: Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia. In the past few days, I have learned that the actual date of accession now will be March 29th, and there will be ceremonies here in Washington to mark the occasion.
The resolution also reaffirms the support of the House for the process of NATO enlargement and for keeping NATO's door open to all European democracies who meet the criteria for NATO membership.
The decision to admit former communist nations from Central and Eastern Europe into the Atlantic Alliance is one of the great successes of American and Alliance foreign policy since the end of the Cold War. It is a bipartisan success, promoted by Republicans and Democrats in the Congress and by both the Clinton and Bush administrations. It is also a success in which the House of Representatives has played an important role.
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Since 1994, the House has repeatedly declared its support for NATO enlargement and the fundamental role of NATO in transatlantic security. We recognize that throughout its history, NATO has succeeded not only in keeping its members free, but in extending that freedom to new lands that had long yearned for freedom's blessings.
Already, the three nations that joined NATO in 1999—Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic—have been contributing to the Alliance and to its operations in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo and Afghanistan. Furthermore, Poland has been a major contributor to Operation Iraqi Freedom and currently commands a multinational force in south central Iraq.
The current round of enlargement—the fifth in NATO's history—will further erase the dividing lines that were drawn at Yalta and further extend the zone of peace and security in the North Atlantic region.
Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia are already contributing to the Alliance, with each of these new allies contributing to one or more of NATO's ongoing operations. In addition, six of them have forces on the ground in Iraq.
That is far from their only contribution. Last year, as President of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, I traveled to all seven of these countries, and after those visits, I am confident that they and their membership will reinvigorate the Alliance. In fact, that new vigor is already being felt.
Because the citizens of these new member countries have recent memories of living under repressive dictatorships, they are especially committed to NATO and its collective defense guarantee.
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Having fought so long and hard to gain their freedom, they know how precious freedom is and how fundamentally important the defense of freedom remains. They have pledged that they are ready to defend their freedom and ours, and we are very fortunate to be able to call them our allies.
In addition to noting the accomplishments of the incoming NATO members and welcoming their accession to the Alliance, this resolution expresses our support for the remaining candidates for NATO membership: Albania, Croatia and Macedonia.
A year ago, both houses of Congress passed House Concurrent Resolution 209, which stated our support for those three countries to join NATO when they meet the criteria for membership. Both that previous resolution and this resolution note the progress that those three countries have made toward that goal. All three have contributed forces to the NATO mission in Afghanistan, and Albania and Macedonia have forces in Iraq. Additionally, the resolution notes the commitment of the new Croatian government to implement the necessary reforms for membership in NATO and the European Union.
To ensure that the enlargement process continues after the accession of the seven new members, the resolution recommends that the leaders of the NATO nations ''review the enlargement process, including the applications of Albania, Croatia and Macedonia, at a summit meeting to be held no later than 2007.''
This language is consistent with the language of the relevant communiqué from the 1999 Washington Summit, at which Alliance leaders welcomed Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic to NATO membership. That communiqué called for a summit meeting to review the enlargement process to be held ''no later than 2002,'' that is, three years after that summit. Similarly, 2007 would be three years after this summer's Istanbul Summit.
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Scheduling a 2007 enlargement summit would also establish a five-year cycle for NATO enlargement. Three nations received invitations in 1997 at Madrid, and seven nations were invited in 2002 in Prague. I believe that this is a reasonable timetable, one that gives the Alliance time to incorporate the seven new members while ensuring that the three remaining candidates are not forgotten.
Before I turn to Mr. Wexler, I just want to inform the subcommittee that I will be offering an amendment making two minor changes to this resolution.
The first change is to add wording noting the contribution that most of the new members are making to the operation in Iraq.
The second change is to the date of their accession to the Alliance, which has been moved up a few days since I introduced this resolution, from April 2nd to March 29th.
Mr. BEREUTER. Hearing no objection, I turn now to the distinguished Ranking Member for comments that he might like to make.
Mr. WEXLER. I concur completely, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. BEREUTER. You are a good Midwesterner, a man of few words.
Mr. WEXLER. Yes.
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Mr. BEREUTER. The Chair has an amendment at the desk which incorporates two changes to the resolution. The clerk will first report the amendment.
Ms. HALLOCK. Amendment to H. Res. 558, offered by Mr. Bereuter. In the ninth clause of the preamble,——
[The amendment, offered by Mr. Beureuter, follows:]
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Mr. BEREUTER. Without objection, the amendment will be considered as read, and I will explain that the first change is to add the wordings noting the contribution that most of the new members are making to the operations in Iraq. The second change is the date of the accession to the alliance, which has been moved up a few days since I introduced this resolution, from April 2 to March 29, and those are the two elements in the amendment.
Is there discussion?
Mr. WEXLER. I move the amendments.
Mr. BEREUTER. The question, then, is on the amendments. All in favor will say aye.
[A chorus of ayes.]
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Mr. BEREUTER. All opposed will say no.
[No response.]
Mr. BEREUTER. The ayes appear to have it. The ayes do have it. Are there further amendments?
[No response.]
Mr. BEREUTER. If not, the Chair will now entertain a motion that the resolution be reported favorably to the Full Committee, as amended.
Mr. WEXLER. So moved.
Mr. BEREUTER. I thank the gentleman.
The question occurs on the motion to report the resolution, H. Res. 558, favorably, as amended. All in favor, say aye.
[A chorus of ayes.]
Mr. BEREUTER. All opposed, no.
[No response.]
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Mr. BEREUTER. The motion is approved. The bill is reported favorably. And I thank my colleague for his cooperation and assistance during the hearing and in the markup.
Mr. WEXLER. Thank you.
Mr. BEREUTER. Thank you very much, and the Subcommittee stands adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 4:21 p.m., the Subcommittee was adjourned.]