Tillis and Shaheen Reiterate Strong Support for NATO in the U.S. Senate

(Washington, DC)—The chairs of the Senate North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Observer Group, Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), issued the following joint statement to reiterate the strong support for NATO in the United States Senate:   

“NATO’s broad bipartisan support in the Senate has been repeatedly expressed through the re-establishment of the Senate NATO Observer Group and through key votes underscoring the U.S. commitment to transatlantic relationships,” said Tillis and Shaheen in a joint statement. “Progress has been steadily made to ensure all NATO members are paying their fair share of dues, and it's imperative that the United States work with allies to strengthen the transatlantic bonds that have kept us safe for 70 years and modernize NATO to respond to hybrid warfare and other threats to global security. For these reasons, the Senate stands ready to defend NATO and we look forward to the next enlargement round with the hope of welcoming the Northern Republic of Macedonia into the Alliance.” 

Senators Shaheen and Tillis re-established the Senate NATO Observer Group last year with an expanded mission to closely monitor and inform Senators outside of national security committees about defense spending commitments of Alliance members, the process of upgrading military capabilities, the Alliance’s counter-terrorism capability and the ability of NATO member states to address non-conventional warfare. 

Senators Shaheen and Tillis are both members of the Senate Armed Services Committee. Senator Shaheen is also a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.