Doug Bereuter: “today this Member rises to inform the House that the United States Senate a few minutes ago by a vote of 96-0 voted to…”

“today this Member rises to inform the House that the United States Senate a few minutes ago by a vote of 96-0 voted to give its advice and consent to U.S. ratification of the NATO enlargement protocols. The lines drawn across Europe at Yalta are gone. By its action today on the 58th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day, the Senate has approved the membership of Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia in the North Atlantic Alliance. According to the Constitution, it is the Senate that must give its advice and consent to treaty protocols. But, Mr. Speaker, this Member must note the leading role that this Chamber has played in promoting the admission into NATO of the new democracies of Central and Eastern Europe. The decision to admit former Communist countries from Central and Eastern Europe into the Atlantic Alliance is one of the great success stories in American 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. The seven nations across the face of Eastern and Central Europe that join NATO are democracies that will help build a stronger North Atlantic Alliance. Having fought so long and hard to gain their freedom, these nations know how very precious freedom is.”