Jimmy Panetta: “I appreciate this opportunity. Obviously, I would like to share my appreciation of Chairman Engel for everything that he…”

“I appreciate this opportunity. Obviously, I would like to share my appreciation of Chairman Engel for everything that he has done as a leader of all of his constituents in his district and, more importantly, all of our fellow countrymen and -women here in the United States of America; as well as Ranking Member McCaul; and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Hurd), my good friend. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 676, the NATO Support Act. This is a bipartisan bill that allows Congress to assert our Nation's support for NATO; to answer anybody who questions the purpose of this alliance; and to reaffirm the NATO pledge, that an armed attack on one of us is an attack on all of us. The mutual defense pledge is why NATO has been the most successful military alliance in human history. It is an interdependency that has stood as a sturdy, strong, and sound anchor for peace that has prevented new world wars, fostered Western prosperity, and advanced democratic governance. It has been the will of our Nation, the United States of America, to lead and to finance the defense of other nations, which has allowed them to develop and prosper economically, and to expand and evolve democratically. Yet, at the same time, Moscow never went to war with a NATO partner. We got bases and a guarantee that we would not have to fight alone. Europe became our largest trading and investment partner and our chief diplomatic and military companion.…”