Joe Biden: “I think it is unnecessary, but I have no objection to that amendment. Now, the second amendment, the number of which I…”

“I think it is unnecessary, but I have no objection to that amendment. Now, the second amendment, the number of which I am not going to even try to guess, because I will mess it up, but the second amendment is more direct--not more direct--is shorter and straightforward. It says-- do I have a copy of it here? It says: Requirement of payment out of funds specifically authorized. No cost incurred by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in connection with the admission to membership, or participation, in NATO of any country that was not a member of NATO as of March 1, 1998, may be paid out of funds available to any department, agency, or other entity of the United States unless the funds are specifically authorized. * * * Now, the phrase ``no cost incurred by NATO'' by definition, as I understand it, means only one thing, the common budget--the common budget. Now, if the chairman is concerned that we are going to, out of U.S. taxpayers' dollars, spend money on a new NATO admittee, Poland, let us say, that is not part of the common budget by saying, ``You know, NATO has agreed we're going to extend a runway in Warsaw'' or wherever we are going to do it. That is a common budget requirement. NATO must pay for that. It is not the national defense budget of Poland that pays for that. Since all of NATO is going to use it, we all are going to pay for it.…”