Dick Lugar: “I simply rise to say the substance of the issue is different from the procedure. In this amendment offered by the…”

“I simply rise to say the substance of the issue is different from the procedure. In this amendment offered by the distinguished Senators, we are discussing an amendment that says: It is the sense of the Senate that, not later than the date that is eighteen months after the date of the adoption of this resolution, the President should place on the agenda for discussion at the North Atlantic Council-- (i) the NATO ``consensus rule''; and (ii) the merits of establishing a process for suspending the membership in NATO of a member country that no longer complies with NATO's principles of democracy, individual liberty, and the rule of law set forth in the preamble to the North Atlantic Treaty. The amendment also calls for reports on the points of view raised by our Government and, likewise, its fulfillment, with the gist of this amendment.”