Chris Smith: “first of all, perhaps we have had too many discussions on the floor about mandates because mandates seem to be on the…”

“first of all, perhaps we have had too many discussions on the floor about mandates because mandates seem to be on the brain. There is nothing in this bill that mandates that any country join NATO. That has to be made very clear. What we are doing is saying that the program that would assist nations like Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia and other European nations means that these nations would be designated for transitional help. There is $100 million being requested for the President by the President for this kind of thing. We want to encourage expansion--that is what we are talking about. As I have said, we have had a lack of leadership with regard to this, and we are saying that Congress should speak up and say these countries are worth it. A window of opportunity exists and we do not want to see that window closed.”