Jeff Bingaman: “I am very concerned about a provision in the FY 1999 Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs…”

“I am very concerned about a provision in the FY 1999 Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriation bill regarding military assistance for the Baltic nations that, according to the Committee report, is intended to accelerate the integration of the Baltic States into NATO. Although the Administration has assured the Congress that consideration of the Baltic nations for membership in NATO would proceed in a deliberate fashion in consultation with our NATO allies subject to the procedures already established, designating military assistance to the Baltic nations in accordance with the language contained in the Committee report would circumvent those assurances. I wish to advise my colleagues that the allocation of any military assistance provided in this bill to the Baltic nations will not assure their admission into NATO. Mr. President, I recall that during the recent debate on enlarging NATO last April, many senators expressed their concern about extending our military commitments beyond the limits which are already straining our ability to meet worldwide contingencies. I believe that providing military assistance to the Baltic nations in order to accelerate their membership into NATO could lead us into a de facto security commitment to that region that might strain our resources even further, and therefore, be harmful to our national security interests as well as those of our NATO allies.”