On the recordJuly 10, 2018
Mr. President, I agree with the Senator from Rhode Island. I would like to say that there are 29 members of NATO. Of the 29 countries, if you take all of their defense budgets and add them together, the United States' defense dollars equal about 67 percent of that. I believe this is sending the right message to let them know that we appreciate them--that is, our partners in NATO--but also that our President has made a very strong pitch that each one of them come up with 2 percent for their commitment, and they have not done it. I think the President needs to have our support. I think this does add legitimacy to that request. I believe that burden-sharing has always been a problem. We have never been able to do it under Republican or Democrat Presidents, and this, maybe, is the time that we can get it done. I support this motion.
