The
joint resolution, seen by Reuters, is a fresh effort by Congress
to prevent the president from withdrawing from the alliance
without the Senate's approval.
"The President shall not suspend, terminate, denounce, or
withdraw the United States from the North Atlantic Treaty, done
at Washington, DC, April 4, 1949, except by and with the advice
and consent of the Senate, provided that two-thirds of the
Senators present concur or pursuant to an Act of Congress," the
measure says.
Lead sponsors include Democratic Senator Tim Kaine, a member of
the Foreign Relations and Armed Services committees, and
Republican Senator Marco Rubio, vice chairman of the
intelligence committee, who is also a senior member of the
foreign relations panel.
The bill has been introduced repeatedly in recent years,
including during the term of former Republican President Donald
Trump, who voiced a desire for the United States to leave the
military alliance.
It has yet to pass the full Senate, but an aide to Kaine noted
that it was backed by the foreign relations committee last year
with strong bipartisan support and that, given the war in
Ukraine and the expansion of NATO, backers expect stronger
support than ever.
The current president, Democrat Joe Biden, has been a strong
supporter of NATO, backing its expansion and working with other
members, especially on the response to Russia's invasion of
Ukraine. He is expected to celebrate its unity over Ukraine in a
speech at the Vilnius summit on Wednesday.
The summit included an inaugural session of the NATO-Ukraine
Council, a body established to upgrade relations between Kyiv
and the 31-member transatlantic military alliance.
(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien)
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