28 April 1998
(Rejects amendment setting cap on U.S. costs) (460) By Ralph Dannheisser USIA Congressional Correspondent Washington -- The Senate rejected on April 28 the first of several proposed amendments to the administration-backed plan for NATO enlargement -- an outcome that suggests eventual approval for the hotly debated plan. By a vote of 76-24, the chamber turned down a proposal by Senator Tom Harkin, an Iowa Democrat, that would have placed various restrictions on the plan to expand membership in the alliance from 16 to 19 by adding Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic. Senate leaders still expect a final vote on the enlargement proposal -- in the form of an amendment to the 1949 Washington Treaty establishing NATO -- to occur by April 30. Under the Senate's power to "advise and consent" to treaties and treaty changes, it would take a two-thirds vote of the membership to approve the plan. The debate over expanding NATO membership has led to some strange alliances in the Senate. Some of the chamber's most "liberal" and most "conservative" members are joined in support; opponents draw from the same eclectic mix. Harkin's defeated amendment proposed to cap, at 25 percent, the U.S. share of the total cost of adding the three countries to membership. Harkin argued that the $400 million cost estimate attributed to the administration excludes the considerable costs of bilateral subsidies to the three countries to upgrade their military capabilities. "We shouldn't sign the American taxpayer's name to a blank check. There must be specific guarantees for the American people on the financial costs of NATO expansion," the senator said in arguing for his amendment. Harkin planned to offer a second amendment that would require a cost study by the Congressional Budget Office on adding any further members to NATO beyond the three now under consideration. Other amendments which may be brought up before the final vote include ones to: -- Defer NATO membership for Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic until they have become members of the European Union. -- Impose a three-year moratorium before any additional countries can be considered for membership. -- Require the president to consult with Congress 45 days before initiating action to admit the Baltic states. -- Establish that defense of NATO members' territory is to remain the core function of the alliance, with other missions to be undertaken only on the basis of consensus among its members. -- Assure that actions of the NATO-Russia Joint Council will not give Russia any role in setting NATO policy. All 16 current NATO members must approve the treaty revision before Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic can become members. Thus far, four countries have given their approval: Canada, Denmark, Germany and Norway.