Yellowhammer Times

U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville of Alabama has joined Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana in introducing a resolution that calls on NATO member countries to meet their commitments by spending 5% of their gross domestic product (GDP) on defense.

“It’s past time for NATO members to pony up,” said Sen. Tuberville. “It’s not the job of the American taxpayers to pay to defend the entire world. Thank God for President Trump who is finally standing up for American taxpayers and fighting to put America First.”

“NATO is one of the greatest defensive alliances in all of human history,” said Sen. Kennedy.“My resolution commends our allies for their commitment to allocate 5% of their GDP to our shared defense and strongly encourages them to fulfill their promises in good faith. If we want to deter our adversaries, we need real investments in our defense, not bridges that have little, if anything, to do with national security.”

Other senators supporting the resolution include Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Ted Budd (R-NC), John Cornyn (R-TX), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), and Roger Wicker (R-MS).

The resolution comes as concerns grow about some NATO countries’ approaches to meeting defense spending targets. The Trump Administration had previously pushed for members to increase contributions toward collective defense goals, aiming for each country to spend 5% of GDP on this purpose.

However, provisions within the Hague Summit Declaration allow flexibility that critics say undermines these targets. Specifically, not all member nations are required under current agreements to reach the full 5%, and up to 1.5% can be counted from spending loosely related to traditional military activities.

Recently, Spain announced it would not meet the 5% target while Italy indicated plans that could include infrastructure projects such as a bridge linking Sicily as part of its qualifying expenditures.

Senator Tuberville serves on several Senate committees including Armed Services, Agriculture, Veterans’ Affairs, HELP and Aging.