WASHINGTON — A bipartisan group of senators wants NATO nations’ military spending to be at the top of this year’s summit agenda.
The U.S. contributes more than any other member of the alliance, and senators are urging President Joe Biden to push NATO nations to step up their defense spending at a summit next week in Lithuania.
“The lack of sufficient progress is politically and economically unsustainable. American citizens rightly question why our government disproportionately bears the burden — decade after decade — for Europe’s defense. In Vilnius, we respectfully request that you make this issue a top priority,” a group of 35 senators told Biden in a letter that was shared with USA TODAY.
NATO nations agreed in 2014 to aim to spend at least 2% of their annual gross domestic product on defense, following Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea, and take steps to meet the guideline within a decade. At the time, only three countries, including the United States, were meeting the standard.
By the end of this year, number is projected to rise to 11, according to a new report from NATO that was released on Friday. The report that includes estimated 2023 spending shows the bulk of the 31-nation alliance’s defense expenditures still lagging.
Germany, for instance, is projected to spend 1.57% of its GDP on defense this year, or $56.6 billion, according to the NATO report, compared with the 3.49%, and roughly $743.3 billion, the U.S. is estimated to spend.
The German government announced an increase of 1.7 billion Euro for defense 2024 earlier this week and said that some 19.2 billion euros from a special fund would also be spent next year. Germany says the combined spending puts it on a pathway to reach NATO’s 2% target in 2024.
In Vilnius, the alliance will discuss making 2% GDP the minimum for defense spending. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has said he expects allies to make an “ambitious new defense investment pledge with 2% of GDP as a floor not ceiling.”
Biden in turn told the NATO chief during a June meeting at the White House that he would support the push.
“And at our summit in Lithuania next month, we’re going to be building on that momentum, from working to ensure that Allies spend enough on the defense, the 2 percent — not just as a hike, but that’s the bottom line,” Biden said.
In a letter to Biden after the meeting, dated June 23, a group of senators, including Democrats Gary Peters of Michigan, Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Jon Ossoff of Georgia, Mark Kelly of Arizona and independent Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, asked Biden to help lead the charge.
“Failure of many of our allies — including some of NATO’s largest members — to meet commitments of 2% of GDP on defense has the potential to undermine American support for the alliance, severely limits Europe’s ability to contribute to our shared interest in defending against Russia, and is a source of long-term instability in Europe, not to mention frustration for American taxpayers,” they wrote.
The lawmakers said they are “encouraged” by reports that NATO nations may set 2% as a floor and agree on as much as 3% GDP as the the new target. However, they warned, longstanding disparity is “incompatible with genuine partnership.”
The letter was signed by GOP Sens. Dan Sullivan of Alaska and Pete Ricketts of Nebraska, both of whom are expected to meet with U.S. allies in Vilnius at next week’s summit, and Republicans Mitt Romney and Mike Lee of Utah, Lindsey Graham and Tim Scott of South Carolina and John Thune of South Dakota, among others.
In a statement, Sullivan said, “Congress remains united and resolved for our allies to meet their treaty commitments. Whether our allies meet these commitments is critical, not just to meet the expectations the American taxpayer rightly expects, but also to ensure the long-term health of the NATO Alliance.
“Failure to address the imbalance in defense spending jeopardizes the future of the alliance and all that it continues to do for common transatlantic interests, including in the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.”
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., told USA TODAY in an interview that it’s a “perennial issue to get our allies to spend” 2% of their GDP on defense.
“The president should make it clear that…we’re an ally, we’re we’re not going to make up for deficits caused by our NATO allies, ” he said, “not making the investment that they’re obligated to do under the NATO treaty.”
The letter to Biden from U.S. senators echoes sentiments that former Republican President Donald Trump shared with U.S. allies ahead of a 2018 gathering of the NATO alliance in Brussels.
Trump told the German chancellor in a letter that it was “no longer sustainable” for the United States to fund Europe’s defense.
“It will, however, become increasingly difficult to justify to American citizens why some countries do not share NATO’s collective security burden while American soldiers continue to sacrifice their lives overseas or come home gravely wounded,” Trump said.
Trump wanted NATO nations to increase their defense spending to 4% GDP, which is double the current target and more than what allies are expected to agree to in Vilnius.
