WDVM
March 29, 2022

Senate bill aims to prevent U.S from leaving NATO

Virginia Senator Tim Kaine is pushing for legislation that could prevent the United States from leaving NATO.

The bill was first introduced in 2018 by Kaine alongside Senators Jack Reed, John McCain, and Cory Gardner. It was reintroduced by Kaine and Florida Senator Marco Rubio in April of last year. Sen. Kaine says the bill would require any president to get Senate approval to leave NATO. If the president tries to leave without that approval, the bill would block any funding to enable the exit and the attempt could be brought to court.

“I think Congress sending a very clear…message that we’re strongly supporting NATO and that no president would ever be able to withdraw from NATO, absent approval by the Senate or Congress would be a reassurance and additional level of reassurance to our NATO allies,” Kaine said.

Kaine…argues there is no guidance for how the United States exits a treaty. He went on to explain that this bill would not be applicable to all treaties but only to the Washington Treaty, formerly known as the North Atlantic Treaty which NATO is named after. He told reporters during a press availability that NATO is more important now than ever, especially with the current war in Ukraine.

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The Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted 21 to 1 to pass the bill which is now headed to the Senate floor.