Senate Votes to Enlarge NATO 96-0 on May 8, 2003 Thank Your Senator for Supporting NATO Enlargement May 27, 2003 Washington, DC (JBANC) With the successful conclusion of the NATO enlargement vote in the U.S. Senate, this is an excellent opportunity to thank those who support membership for Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Please thank your Senator and the President for supporting this round of NATO Enlargement, to include the Baltic countries in the Trans-Atlantic Alliance. The ratification of the Protocols to the North Atlantic Treaty of 1949 on the Accession of Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia was approved unanimously on May 8 by a vote of 96-0. These seven countries received conclusive support from the United States to become part of the Alliance and are expected to join the 19 present NATO members in May 2004. Four countries have recently ratified the treaty Canada, Norway, the United States and Denmark. Special thanks should be given to the following Senators for leading the debate: Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN), Chairman, Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC) Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE), Ranking Member, SFRC Sen. Bill Frist (R-TN), the Majority Leader Sen. George Allen (R-VA), Chairman, Subcommittee on Europe, SFRC Sen. George Voinovich (R-OH), SFRC Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL), Co-Chairman, Senate Baltic Freedom Caucus Sen. Gordon Smith (R-OR), Co-Chairman, Senate Baltic Freedom Caucus All Senators voted in favor of ratification except for Ted Kennedy (D-Massachusetts), Joseph Lieberman (D-Connecticut), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Thomas Carper (D-DE), who were not present. In addition please call, fax or write the White House to express your appreciation to President George W. Bush for his vision and leadership during this round of NATO Enlargement. § Congressional contact information on the Web: http://congress.org § White House contact information on the Web: http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/ § For background information, please visit the JBANC webpage http://jbanc.org and http://expandnato.org |
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