,i  #aafth ,,congress  #b;d ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #gbdf  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,june #ah1 #bjbj,mr4 
,engel introduced the following bill2   
which was referred to the ,committee on 
,foreign ,affairs1 and in addition to   
the ,committee on ,armed ,services1 for 
a period to be subsequently determined  
by the ,speaker1 in each case for       
consideration of such provisions as fall
 within the jurisdiction of the         
committee concerned  ,a ,,bill  ,to     
reiterate the support of the ,congress  
of the ,united ,states for the          
relationship between the ,united ,states
 and the ,federal ,republic of ,germany1
 to prevent the weakening of the        
deterrence capacity of the ,united      
,states in ,europe1 and for other       
purposes4  #a4 ,short title ,this ,act  
may be cited as the ,maintaining ,united
 ,states ,national ,security ,interests 
in ,europe ,act4  #b4 ,findings2 sense  
of ,congress  7a7 ,findings ,congress   
finds the following3 7#a7 ,the #bjag    

,national ,security ,strategy states1   
the ,united ,states will deepen         
collaboration with our ,european allies 
and partners to confront forces         
threatening to undermine our common     
values1 security interests1 and shared  
vision4 ,the ,united ,states and ,europe
 will work together to counter ,russian 
subversion and aggression1 and the      
threats posed by ,north ,korea and      
,iran4 ,we will continue to advance our 
shared principles and interests in      
international forums44  7#b7 ,after the 
end of ,world ,war ,,ii1 the presence of
 foreign military forces in ,germany was
 governed by a law signed in ,april     
#aidi that allowed ,france1 the ,united 
,kingdom1 and the ,united ,states to    
retain forces in ,germany4  7#c7 ,the   
initial law was succeeded by the        
,convention on the ,presence of ,foreign
 ,forces in the ,federal ,republic of   
,germany1 signed at ,paris on ,october  
#bc1 #aied1 allowing eight ,north       
,atlantic ,treaty ,organization 7,,nato7

 members1 specifically ,belgium1        
,canada1 ,denmark1 ,france1 ,luxembourg1
 the ,netherlands1 the ,united ,kingdom1
 and the ,united ,states1 to maintain a 
long-term presence of military forces in
 ,germany4  7#d7 ,germany has made      
significant contributions to the ,,nato 
alliance and1 by hosting the largest    
,united ,states ,armed ,forces presence 
in ,europe1 ,germany has borne a        
significant burden in the interest of   
collective security4  7#e7 ,as of ,june 
#bjbj1 the ,united ,states presence in  
various locations in ,germany1 including
 in ,stuttgart at the ,united ,states   
,european ,command and the ,united      
,states ,africa ,command1 consists of-- 
7,a7 approximately-- 7i7 #ce1jjj members
 of the ,armed ,forces2  7ii7 #aj1jjj   
,department of ,defense civilian        
employees2 and  7iii7 #b1jjj defense    
contractors2  7,b7 personnel of the     
,department of ,state and other ,united 
,states ,government agencies2 and  7,c7 
the dependents of individuals described 

in subparagraphs 7,a7 and 7,b74  7#f7   
,the ,united ,states presence in        
,europe1 including in ,germany-- 7,a7   
protects and defends the ,united ,states
 and ,united ,states allies and partners
 by deterring conflict with ,russia and 
other adversaries2  7,b7 strengthens and
 supports the ,,nato alliance and       
critical partnerships in ,europe2 and   
7,c7 serves as an essential support     
platform for carrying out vital national
 security engagements in ,afghanistan1  
the ,middle ,east1 ,africa1 and ,europe4
  7#g7 ,the deep bilateral ties between 
the ,united ,states and ,germany have   
led to decades of economic prosperity   
for both countries and their allies and 
have strengthened human rights and      
democracy around the world4  7b7 ,sense 
of ,congress ,it is the sense of        
,congress that-- 7#a7 the ,united       
,states should continue to maintain and 
strengthen the bilateral relationship   
with ,germany and other ,european       
allies2  7#b7 the ,united ,states should

 maintain a robust military presence in 
,germany so as to deter further         
aggression from ,russia or aggression   
from other adversaries against the      
,united ,states and its allies and      
partners2 and  7#c7 the ,united ,states 
should remain committed to strong       
collaboration with ,european allies as  
outlined in the #bjag ,national         
,security ,strategy4  #c4 ,prohibition  
on use of funds to withdraw the ,armed  
,forces from ,europe  7a7 ,in general   
,except as provided in subsection 7b71  
notwithstanding any other provision of  
law1 no ,federal funds are authorized to
 be appropriated or otherwise made      
available to take any action-- 7#a7 to  
withdraw or otherwise reduce the overall
 presence1 including rotational         
presence1 of members of the ,armed      
,forces or civilian employees of the    
,department of ,defense in ,europe2     
7#b7 to close or otherwise change the   
status of any base or other facility of 
the ,armed ,forces located in ,europe2  

or  7#c7 to withdraw or otherwise reduce
 the overall presence of ,armed ,forces 
assets in ,europe4  7b7 ,exceptions ,the
 prohibition under subsection 7a7 shall 
not apply if-- 7#a7 a host government   
transmits to the ,united ,states        
,government a written request for such a
 withdrawal or other reduction2 or  7#b7
 7,a7 the ,president declares the intent
 to take an action described in         
subsection 7a72  7,b7 not later than    
#ahj days before the intended date of   
such action1 the ,president submits to  
the appropriate committees of ,congress 
notice of such intent that includes--   
7i7 a justification for the action2     
7ii7 as applicable-- 7,i7 the number of 
members of the ,armed ,forces or        
civilian employees of the ,department of
 ,defense to be withdrawn or reduced2   
7,,ii7 a description of any ,armed      
,forces assets to be withdrawn or       
reduced2 and  7,,iii7 a description of  
any base or facility of the ,united     
,states ,armed ,forces in ,europe to be 

subject to closure or change of status2 
7iii7 an explanation of the national    
security benefit of the action to the   
,united ,states and the ,north ,atlantic
 ,treaty ,organization2 and  7iv7 a plan
 to offset the reduction in ,united     
,states and ,north ,atlantic ,treaty    
,organization conventional deterrence   
against ,russian aggression caused by   
the action2 and  7,c7 the action is     
expressly authorized by a joint         
resolution or bill enacted after the    
date of the declaration described in    
subparagraph 7,a74  7c7 ,public         
testimony ,not later than #ad days after
 the submission of the notice described 
in subsection 7b77#b77;,b71 the         
,secretary of ,state and the ,secretary 
of ,defense shall testify before the    
appropriate committees of ,congress in  
public session on such action4  #d4     
,report to ,congress on decision to     
withdraw the ,armed ,forces from        
,germany  7a7 ,in general ,not later    
than #fj days after the date of the     

enactment of this ,act1 the ,president1 
in consultation with the ,secretary of  
,state1 the ,secretary of ,defense1 and 
the ,chairman of the ,joint ,chiefs of  
,staff1 shall submit to the appropriate 
committees of ,congress a report that   
details the decision-making process used
 to arrive at the decision to withdraw  
members of the ,armed ,forces from      
,germany that was announced on ,june    
#ae1 #bjbj4  7b7 ,elements ,the report  
required by subsection 7a7 shall include
 the following3 7#a7 ,an assessment of  
whether any withdrawal or reduction in  
,united ,states ,armed ,forces personnel
 in ,germany was ordered by a           
,presidential directive4  7#b7 ,a       
description of the interagency process  
undertaken to inform the decision       
outlined in any such ,presidential      
directive or other document calling for 
such a withdrawal or reduction4  7#c7 ,a
 description of the communications with 
the ,north ,atlantic ,treaty            
,organization1 the ,government of       

,germany1 or other member countries of  
the ,north ,atlantic ,treaty            
,organization about the potential       
decision to change the ,united ,states  
force posture in ,germany4  7#d7 ,an    
analysis of the ,united ,states national
 security implications of the proposed  
withdrawal or reduction of the ,armed   
,forces presence in ,germany4  #e4      
,appropriate committees of ,congress    
defined ,in this ,act1 the term         
appropriate committees of ,congress     
means-- 7#a7 the ,committee on ,foreign 
,affairs1 the ,committee on ,armed      
,services1 the ,permanent ,select       
,committee on ,intelligence1 and the    
,committee on ,appropriations of the    
,house of ,representatives2 and  7#b7   
the ,committee on ,foreign ,relations1  
the ,committee on ,armed ,services1 the 
,select ,committee on ,intelligence1 and
 the ,committee on ,appropriations of   
the ,senate4