,,ii  #aaith ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #ajji  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,march #ab1    
#bjbe,mr4 ,durbin 7for himself1 ,mr4    
,grassley1 ,mr4 ,booker1 ,mr4 ,padilla1 
,mr4 ,king1 ,ms4 ,slotkin1 ,ms4         
,baldwin1 ,ms4 ,rosen1 ,ms4 ,klobuchar1 
,mr4 ,cassidy1 ,mr4 ,merkley1 and ,mr4  
,gallego7 introduced the following bill2
 which was read twice and referred to   
the ,committee on ,foreign ,relations   
,a ,,bill  ,to establish the ,baltic    
,security ,initiative for the purpose of
 strengthening the defensive            
capabilities of the ,baltic countries1  
and for other purposes4  #a4 ,short     
title ,this ,act may be cited as the    
,baltic ,security ,initiative ,act4  #b4
 ,baltic ,security ,initiative  7a7     
,establishment ,pursuant to the         
authority provided in chapter #af of    
title #aj1 ,united ,states ,code1 the   
,secretary of ,defense shall establish  
and carry out an initiative1 to be known
 as the ,baltic ,security ,initiative   

7in this section referred to as the     
,initiative71 for the purpose of        
deepening security cooperation with the 
military forces of the ,baltic          
countries4  7b7 ,relationship to        
existing authorities ,the ,initiative   
required by subsection 7a7 shall be     
carried out pursuant to the authorities 
provided in title #aj1 ,united ,states  
,code4  7c7 ,objectives ,the objectives 
of the ,initiative shall be-- 7#a7 to   
achieve ,united ,states national        
security objectives by-- 7,a7 deterring 
aggression by the ,russian ,federation2 
and  7,b7 implementing the ,north       
,atlantic ,treaty ,organization's new   
,strategic ,concept1 which seeks to     
strengthen the alliance's deterrence and
 defense posture by denying potential   
adversaries any possible opportunities  
for aggression2  7#b7 to enhance        
regional planning and cooperation among 
the military forces of the ,baltic      
countries1 particularly with respect to 
long-term regional capability projects1 

including-- 7,a7 long-range precision   
fire systems and capabilities2  7,b7    
integrated air and missile defense2     
7,c7 maritime domain awareness2  7,d7   
land forces development1 including      
stockpiling large caliber ammunition2   
7,e7 command1 control1 communications1  
computers1 intelligence1 surveillance1  
and reconnaissance2  7,f7 special       
operations forces development2  7,g7    
coordination with and security          
enhancements for ,poland1 which is a    
neighboring ,north ,atlantic ,treaty    
,organization ally2 and  7,h7 other     
military capabilities1 as determined by 
the ,secretary of ,defense2 and  7#c7   
with respect to the military forces of  
the ,baltic countries1 to improve cyber 
defenses and resilience to hybrid       
threats4  7d7 ,strategy  7#a7 ,in       
general ,not later than one year after  
the date of the enactment of this ,act1 
the ,secretary of ,defense shall submit 
to the ,committees on ,armed ,services  
of the ,senate and the ,house of        

,representatives a report setting forth 
a strategy for the ,department of       
,defense to achieve the objectives      
described in subsection 7b74  7#b7      
,considerations ,the strategy required  
by this subsection shall include a      
consideration of-- 7,a7 security        
assistance programs for the ,baltic     
countries authorized as of the date on  
which the strategy is submitted2  7,b7  
the ongoing security threats to the     
,north ,atlantic ,treaty ,organization's
 eastern flank posed by ,russian        
aggression1 including as a result of the
 ,russian ,federation's #bjbb invasion  
of ,ukraine with support from ,belarus2 
and  7,c7 the ongoing security threats  
to the ,baltic countries posed by the   
presence1 coercive economic policies1   
and other malign activities of the      
,people's ,republic of ,china4  7e7     
,authorization of appropriations  7#a7  
,in general ,there is authorized to be  
appropriated to the ,secretary of       
,defense #cej1jjj1jjj for each of the   

fiscal years #bjbf1 #bjbg1 and #bjbh to 
carry out the ,initiative4  7#b7 ,sense 
of ,congress ,it is the sense of        
,congress that the ,secretary of        
,defense should seek to require matching
 funds from each of the ,baltic         
countries that participate in the       
,initiative in amounts commensurate with
 amounts provided by the ,department of 
,defense for the ,initiative4  7f7      
,baltic countries defined ,in this      
section1 the term ,baltic countries     
means-- 7#a7 ,estonia2  7#b7 ,latvia2   
and  7#c7 ,lithuania4