,,ii #aaith ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #biad ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,september #ai 7legislative day1 ,september #af71 #bjbe,mr4 ,wicker 7for himself and ,mrs4 ,shaheen7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,foreign ,relations ,a ,,bill ,to strengthen strategic defense cooperation between the ,united ,states and ,,nato allies on the ,eastern ,flank1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,eastern ,flank ,strategic ,partnership ,act of #bjbe4 #b4 ,findings ,congress makes the following findings3 7#a7 ,the frontline ,north ,atlantic ,treaty ,organization 7,,nato7 allies of ,bulgaria1 ,estonia1 ,finland1 ,hungary1 ,latvia1 ,lithuania1 ,poland1 ,romania1 and ,slovakia play a critical role in regional and transatlantic security4 7#b7 ,those ,,nato allies have demonstrated consistent commitments to ,,nato defense spending targets1 support for ,ukraine1 and forward deployments to deter ,russian aggression4 7#c7 ,those ,,nato allies are on the front line of deterring and defending against threats from ,russia and ,belarus1 and require continued ,united ,states coordination1 defense cooperation1 and security assistance4 7#d7 ,ukraine is on the front line of ,united ,states and ,,nato security1 fighting to defend itself against ,russian aggression that could also be turned upon those same ,,nato allies4 7#e7 ,the ,united ,states possesses existing authorities and tools1 including assistance under the ,foreign ,military ,financing program under section #bc of the ,arms ,export ,control ,act 7#bb ,u4,s4,c4 #bgfc71 assistance under section #ccc of title #aj1 ,united ,states ,code1 transfer of excess defense articles under section #eaf of the ,foreign ,assistance ,act of #aifa 7#bb ,u4,s4,c4 #bcba;j71 and the ,war ,reserve ,stocks for ,allies program administered under section #ead of the ,foreign ,assistance ,act of #aifa 7#bb ,u4,s4,c4 #bcba;h71 that can be used to enhance resilience1 logistics1 and interoperability with those ,,nato allies4 #c4 ,definitions ,in this ,act3 7#a7 ,appropriate congressional committees ,the term appropriate congressional committees means-- 7,a7 the ,committee on ,armed ,services of the ,senate2 and 7,b7 the ,committee on ,foreign ,relations of the ,senate4 7#b7 ,eastern ,flank strategic defense partner ,the term ,eastern ,flank strategic defense partner-- 7,a7 means a ,,nato member state that-- 7i7 shares a border with1 or is in direct geographic proximity to1 the ,russian ,federation1 the ,republic of ,belarus1 or ,ukraine1 and plays a role in the defense of ,,nato's ,eastern ,flank due to its geographic proximity to those countries2 7ii7 has committed to allocating #e percent of its gross domestic product annually to defense by #bjce1 including at least #c4e percent for meeting core defense requirements and ,,nato capability targets and #a4e percent for other defense- and security-related investments2 7iii7 hosts or supports the forward deployment of ,,nato military forces1 including rotational deployments2 and 7iv7 faces persistent threats from hostile state actors2 and 7,b7 includes ,bulgaria1 ,estonia1 ,finland1 ,hungary1 ,latvia1 ,lithuania1 ,poland1 ,romania1 and ,slovakia4 #d4 ,policy and priority for strategic defense cooperation 7a7 ,statement of policy ,it is the policy of the ,united ,states-- 7#a7 to recognize the critical role of ,eastern ,flank strategic defense partners in defending ,,nato's ,eastern ,flank1 deterring aggression from hostile state actors1 and advancing transatlantic security2 7#b7 to prioritize cooperation with ,eastern ,flank strategic defense partners in the implementation of defense cooperation authorities2 7#c7 to treat ,eastern ,flank strategic defense partners as priority recipients of security assistance under security assistance authorities2 and 7#d7 to support ,ukraine1 including with the security assistance necessary to deter ,russian aggression against allies along ,,nato's ,eastern ,flank4 7b7 ,priority ,the ,secretary of ,state and the ,secretary of ,defense shall1 as appropriate and consistent with law1 give priority to ,eastern ,flank strategic defense partners for the following3 7#a7 ,assistance under the ,foreign ,military ,financing program under section #bc of the ,arms ,export ,control ,act 7#bb ,u4,s4,c4 #bgfc74 7#b7 ,assistance under section #ccc of title #aj1 ,united ,states ,code 7relating to authority to build the capacity of foreign security forces74 7#c7 ,transfer of excess defense articles under section #eaf of the ,foreign ,assistance ,act of #aifa 7#bb ,u4,s4,c4 #bcba;j74 7#d7 ,participation in bilateral and multilateral military exercises1 interoperability training1 logistics1 and forward mobility planning4 7c7 ,implementation ,the policy established by subsection 7a7 and the priority established by subsection 7b7 shall be implemented to reinforce bilateral defense cooperation arrangements1 including defense cooperation agreements1 status of forces agreements1 and other bilateral or multilateral agreements4 #e4 ,stockpiling and pre-positioning of defense articles ,consistent with operational requirements and in consultation with ,,nato allies1 and with the goal of increasing regional deterrence and reducing strategic response time1 the ,secretary of ,defense shall-- 7#a7 prioritize ,eastern ,flank strategic defense partners under the ,war ,reserve ,stocks for ,allies program administered under section #ead of the ,foreign ,assistance ,act of #aifa 7#bb ,u4,s4,c4 #bcba;h72 and 7#b7 consider expanding stockpiles under such program in additional ,eastern ,flank strategic defense partner countries1 as appropriate4 #f4 ,congressional briefing ,not later than #ahj days after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary of ,defense1 in coordination with the ,secretary of ,state1 shall brief the appropriate congressional committees on the implementation of sections #c and #d1 including timelines1 goals1 and cooperative mechanisms4