WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a member of the Subcommittee on Europe and Regional Security Cooperation, released the following statement after Jens Stoltenberg, Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), addressed a Joint Meeting of Congress on Wednesday. Murphy is a cosponsor of bipartisan legislation in support of NATO and in recognition of the great accomplishments the alliance has made over the past 70 years.

“This is a moment both to celebrate this unprecedented era of peace in Europe due to the NATO alliance but also to challenge NATO and the United States to step up and address new threats. It is not enough to recognize that our adversaries like Russia are playing a new game. We have to do the hard work of being able to meet those new threats, whether it be fighting against misinformation and corruption or boosting energy independence initiatives,” said Murphy. “Today, we saw broad bipartisan support for NATO, but Republicans and Democrats in Congress have to stay vigilant in standing up to President Trump’s continued attacks on the alliance. I’m hopeful that this celebration of 70 years of peace and our strategic alliance will help us push back on this dangerous rhetoric and move forward to strengthening, not weakening, this important alliance.” 

Murphy has been a vocal proponent of the NATO alliance and has actively worked to increase non-military foreign policy tools to combat Russia’s disinformation and energy dominance. Yesterday, Murphy emphasized the importance of the alliance during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing. Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed his bipartisan European Energy Security and Diversification Act introduced with Rep. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.). The European Energy Security and Diversification Act would provide new tools for the United States to help diversify Europe’s energy supply and decrease Russia’s hold on the region. Additionally, a law authored by Murphy and Senator Rob Portman (R-Ohio), the Countering Foreign Propaganda and Disinformation Act, established the Global Engagement Center, which is charged with leading the U.S. government’s efforts to counter foreign propaganda and disinformation.  

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