Statewide Iowa — Iowa Senator Joni Ernst says she enthusiastically supports expanding the North American Treaty Organization.
Ernst says protecting American security and prosperity demands partners like Finland and Sweden who can meet NATO’s military obligations.
In 2006, NATO member states agreed to annually spend two percent of their Gross Domestic Product on defense. Ernst says some longstanding members of NATO are not meeting that obligation.
Ernst, a Republican, was in the bipartisan U.S. delegation that attended last month’s NATO summit in Madrid, Spain. It is possible that the Senate will ratify NATO’s expansion this month, as more than 80 senators signaled weeks ago that they’d vote for Finland and Sweden’s membership in the alliance.
