NATO Edge Act

This bill places additional restrictions on the President's ability to exit from the North Atlantic Treaty, the multilateral collective security agreement that established the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

Current law specifies that the President may not exit from this treaty or use federal funds to support such an exit except pursuant to an act of Congress or with the concurrence of two-thirds of the Senate.

The bill adds an additional exit restriction tied to the members of NATO that have not allocated at least 2% of their gross domestic product to annual defense spending. Under the bill, the President may only exit from the treaty or make federal funds available to support an exit if all such nations have not committed to achieving such spending level within five years from the fiscal year to which the President seeks to exit from the treaty.

The Senate or the House of Representatives may adopt a resolution authorizing the Senate Legal Counsel or the General Counsel of the House of Representatives to initiate or intervene in federal court proceedings to oppose any exit from the treaty that does not comply with the statutory requirements.

Summary by the Congressional Research Service.