{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.young.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/young-joins-bipartisan-letter-requesting-biden-admin-swiftly-advance-nato-applications-for-sweden-and-finland/", "Young Joins Bipartisan Letter Requesting Biden Admin Swiftly Advance NATO Applications for Sweden and Finland", "2022-05-24", "2022", "2022-05", "Republican", "Senate", "IN", "Todd Young", "Y000064", "www.young.senate.gov", "toddyoung", "https://www.young.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2013 Today, U.S. Senators Todd Young (R-Ind.), along with a bipartisan group of more than 75 senators, sent a letter to President Biden urging him to expedite the Executive Branch\u2019s process to advance Sweden and Finland\u2019s applications for NATO membership and pledging to work with the Administration to ensure swift ratification of the Washington Treaty.\n\nIn the letter, the senators noted that NATO\u2019s expansion will send a clear message to Putin and authoritarian leaders across the globe that the free world stands ready to bolster the alliance and defend our values and sovereignty, including through NATO\u2019s open door policy.\n\n\u201cAs Russia\u2019s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine has proven, NATO, along with our democratic partners around the world, is more united than ever in opposition to the illegal acts of war waged by President Putin. Expanding NATO to include Finland and Sweden will send a clear message to Vladimir Putin, and any leader that attempts to follow in his path, that the free world stands ready to defend its values and sovereignty. We will also continue to support NATO\u2019s open-door policy, which affirms that new members are welcome to the alliance,\u201d the Senators wrote in the letter.\n\nThe senators also affirmed their support for Sweden and Finland\u2019s applications as part of the Senate\u2019s constitutional role to provide advice and consent for NATO enlargement. During this pivotal moment to our global security, they noted this expansion will further strengthen NATO\u2019s military and diplomatic capabilities to address emerging threats, and mutual security assurances will extend to these two governments under the alliance.\n\n\u201cMembers of the U.S. Senate take seriously our role in advising and consenting to NATO enlargement, a process that must be approved by all NATO member states. We affirm our support for Sweden and Finland\u2019s applications for membership. In addition, we pledge to work closely with you and with our Senate colleagues to ensure that their applications are swiftly considered and approved by the Senate,\u201d the Senators concluded. \u201cThe transatlantic alliance has never been more crucial to global security and stability. The addition of these two important allies to NATO will ensure the alliance\u2019s resilience and readiness, and we look forward to welcoming Sweden and Finland to NATO.\u201d", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T18:09:24Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.young.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/young-joins-bipartisan-letter-requesting-biden-admin-swiftly-advance-nato-applications-for-sweden-and-finland/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.8149609677493572, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}