WILMINGTON, Del. - U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, and U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, issued the following statement on NATO:

"NATO is the most successful military alliance in history. It has underpinned the security of the United States for more than 70 years.

"The only time NATO has gone to war has been in response to an attack on America. NATO troops fought and died in Afghanistan and Iraq alongside American forces. The United States must not take this sacrifice - nor our allies' commitment to make it again - lightly.

"Alliance disputes are as old as the alliance itself. Americans are safer when NATO is strong and united. It is in our interest for all allies to tend this unity with care. The United States joined NATO in 1949 when the Senate voted to ratify the NATO treaty, and the United States will remain in it. The Senate will continue to support the alliance for the peace and protection it provides America, Europe, and the world."