Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) joined a bipartisan group of her Senate colleagues in voting to approve Finland and Sweden’s application to become members of NATO. Over two thirds of the Senate voted in favor of the NATO expansion, formally ratifying the U.S.’s support of Finland and Sweden’s membership.
“NATO continues to be a critical strategic alliance, and today I voted to strengthen that alliance and send a clear signal that the U.S. stands for freedom and democracy and against Vladimir Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine,” said Senator Cortez Masto. “We look forward to Finland and Sweden, both longtime friends of our nation, joining NATO.”
Senator Cortez Masto has consistently advocated for the U.S. to stand up to Russian aggression and support Ukrainian sovereignty. She joined her Senate colleagues in May on a bipartisan letter to President Biden urging him to expedite the Executive Branch’s process to advance Sweden and Finland’s applications for NATO membership and pledging to work to ensure swift ratification of the treaty. In April, she supported bipartisan bills to suspend normal trade relations with both Russia and Belarus, which has given Russia key support in the war, and to prohibit oil and gas imports from Russia. In January, she voted in support of sanctions against Russia and its Nord Stream 2 pipeline, and she supported similar sanctions in the 2020 and 2021 National Defense Authorization Acts.
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