; Whereas NATO member states have participated in economic sanctions and reduced trade activity with Russia and Iran following the imposition of United States sanctions; Whereas at the 2014 Wales Summit Declaration, all NATO member states aimed to allocate 2 percent of their gross domestic product toward defense spending and 20 percent of their annual defense spending on major new equipment, including related research and development by 2024; Whereas NATO members, not including the United States, have increased defense spending for 4 consecutive years, and more than half of NATO member states now spend more than 20 percent of their annual defense expenditures on major new equipment; and Whereas, on June 8, 2018, Secretary of Defense James Mattis stated at a NATO defense ministers meeting, Many allies are making investments beyond the monetary aspect of the Wales pledge … I appreciate the troops and the leadership these nations provide to support NATO’s Kosovo, Afghanistan forward presence and other missions. : Now, therefore, be it