Baltic advocacy events in Washington, DC, highlight busy spring

The Joint Baltic American National Committee (JBANC) hosted its eighth annual Baltic Advocacy Days in Washington, DC, from March 31 to April 2. Over 100 participants from 19 states came to the nation’s capital to attend 64 scheduled meetings in the United States Congress, advocating for continued strong support for the Baltic states and U.S.-Baltic relations, as well as for continued support for Ukraine in its defense against Russia’s invasion.

Additionally, over 15 drop-in meetings allowed delegates to meet with their elected officials. This made this year’s advocacy days the biggest ever.

From May 7 to 22, two weeks of virtual advocacy meetings took place, during which 20 online meetings were held with the offices of Members of Congress. As six additional states were represented, a total of 25 U.S. states were covered during the two advocacy events.

Leading up to Baltic Advocacy Days, a virtual preview briefing was held on March 25 to give participants a taste of what was to come, including an overview of the issues and information about logistics.

Baltic Advocacy Days kicked off in Washington, DC on March 31 with an event at the Hudson Institute in Washington, DC entitled “The Perfect Allies”: Examining the U.S.-Baltic Relationship Under the Trump Administration,” which referenced Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s description of the Baltic allies during a visit by the three Baltic foreign ministers on March 25.

A discussion at the Hudson Institute on March 31 featured assessments of the U.S.-Baltic relationship by Ambassador Kalev Stoicescu, Chairman of the National Defence Committee of the Estonian Parliament; Ambassador Eitvydas Bajarūnas, Visiting Fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis; Olevs Nikers, President of the Baltic Security Foundation in Riga, and Luke Coffey, Senior Fellow at the Center on Europe and Eurasia at the Hudson Institute. Lee Allen, JBANC Program Coordinator, moderated the panel.

A video of the event is available online on the Hudson Institute website and YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpTTk6ZZmrg.

Following this, participants were briefed on advocacy talking points, and in the evening, attended a reception at the Embassy of Estonia, where Ambassador Kristjan Prikk welcomed those gathered.

During meetings on the Hill on April 1-2, at least four U.S. Representatives met with delegations, including Rep. Don Bacon (R-Nebraska), co-chair of the House Baltic Caucus, and Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pennsylvania), who discussed “the ongoing strategic importance of the U.S.-Baltic alliance and Congress’s responsibility in advancing it, [particularly] through the Baltic Security Initiative.”

Representatives Sarah K. Elfreth (D-Maryland) and Gabe Amo (D-Rhode Island) also met with their respective constituents during the meetings.

A Baltic Caucus Night reception was held on April 1 in the Senate Judiciary Hearing Room, with a moving performance by the combined New York and Washington, DC Latvian choirs. The room was sponsored by Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), co-chair of the Senate Baltic Freedom Caucus.

During advocacy days, the main legislative request was for Congress to support a $375 Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 defense appropriation for the Baltic Security Initiative (BSI). As the Baltic states are members of NATO and contribute at least 3% of their GDP towards defense, with plans to increase this to 5% in the coming years, the increased support would mostly be spent on U.S. weapon system procurements to close military gaps in the defensive capabilities of the Baltic region.

A related request was to urge Senators to co-sponsor Senate Bill S.1009, which would codify the Baltic Security Initiative for the next three fiscal years. Members of Congress were also asked to join either the House Baltic Caucus or the Senate Baltic Freedom Caucus if they had not already done so. The caucuses have grown to include 87 and 21 members, respectively.

As JBANC’s Lee Allen stated: “The Baltic countries already have strong bipartisan and bicameral support from Congress, but the challenging geopolitical situation on NATO’s Eastern Flank gives the United States the perfect opportunity to show it is committed to its longstanding partners. We want to highlight the special and reciprocal nature of the U.S.-Baltic relationship, which has been fostered over 30 years, and advocate for it to continue to thrive for the foreseeable future.”

Evolution of the Baltic Security Initiative and why it is vital for the Baltic countries

In the Continuing Resolution, which passed Congress on March 15, a BSI funding level of $231.57 million for FY 2025 was approved. It is vital to build upon the incremental increase in funding for the Fiscal Year 2026 (FY2026) cycle.

Allocations for BSI have steadily increased from about $169 million in FY21, $180 million in FY22, $225 million in FY23, and $228 million in FY24. However, the appropriation has not reached the requested funding level of $375 million ($350 million in the Senate), which was sought annually for three years.

On March 12, Senators Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Co-Chairs of the Senate Baltic Freedom Caucus, introduced the Baltic Security Initiative Act (S.1009) to enhance and strengthen U.S. security cooperation with the Baltics amid Putin’s aggressive action in the region. This bipartisan legislation, which asks that $350 million be authorized annually over three years, would effectively codify the Baltic Security Initiative effort.

S.1009 directs the Defense Secretary to establish a “Baltic Security Initiative” focused on deterring Russian aggression, strengthening the NATO alliance, and enhancing regional planning and cooperation.

Besides Senate Baltic Freedom Caucus co-chairs Senators Durbin and Grassley, 13 other Senators have cosponsored the bill.

The BSI is a Title 10, Sec. 333 security assistance program between the United States and Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. The BSI addresses critical military capability gaps, which the Department of Defense and the United States European Command (USEUCOM) first identified in 2021.

In the United States House of Representatives, the effort during Baltic Virtual Advocacy Days focused on the letter shepherded by House Baltic Caucus co-chairs Don Bacon (R-Nebraska) and Salud Carbajal (D-California) to support the BSI. The letter, addressed to House Defense Appropriations Chairman Ken Calvert (R-California) and Ranking Member Betty McCollum (D-Minnesota), asks for their leadership in allocating $375 million to the BSI during the FY2026 defense appropriations process. This key measure would fund existing capability projects aimed at closing military gaps in the defensive capabilities of the Baltic region, as identified by the U.S. government, and increase interoperability among allies in the Baltic region. The Bacon-Carbajal letter to support the initiative emphasizes direct support for U.S. national security objectives by enhancing deterrence against Russian aggression in the Baltic region.

JBANC urged Members of Congress to support the allocation by signing the letter. The letter was finalized and sent to the House Defense Appropriations leaders on May 21. In all, 49 Representatives signed the letter. 31 of the signers are Baltic Caucus members – over one-third of the Caucus. The 2024 letter, which JBANC also actively backed, garnered 33 signatures in support of the BSI FY2025 allocation, with 20 of the 33 signatories members of the House Baltic Caucus.

Since 2020, the BSI has provided targeted security assistance to the Baltic states. Past BSI funding has augmented and accelerated capability development for various initiatives through the Defense Security Cooperation Agency including an integrated air defense system, land-based precision fires, maritime situational awareness, critical munitions, command and control, intelligence, anti-armor, special operations, and other capabilities identified in the Section 1246 Baltic Defense Assessment directed by the FY2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

This vital annual security assistance appropriation supplements the combined defense investments made by Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania since 2015, and safeguards U.S. national security interests by accelerating completion of key defense improvements in the Baltic region. Despite past BSI appropriations, gaps remain in Baltic defense capabilities, which continue to raise military risks for the security of the NATO Alliance. Over the next five years, the Baltic states estimate additional shortfalls in completing these projects beyond what they intend to spend on their defense needs. Increasing the BSI annual appropriation to $375 million will help to close gaps.

Besides their military expenditures, the Baltic states are the largest donors of military aid to Ukraine per capita. Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania have donated an average of 7.7% of their defense budgets to Ukraine and have pledged to annually allocate at least 0.25% of their GDPs in military aid to Ukraine in 2024-25. All three Baltic states rank among the top-tier NATO countries in defense spending per capita and are all projected to reach 5% of GDP spending in the coming years, outpacing nearly all their allies.

If you would like to participate in future Baltic advocacy events or to reach out to your Members of Congress via email or phone, please contact JBANC at: jbanc@jbanc.org, or sign up with ALA’s Baltic Call to Action UNIT email group here.

It is important for your Members of Congress and the President to hear your support for U.S. interests of freedom and security in the Baltic countries.

Established in 1961, The Joint Baltic American National Committee, Inc. (JBANC) has represented the Baltic-American communities and its three parent organizations, the American Latvian Association, the Estonian American National Council, and the Lithuanian American Council. The organization’s goal has been to help coordinate its activities in Washington, DC, with the U.S. Congress and administration and its related agencies in conjunction with issues related to Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.