Wednesday November 7 5:41 PM ET

Wednesday November 7 5:41 PM ET

House Endorses Future NATO Expansion

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The House of Representatives on Wednesday endorsed a new round of expansion into eastern Europe for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

On a 372-46 vote, the House backed NATO expansion without naming favorites among a flock of contenders, including Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Romania, Bulgaria, Slovakia and Slovenia.

NATO, which invited Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic to join in 1997, will decide its next round of expansion at a summit in late 2002.

Lawmakers said NATO still served a vital purpose in European defense and diplomacy, despite the end of the Cold War and breakup of the Soviet Union. They also praised Russia's recent signals that it would tone down its opposition to further NATO expansion.

``NATO is a critical institution,'' said Rep. Doug Bereuter of Nebraska, a Republican who sponsored the measure. ``If we didn't have NATO today, we would have to create something like it.''

Critics of the measure, however, questioned the need for further expansion and said NATO had outlived its usefulness. They said expansion would be a slap in the face to Moscow.

``We should be reinforcing that we are Russia's friends and no longer consider them a threat,'' said Republican Rep. Dana Rohrabacher of California.

``NATO accomplished its mission and now it deserves to dissolve,'' he said.

The measure also authorizes military financing for several eastern European nations and repeals a law that exempted Slovakia from aid under the NATO Participation Act.

A similar measure is awaiting action in the Senate.