New Defense Bill Demands Frontline NATO Allies Hit 5% GDP Defense Spending by 2035

The Eastern Flank Strategic Partnership Act of 2025 is basically the U.S. government formalizing who its favorite security partners are along NATO’s eastern edge. This bill doesn’t introduce brand new aid programs; instead, it puts nine specific NATO allies—Bulgaria, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia—at the front of the line for existing U.S. military support, including Foreign Military Financing (FMF), training, and excess defense equipment.

The VIP List: Who Gets Priority and What They Owe

This legislation creates a new designation: "Eastern Flank strategic defense partner." To qualify, a country must be on the border of Russia, Belarus, or Ukraine, host NATO troops, face constant threats, and commit to massive defense spending. Specifically, these partners must promise to spend 5% of their GDP on defense every year by 2035 (SEC. 3). For context, NATO’s current target is 2%. This bill is pushing those frontline states to more than double that commitment. The 5% is split: 3.5% for core military needs and 1.5% for "other security and defense investments." That 1.5% is a bit vague, and it’s where some flexibility—or perhaps less scrutiny—might creep in, allowing countries to count things that aren't strictly combat readiness.

For regular folks, this means the U.S. is doubling down on deterring conflict abroad by investing heavily in its allies. If you’re a U.S. taxpayer, this bill formalizes and potentially increases the flow of U.S. resources—cash, training, and hardware—to these specific countries. The goal is to make sure these allies are so strong that potential aggressors think twice, which, in theory, reduces the chance that U.S. troops would ever have to be deployed in a major conflict.

Pre-Positioning the Hardware

Section 5 of the Act focuses on the War Reserve Stocks for Allies program. This is the military equivalent of stocking your emergency pantry. The Secretary of Defense is now directed to prioritize these Eastern Flank allies when storing military supplies overseas. This means the U.S. will be pre-positioning more defense articles—think ammunition, spare parts, and heavy equipment—closer to the potential flashpoints. The idea is simple: if a crisis hits, those supplies are already there, cutting down on response time from weeks to days.

This move strengthens deterrence, but it also means that the U.S. is concentrating a significant amount of its global military aid resources in one region. While the bill’s intent is to create a strong defensive shield, it necessarily means that other global allies who rely on U.S. assistance programs (like FMF or excess equipment transfers) might find themselves further down the priority list. If you're an ally in, say, the Pacific or Africa, your access to U.S. defense articles might slow down because the Eastern Flank partners are now jumping the queue for specific programs (SEC. 4).

The Bottom Line for the Alliance

This bill is a clear message: the U.S. views the security of its Eastern Flank allies as paramount. It codifies a policy of "first dibs" on specific security assistance programs, provided those allies meet some of the most stringent defense spending requirements ever proposed within NATO. The bill locks in this commitment and requires the Defense and State Departments to brief Congress within 180 days on exactly how they plan to shuffle existing resources to meet this new priority. It’s a strategic move designed to bolster the frontline, but it’s one that could shift the dynamics of U.S. security cooperation with other allies worldwide who aren't included in this exclusive club.