Protecting NATO Skies Act of 2019

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 922 To limit the transfer of F–35 aircraft to Turkey. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MARCH 28, 2019 Mr. LANKFORD (for himself, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, and Mr. TILLIS) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations A BILL To limit the transfer of F–35 aircraft to Turkey. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Protecting NATO 4 Skies Act of 2019’’. 5 SEC. 2. LIMITATION ON TRANSFER OF F–35 AIRCRAFT TO 6 TURKEY. 7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided under sub- 8 section (b), no funds may be obligated or expended— 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 07:27 Apr 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S922.IS S922 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 922 IS (1) to transfer, facilitate the transfer, or au- 1 thorize the transfer of, an F–35 aircraft to the Re- 2 public of Turkey; 3 (2) to transfer intellectual property or technical 4 data necessary for or related to any maintenance or 5 support of the F–35 aircraft; or 6 (3) to construct a storage facility for, or other- 7 wise facilitate the storage in Turkey of, an F–35 air- 8 craft transferred to Turkey. 9 (b) EXCEPTION.—The President may waive the limi- 10 tation under subsection (a) upon a written certification to 11 Congress that the Government of Turkey does not plan 12 or intend to accept delivery of the S–400 air defense sys- 13 tem. 14 (c) TRANSFER DEFINED.—In this section, the term 15 ‘‘transfer’’ includes the physical relocation outside of the 16 continental United States. 17 (d) APPLICABILITY.—The limitation under sub- 18 section (a) does not apply to F–35 aircraft operated by 19 the United States Armed Forces. 20 SEC. 3. SENSE OF THE SENATE ON PURCHASE BY TURKEY 21 OF S–400 AIR DEFENSE SYSTEM. 22 (a) It is the sense of the Senate that, if the Govern- 23 ment of Turkey purchases the S–400 air defense system 24 from the Russian Federation— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 07:27 Apr 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S922.IS S922 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 922 IS (1) such a purchase would constitute a signifi- 1 cant transaction within the meaning of section 2 231(a) of the Countering Russian Influence in Eu- 3 rope and Eurasia Act of 2017 (title II of Public Law 4 115–44; 22 U.S.C. 9525(a)); 5 (2) such a purchase would endanger the integ- 6 rity of the NATO alliance; 7 (3) such a purchase would adversely affect on- 8 going operations of the United States Armed Forces, 9 including coalition operations in which the United 10 States Armed Forces participate; 11 (4) such a purchase would result in a signifi- 12 cant impact to defense cooperation between the 13 United States and Turkey; 14 (5) such a purchase would significantly increase 15 the risk of compromising United States defense sys- 16 tems and operational capabilities; and 17 (6) the President should faithfully execute the 18 Countering Russian Influence in Europe and Eur- 19 asia Act of 2017 by imposing and applying sanctions 20 under section 235 of that Act (22 U.S.C. 9529) with 21 respect to any individual or entity determined to 22 have engaged in such significant transaction as if 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 07:27 Apr 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S922.IS S922 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 922 IS such person were a sanctioned person for purposes 1 of such section. 2 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 07:27 Apr 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S922.IS S922 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS