United States-Israel Military Capability Act of 2020

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 7148 To establish a United States-Israel Operations-Technology Working Group, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 11, 2020 Mr. WILSON of South Carolina (for himself and Ms. HOULAHAN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Serv- ices, and in addition to the Committees on Foreign Affairs, and Intel- ligence (Permanent Select), for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To establish a United States-Israel Operations-Technology Working Group, and for other purposes. 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 ‘‘United States-Israel 4 Military Capability Act of 2020’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress makes the following findings: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:10 Jun 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7148.IH H7148 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 7148 IH (1) The United States confronts an intense 1 military technology competition with the People’s 2 Republic of China and the Russian Federation that 3 may determine whether the United States can effec- 4 tively deter and defeat adversaries in the future. 5 (2) On July 11, 2019, Chairman of the Joint 6 Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley said, ‘‘China is 7 improving their military very, very rapidly in space, 8 air, cyber, maritime, land domains, et cetera.’’. Not- 9 ing the rapid technology development by the People’s 10 Republic of China, General Milley warned that the 11 United States must ensure ‘‘that we do not lose our 12 advantages that we have relative to other countries, 13 specifically relative to China.’’. 14 (3) The People’s Republic of China and the 15 Russian Federation have already developed or field- 16 ed some capabilities in areas such as hypersonics 17 and artificial intelligence that are superior to those 18 of the United States. 19 (4) A closer and more systematic early coopera- 20 tive research and development effort with select al- 21 lies may help the United States more quickly and in- 22 expensively restore and sustain military supremacy 23 in critical military capabilities. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:10 Jun 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7148.IH H7148 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 7148 IH (5) The innovative and agile defense technology 1 sector of Israel and the status of Israel as one of the 2 closest and most reliable allies of the United States 3 make Israel an ideal candidate for a more systematic 4 and institutionalized partnership with the United 5 States focused on early cooperative research and de- 6 velopment. 7 (6) The defense innovation sector of Israel is a 8 global leader in many of the technologies important 9 to Department of Defense modernization efforts. 10 (7) Despite many laudable ongoing defense 11 partnership efforts between the United States and 12 Israel, dangerous United States military capability 13 gaps continue to emerge that a more systematic and 14 institutionalized United States-Israel early coopera- 15 tive research and development program could have 16 prevented. 17 (8) Such a program would allow the United 18 States to benefit from the innovation agility and 19 sense of urgency of Israel, and Israel would benefit 20 from the economy of scale of the United States. 21 Such a program could be carefully designed to re- 22 duce the time and cost associated with research and 23 development, assiduously avoiding anything that 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:10 Jun 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7148.IH H7148 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 7148 IH would slow down or constrain the research and de- 1 velopment of either country. 2 (9) Belatedly acquiring already produced equip- 3 ment or weapons from Israel to fill a United States 4 capability gap is not a substitute for a systematic 5 program that prevents the capability gap from 6 emerging in the first place. 7 (10) On March 4, 2020, Secretary of Defense 8 Mark Esper said, ‘‘We have a very good innovative 9 base, [the Israelis] have a very good innovative base. 10 And I think the more we can cooperate together as 11 allies and partners to come up with common solu- 12 tions, the better.’’. Secretary Esper continued, ‘‘so I 13 think if there are ways to improve that, we should 14 pursue it.’’. 15 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 16 It is the sense of Congress that— 17 (1) the United States Government has a re- 18 sponsibility to undertake all reasonable measures to 19 ensure that members of the Armed Forces never 20 confront a more technologically advanced foe; and 21 (2) building on positive ongoing efforts, the 22 United States and Israel should further institu- 23 tionalize and strengthen their defense innovation 24 partnership by establishing a United States-Israel 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:10 Jun 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7148.IH H7148 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 7148 IH Operations-Technology Working Group to identify 1 and expeditiously field capabilities that the military 2 forces of both countries need to deter and defeat re- 3 spective adversaries. 4 SEC. 4. UNITED STATES-ISRAEL OPERATIONS-TECHNOLOGY 5 WORKING GROUP. 6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after the 7 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of De- 8 fense, with the concurrence of the Minister of Defense of 9 Israel and in consultation with the Secretary of State and 10 the Director of National Intelligence, shall establish a 11 United States-Israel Operations-Technology Working 12 Group (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Working Group’’) 13 for the following purposes: 14 (1) To provide a standing forum for the United 15 States and Israel to systematically share intel- 16 ligence-informed military capability requirements. 17 (2) To identify military capability requirements 18 common to both the Department of Defense and the 19 Ministry of Defense of Israel. 20 (3) To assist defense suppliers in the United 21 States and Israel with efforts to expeditiously gain 22 government approval to conduct joint science, tech- 23 nology, research, development, test, evaluation, and 24 production efforts. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:10 Jun 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7148.IH H7148 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 7148 IH (4) To develop, as feasible and advisable, com- 1 bined United States-Israel plans to research, de- 2 velop, procure, and field weapons systems and mili- 3 tary capabilities as quickly and economically as pos- 4 sible to meet common capability requirements of the 5 Department of Defense and the Ministry of Defense 6 of Israel. 7 (b) WORKING GROUP LEADERSHIP.— 8 (1) UNITED STATES LEADERSHIP.—With re- 9 spect to the United States, the Working Group shall 10 be headed by the Under Secretary of Defense for 11 Research and Engineering and the Director of the 12 Joint Staff, with the active support of the Director 13 of the Bureau of Political Military Affairs of the De- 14 partment of State and the Director of National In- 15 telligence. 16 (2) ISRAEL LEADERSHIP.—The Secretary of 17 Defense shall invite the Government of Israel to des- 18 ignate the head of the appropriate office or offices 19 to head the Working Group with respect to Israel. 20 (c) WORKING GROUP MEMBERSHIP.— 21 (1) UNITED STATES MEMBERSHIP.—The Sec- 22 retary of Defense, the Secretary of State, and the 23 Director of National Intelligence shall each des- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:10 Jun 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7148.IH H7148 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 7148 IH ignate one or more individuals to serve as members 1 of the Working Group. 2 (A) MANDATORY UNITED STATES MEM- 3 BERS.—The membership of the Working Group 4 shall consist of, at a minimum, representatives 5 from— 6 (i) the Office of the Secretary of De- 7 fense; 8 (ii) the Joint Staff; 9 (iii) each of the military departments 10 (including, as appropriate, subordinate en- 11 tities such as Army Futures Command and 12 research laboratories); 13 (iv) the defense agencies (including 14 the Defense Advanced Research Projects 15 Agency, the Defense Intelligence Agency, 16 and the Defense Security Cooperation 17 Agency); 18 (v) United States Central Command; 19 (vi) United States European Com- 20 mand; 21 (vii) United States Indo-Pacific Com- 22 mand; 23 (viii) the Department of State; and 24 (ix) the intelligence community. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:10 Jun 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7148.IH H7148 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 7148 IH (B) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 1 this paragraph shall be construed as limiting 2 the ability of the Secretary of Defense, the Sec- 3 retary of State, or the Director of National In- 4 telligence to add members to the Working 5 Group as considered appropriate. 6 (2) ISRAEL MEMBERSHIP.—The Secretary of 7 Defense, the Secretary of State, and the Director of 8 National Intelligence shall invite their counterparts 9 in the Government of Israel to designate individuals 10 from the Government of Israel to serve as members 11 of the Working Group. 12 (3) REPRESENTATION OF DEFENSE INDUS- 13 TRY.— 14 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Working Group 15 may incorporate recommendations from the de- 16 fense industries of the United States and Israel 17 with respect to combined science and technology 18 efforts and combined research, development, 19 test, and evaluation efforts. 20 (B) INCLUSION IN WORKING GROUP.—The 21 membership of the Working Group may include, 22 as appropriate, members of the defense indus- 23 tries of the United States and Israel. 24 (d) EXISTING EFFORTS.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:10 Jun 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7148.IH H7148 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 7148 IH (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Defense, 1 the Secretary of State, and the Director of National 2 Intelligence shall jointly determine the most efficient 3 and effective means to integrate the Working Group 4 into existing United States science and technology 5 efforts and research, development, test, and evalua- 6 tion efforts with Israel. 7 (2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this 8 Act shall be construed as requiring the termination 9 of any existing United States defense activity, group, 10 program, or partnership with Israel. 11 (e) MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING.— 12 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Defense 13 shall, with the concurrence of the Minister of De- 14 fense of Israel, establish a memorandum of under- 15 standing between the United States and Israel es- 16 tablishing the United States-Israel Operations Tech- 17 nology Working Group. 18 (2) MATTERS TO BE INCLUDED.—The memo- 19 randum of understanding under paragraph (1) shall 20 set forth— 21 (A) the purposes of the Working Group, 22 consistent with subsection (a); 23 (B) the membership of the Working 24 Group, consistent with subsection (c); and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:10 Jun 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7148.IH H7148 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 7148 IH (C) any other matter considered appro- 1 priate. 2 (f) REPORTS.— 3 (1) INITIAL REPORT.— 4 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days 5 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 6 Secretary of Defense, in coordination with the 7 Secretary of State and the Director of National 8 Intelligence, shall submit to the appropriate 9 committees of Congress an initial report on the 10 Working Group. 11 (B) ELEMENTS.—The report required by 12 subparagraph (A) shall include the following: 13 (i) The finalized memorandum of un- 14 derstanding under subsection (e). 15 (ii) The name of each individual of 16 the Government of the United States and 17 of the Government of Israel designated to 18 lead the Working Group. 19 (iii) The name of each member of the 20 Working Group designated under para- 21 graph (1) or (2) of subsection (c). 22 (iv) A description of the manner in 23 which the Working Group is anticipated to 24 complement and augment existing science 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:10 Jun 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7148.IH H7148 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 7148 IH and technology efforts and research, devel- 1 opment, test, and evaluation efforts with 2 Israel. 3 (v) A schedule for Working Group 4 meetings. 5 (vi) A description of key metrics and 6 milestones for the Working Group. 7 (vii) A description of any authority or 8 authorization of appropriations required 9 for the Working Group to carry out the 10 purposes described in subsection (a). 11 (C) FORM.—The report required by sub- 12 paragraph (A) shall be submitted in unclassi- 13 fied form, but may include a classified annex. 14 (2) ANNUAL REPORT.— 15 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than March 16 15 of each year following the submittal of the 17 report required by paragraph (1), the Secretary 18 of Defense, in coordination with the Secretary 19 of State and the Director of National Intel- 20 ligence, shall submit to the appropriate commit- 21 tees of Congress a report on the activities of the 22 Working Group during the preceding calendar 23 year. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:10 Jun 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7148.IH H7148 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 7148 IH (B) ELEMENTS.—The report required by 1 subparagraph (A) shall include the following: 2 (i) A summary of the performance of 3 the Working Group relative to— 4 (I) with respect to the first an- 5 nual report under this paragraph, the 6 metrics and milestones described in 7 the initial report in accordance with in 8 paragraph (1)(B)(vi); or 9 (II) with respect to each subse- 10 quent annual report under this para- 11 graph, the metrics and milestones de- 12 scribed in the preceding annual report 13 under clause (viii). 14 (ii) A description of military capabili- 15 ties needed by both the United States and 16 Israel. 17 (iii) A description of any United 18 States, or any United States-Israel, science 19 and technology efforts, or research, devel- 20 opment, test, and evaluation efforts, asso- 21 ciated with the military capabilities de- 22 scribed under clause (ii) carried out during 23 the reporting period. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:10 Jun 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7148.IH [Text truncated for display. 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