Israel CENTCOM Reclassification Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 4978 To require a study and report on a potential transfer of Israel to the area of responsibility of United States Central Command. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES DECEMBER 8, 2020 Mr. COTTON (for himself, Mr. CRAMER, Mr. TILLIS, Mrs. BLACKBURN, Mr. WICKER, Mr. HAWLEY, and Ms. ERNST) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations A BILL To require a study and report on a potential transfer of Israel to the area of responsibility of United States Cen- tral Command. 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 ‘‘Israel CENTCOM Re- 4 classification Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:03 Dec 12, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4978.IS S4978 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 4978 IS SEC. 2. STUDY AND REPORT ON POTENTIAL TRANSFER OF 1 ISRAEL TO AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY OF 2 UNITED STATES CENTRAL COMMAND. 3 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find- 4 ings: 5 (1) Israel is a vital diplomatic, economic, and 6 security partner of the United States. 7 (2) The United States, Israel, and certain 8 neighboring Arab countries cooperate on security 9 matters to counter shared regional threats, such as 10 Iran. 11 (3) The normalization of ties between Israel 12 and the United Arab Emirates, the normalization of 13 ties between Israel and the Kingdom of Bahrain, 14 and the announcement by Israel and Sudan that 15 such countries will pursue the normalization of ties 16 have dramatically changed the security environment 17 in the Middle East in favor of peace and cooperation 18 between Israel and neighboring Arab countries. 19 (4) In assigning the geographic boundaries of 20 unified combatant commands, the Unified Command 21 Plan specifically requires the Chairman of the Joint 22 Chiefs of Staff to consider ‘‘whether the current geo- 23 graphic boundary between the United States Central 24 Command and European Command through the 25 Middle East could create command conflicts in the 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:03 Dec 12, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4978.IS S4978 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 4978 IS context of a major regional conflict in the Middle 1 East region.’’. 2 (5) The current placement of Israel within the 3 area of responsibility of the United States European 4 Command may not optimize coordination among the 5 United States, Israel, and other partners in the Mid- 6 dle East on issues of regional security. 7 (6) Efforts to improve coordination between the 8 Israel Defense Forces and the United States Central 9 Command are underway and have made meaningful 10 progress in the past decade. 11 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con- 12 gress that the Secretary of Defense should consider oppor- 13 tunities to strengthen shared deterrence and foster deeper 14 coordination between the United States and its allies and 15 partners in the Middle East on vital defense activities, in- 16 cluding military operations, combined exercises, strategic 17 planning, theater missile defense, and pre-positioning of 18 United States weaponry in the region. 19 (c) STUDY.— 20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall instruct 21 the Joint Chiefs of Staff or one or more other ap- 22 propriate individuals to conduct a study on a poten- 23 tial transfer of Israel from the area of responsibility 24 of the United States European Command to the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:03 Dec 12, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4978.IS S4978 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 4978 IS area of responsibility of the United States Central 1 Command. 2 (2) ELEMENTS.—The study required by para- 3 graph (1) shall include the following: 4 (A) An overall assessment of the feasibility 5 and advisability of transferring responsibility 6 for Israel from the United States European 7 Command to the United States Central Com- 8 mand, including any impact on the security of 9 Israel and the operational, readiness, training, 10 personnel, and budgetary implications for the 11 United States. 12 (B) An assessment of the advantages and 13 disadvantages associated with such a transfer, 14 including an evaluation of the necessary steps 15 to ensure continuity of North Atlantic Treaty 16 Organization activities with Israel and joint 17 United States-Israel missile defense training 18 and contingency planning. 19 (C) An assessment of the advantages and 20 disadvantages associated with retaining the sta- 21 tus quo. 22 (D) Consideration of the views of the Min- 23 ister of Defense of Israel and the head of the 24 Israel Defense Forces, including with respect to 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:03 Dec 12, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4978.IS S4978 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 4978 IS the potential impact on the operations and 1 readiness of Israel. 2 (d) REPORT.— 3 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 4 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec- 5 retary shall submit to the Committee on Armed 6 Services of the Senate and the Committee on Armed 7 Services of the House of Representatives a report on 8 the results of the study conducted under subsection 9 (c). 10 (2) FORM.—The report required by paragraph 11 (1) shall be submitted in classified form together 12 with an unclassified summary. 13 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:03 Dec 12, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S4978.IS S4978 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS