Federal

United States-Israel PTSD Collaborative Research Act

Source: Congress.gov · 1,199 words in original text

What This Bill Does

The Secretary of Defense must create a grant program that helps American academic institutions and nonprofit organizations work with Israeli research organizations on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) research. The program will follow an existing agreement between the United States and Israel signed in 1972 about scientific collaboration.

Who It Affects

Academic institutions in the United States Nonprofit organizations in the United States The Secretary of Defense The Secretary of Veterans Affairs The Secretary of State Israeli research institutions and organizations Congress

Key Provisions

The Secretary of Defense, working with the Secretaries of Veterans Affairs and State, must award grants to American academic institutions and nonprofit organizations that conduct joint PTSD research with Israeli partner organizations (Sec. 3(b)(1)) Eligible American organizations must conduct research projects addressing PTSD issues the Secretary determines appropriate, in partnership with Israeli entities under a joint research agreement (Sec. 3(d)) The Secretary may accept gifts of money designated for the grant program, which will be deposited in the Department of Defense General Gift Fund and available for use without yearly limits (Sec. 3(f)) Within 180 days after a research project is completed, the Secretary must report to Congress describing how grant money was used and evaluating the research project's success (Sec. 3(g)) The authority to award new grants under this program ends seven years after the first grant is awarded (Sec. 3(h))

What Changes

If passed, the United States will establish a formal grant program specifically funding PTSD research collaboration between American and Israeli organizations through the Department of Defense.

Important Definitions

PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder): a mental health condition that can develop after experiencing or witnessing traumatic events

Effective Date

Not specified in bill text

II 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1143 To direct the Secretary of Defense to carry out a grant program to increase cooperation on post-traumatic stress disorder research between the United States and Israel. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MARCH 30, 2023 Mr. MORAN (for himself, Mr. PADILLA, Mr. CARDIN, Ms. ROSEN, Ms. HAS- SAN, Ms. STABENOW, Ms. COLLINS, Mr. PETERS, and Mr. MENENDEZ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations A BILL To direct the Secretary of Defense to carry out a grant program to increase cooperation on post-traumatic stress disorder research between the United States and Israel. 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 PTSD Collaborative Research Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress makes the following findings: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:46 Apr 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1143.IS S1143 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1143 IS (1) The Department of Veterans Affairs reports 1 that between 11 and 20 percent of veterans who 2 served in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation 3 Enduring Freedom have post-traumatic stress dis- 4 order (in this subsection referred to as ‘‘PTSD’’) in 5 a given year. In addition, that figure amounts to 6 about 12 percent of Gulf War veterans and up to 30 7 percent of Vietnam veterans. 8 (2) The Department of Veterans Affairs reports 9 that among women veterans of the conflicts in Iraq 10 and Afghanistan, almost 20 percent have been diag- 11 nosed with PTSD. 12 (3) It is thought that 70 percent of individuals 13 in the United States have experienced at least one 14 traumatic event in their lifetime, and approximately 15 20 percent of those individuals have struggled or 16 continue to struggle with symptoms of PTSD. 17 (4) Studies show that PTSD has links to home- 18 lessness and substance abuse in the United States. 19 The Department of Veterans Affairs estimates that 20 approximately 11 percent of the homeless population 21 are veterans and the Substance Abuse and Mental 22 Health Services Administration estimates that about 23 seven percent of veterans have a substance abuse 24 disorder. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:46 Apr 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1143.IS S1143 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1143 IS (5) Our ally Israel, under constant attack from 1 terrorist groups, experiences similar issues with 2 Israeli veterans facing symptoms of PTSD. The Na- 3 tional Center for Traumatic Stress and Resilience at 4 Tel Aviv University found that five to eight percent 5 of combat soldiers experience some form of PTSD, 6 and during wartime, that figure rises to 15 to 20 7 percent. 8 (6) Current treatment options in the United 9 States focus on cognitive therapy, exposure therapy, 10 or eye movement desensitization and reprocessing, 11 but the United States must continue to look for 12 more effective treatments. Several leading hospitals, 13 academic institutions, and nonprofit organizations in 14 Israel dedicate research and services to treating 15 PTSD. 16 SEC. 3. GRANT PROGRAM FOR INCREASED COOPERATION 17 ON POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER RE- 18 SEARCH BETWEEN UNITED STATES AND 19 ISRAEL. 20 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con- 21 gress that the Secretary of Defense, acting through the 22 Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury Re- 23 search Program, should seek to explore scientific collabo- 24 ration between academic institutions and nonprofit re- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:46 Apr 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1143.IS S1143 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1143 IS search entities in the United States and institutions in 1 Israel with expertise in researching, diagnosing, and treat- 2 ing post-traumatic stress disorder. 3 (b) GRANT PROGRAM.— 4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Defense, in 5 coordination with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs 6 and the Secretary of State, shall award grants to eli- 7 gible entities to carry out collaborative research be- 8 tween the United States and Israel with respect to 9 post-traumatic stress disorders. 10 (2) AGREEMENT.—The Secretary of Defense 11 shall carry out the grant program under this section 12 in accordance with the Agreement on the United 13 States-Israel binational science foundation with ex- 14 change of letters, signed at New York September 27, 15 1972, and entered into force on September 27, 16 1972. 17 (c) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—To be eligible to receive a 18 grant under this section, an entity shall be an academic 19 institution or a nonprofit entity located in the United 20 States. 21 (d) AWARD.—The Secretary shall award grants 22 under this section to eligible entities that— 23 (1) carry out a research project that— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:46 Apr 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1143.IS S1143 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1143 IS (A) addresses a requirement in the area of 1 post-traumatic stress disorders that the Sec- 2 retary determines appropriate to research using 3 such grant; and 4 (B) is conducted by the eligible entity and 5 an entity in Israel under a joint research agree- 6 ment; and 7 (2) meet such other criteria that the Secretary 8 may establish. 9 (e) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a grant 10 under this section, an eligible entity shall submit an appli- 11 cation to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and 12 containing such commitments and information as the Sec- 13 retary may require. 14 (f) GIFT AUTHORITY.— 15 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may accept, 16 hold, and administer any gift of money made on the 17 condition that the gift be used for the purpose of the 18 grant program under this section. 19 (2) DEPOSIT.—Gifts of money accepted under 20 paragraph (1) shall be deposited in the Treasury in 21 the Department of Defense General Gift Fund and 22 shall be available, subject to appropriation, without 23 fiscal year limitation. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:46 Apr 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1143.IS S1143 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 1143 IS (g) REPORTS.—Not later than 180 days after the 1 date on which an eligible entity completes a research 2 project using a grant under this section, the Secretary 3 shall submit to Congress a report that contains— 4 (1) a description of how the eligible entity used 5 the grant; and 6 (2) an evaluation of the level of success of the 7 research project. 8 (h) TERMINATION.—The authority to award grants 9 under this section shall terminate on the date that is seven 10 years after the date on which the first such grant is 11 awarded. 12 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:46 Apr 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S1143.IS S1143 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS

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