I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2454 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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 30, 2023 Mr. WALTZ (for himself and Mr. RYAN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services 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 (1) The Department of Veterans Affairs reports 8 that between 11 and 20 percent of veterans who 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:11 Apr 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2454.IH H2454 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HR 2454 IH served in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation 1 Enduring Freedom have post-traumatic stress dis- 2 order (PTSD) in a given year. In addition, that fig- 3 ure amounts to about 12 percent of Gulf War vet- 4 erans and up to 30 percent of Vietnam veterans. 5 (2) The Department of Veterans Affairs reports 6 that among women veterans of the conflicts in Iraq 7 and Afghanistan, almost 20 percent have been diag- 8 nosed with PTSD. 9 (3) In the United States, it is thought that 70 10 percent of Americans have experienced at least one 11 traumatic event in their lifetime, and approximately 12 20 percent of those persons have struggled or con- 13 tinue to struggle with symptoms of PTSD. 14 (4) Studies show that PTSD has links to home- 15 lessness and substance abuse in the United States. 16 The Department of Veterans Affairs estimates that 17 approximately 11 percent of the homeless population 18 are veterans and the Substance Abuse and Mental 19 Health Services Administration estimates that about 20 7 percent of veterans have a substance abuse dis- 21 order. 22 (5) Our ally Israel, under constant attack from 23 terrorist groups, experiences similar issues with 24 Israeli veterans facing PTSD symptoms. Tel Aviv 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:11 Apr 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2454.IH H2454 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HR 2454 IH University’s National Center for Traumatic Stress 1 and Resilience found that 5 to 8 percent of combat 2 soldiers experience some form of PTSD, and during 3 wartime, that figure rises to 15 to 20 percent. 4 (6) Current treatment options in the United 5 States focus on cognitive therapy, exposure therapy, 6 or eye movement desensitization and reprocessing, 7 but the United States must continue to look for 8 more effective treatments. Several leading Israeli 9 hospitals, academic institutions, and nonprofits dedi- 10 cate research and services to treating PTSD. 11 SEC. 3. GRANT PROGRAM FOR INCREASED COOPERATION 12 ON POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER RE- 13 SEARCH BETWEEN UNITED STATES AND 14 ISRAEL. 15 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con- 16 gress that the Secretary of Defense, acting through the 17 Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury Re- 18 search Program, should seek to explore scientific collabo- 19 ration between American academic institutions and non- 20 profit research entities, and Israeli institutions with exper- 21 tise in researching, diagnosing, and treating post-trau- 22 matic stress disorder. 23 (b) GRANT PROGRAM.—The Secretary of Defense, in 24 coordination with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:11 Apr 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2454.IH H2454 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •HR 2454 IH the Secretary of State, shall award grants to eligible enti- 1 ties to carry out collaborative research between the United 2 States and Israel with respect to post-traumatic stress dis- 3 orders. The Secretary of Defense shall carry out the grant 4 program under this section in accordance with the agree- 5 ment titled ‘‘Agreement Between the Government of the 6 United States of America and the Government of Israel 7 on the United States-Israel Binational Science Founda- 8 tion’’, dated September 27, 1972. 9 (c) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—To be eligible to receive a 10 grant under this section, an entity shall be an academic 11 institution or a nonprofit entity located in the United 12 States. 13 (d) AWARD.—The Secretary shall award grants 14 under this section to eligible entities that— 15 (1) carry out a research project that— 16 (A) addresses a requirement in the area of 17 post-traumatic stress disorders that the Sec- 18 retary determines appropriate to research using 19 such grant; and 20 (B) is conducted by the eligible entity and 21 an entity in Israel under a joint research agree- 22 ment; and 23 (2) meet such other criteria that the Secretary 24 may establish. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:11 Apr 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2454.IH H2454 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •HR 2454 IH (e) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a grant 1 under this section, an eligible entity shall submit an appli- 2 cation to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and 3 containing such commitments and information as the Sec- 4 retary may require. 5 (f) GIFT AUTHORITY.—The Secretary may accept, 6 hold, and administer, any gift of money made on the con- 7 dition that the gift be used for the purpose of the grant 8 program under this section. Such gifts of money accepted 9 under this subsection shall be deposited in the Treasury 10 in the Department of Defense General Gift Fund and shall 11 be available, subject to appropriation, without fiscal year 12 limitation. 13 (g) REPORTS.—Not later than 180 days after the 14 date on which an eligible entity completes a research 15 project using a grant under this section, the Secretary 16 shall submit to Congress a report that contains— 17 (1) a description of how the eligible entity used 18 the grant; and 19 (2) an evaluation of the level of success of the 20 research project. 21 (h) TERMINATION.—The authority to award grants 22 under this section shall terminate on the date that is 7 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:11 Apr 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2454.IH H2454 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •HR 2454 IH years after the date on which the first such grant is 1 awarded. 2 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:11 Apr 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H2454.IH H2454 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB