General Thaddeus Kosciuszko Memorial Exchange Program for Polish-American Defense Cooperation Act

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2464 To direct the Commander of United States Army Special Operations Com- mand to seek to carry out a training program with special operations forces of the Polish Army. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 3, 2023 Mr. GREEN of Tennessee introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services A BILL To direct the Commander of United States Army Special Operations Command to seek to carry out a training program with special operations forces of the Polish Army. 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 ‘‘General Thaddeus 4 Kosciuszko Memorial Exchange Program for Polish-Amer- 5 ican Defense Cooperation Act’’. 6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSES. 7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:14 Apr 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2464.IH H2464 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HR 2464 IH (1) Thaddeus Kosciuszko served the United 1 States and his native Poland with honor and distinc- 2 tion during a vital time in each country’s fight for 3 democracy and freedom from tyranny, so it is fitting 4 to establish in his name a fellowship to build and 5 strengthen cooperation between officials of the 6 United States and Poland. 7 (2) Thaddeus Kosciuszko’s tactical acumen and 8 engineering excellence were vital to the American 9 victory at the battle of Saratoga, the establishment 10 and defense of West Point, and the blockade of 11 Charleston, which helped bring about the end of the 12 Revolutionary War. 13 (3) A fierce defender of freedom and equality, 14 Thaddeus Kosciuszko tirelessly advocated for the 15 end of slavery and serfdom in America, Poland, and 16 across the globe, including leading the Polish revolu- 17 tion against the Russian and Prussian armies in the 18 18th century. 19 (4) Poland is a vital ally to the United States 20 in Europe, and the enhancement of strategic and 21 military cooperation is of utmost importance to suc- 22 cessful foreign policy implementation and maintain- 23 ing peace and stability for the United States and its 24 European partners. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:14 Apr 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2464.IH H2464 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HR 2464 IH (5) Polish and American special forces possess 1 significant expertise in the execution of all types of 2 counterterrorism, covert operations, and unconven- 3 tional warfare, from decades of training and co- 4 operation. 5 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are— 6 (1) to enhance the national security and defen- 7 sive capabilities of the United States and Poland 8 and enable both countries to effectively respond to 9 emerging threats and future challenges in Eastern 10 Europe and around the globe; 11 (2) to provide a program for the exchange of 12 special forces soldiers that will increase capability 13 and readiness levels for both countries through in- 14 creased cooperation and training; and 15 (3) to encourage, through increased coopera- 16 tion, more NATO allies to emphasize the ideals of 17 peace and stability, ensured through mutual co- 18 operation and readiness of allied defense forces. 19 SEC. 3. GENERAL THADDEUS KOSCIUSZKO EXCHANGE PRO- 20 GRAM. 21 (a) AUTHORITY.—The Commander of United States 22 Army Special Operations Command shall seek to carry out 23 a training program pursuant to section 322 of title 10, 24 United States Code, between special operations forces 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:14 Apr 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2464.IH H2464 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •HR 2464 IH under the jurisdiction of the Commander and special 1 forces of the Polish Army. Such program shall be known 2 as the ‘‘General Thaddeus Kosciuszko Memorial Exchange 3 Program for Polish-American Defense Cooperation’’. 4 (b) ELIGIBILITY.—Officers and enlisted members of 5 such special operations forces may participate in the pro- 6 gram under this section. 7 (c) PROGRESS REPORT.—Not later than 120 days 8 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Com- 9 mander shall submit to the Committees on Armed Services 10 of the Senate and House of Representatives a report re- 11 garding progress of the Commander in carrying out the 12 program under this section. 13 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:14 Apr 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H2464.IH H2464 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB