Special Envoy for the Abraham Accords Act

IIB 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3099 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 14, 2023 Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations AN ACT To establish in the Department of State the position of Special Envoy for the Abraham Accords, 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 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:33 Jun 14, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3099.RFS H3099 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 HR 3099 RFS SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Special Envoy for the 2 Abraham Accords Act’’. 3 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 4 Congress finds that the policy of the United States, 5 as enacted in section 104 of the Israel Relations Normal- 6 ization Act of 2022 (division Z of Public Law 117–103), 7 with respect to the Abraham Accords remains unchanged. 8 SEC. 3. SPECIAL ENVOY FOR THE ABRAHAM ACCORDS. 9 Title I of the State Department Basic Authorities Act 10 of 1956 (22 U.S.C. 2651a et seq.) is amended by adding 11 at the end the following new section: 12 ‘‘SEC. 64. SPECIAL ENVOY FOR THE ABRAHAM ACCORDS. 13 ‘‘(a) SPECIAL ENVOY FOR THE ABRAHAM AC- 14 CORDS.—There is established within the Department of 15 State a Special Envoy for the Abraham Accords (in this 16 section referred to as the ‘Special Envoy’), who shall serve 17 as the primary advisor to, and coordinate efforts across, 18 the United States Government relating to expanding and 19 strengthening the Abraham Accords. The Special Envoy 20 shall report directly to the Secretary of State and shall 21 hold the office at the pleasure of the President. 22 ‘‘(b) NOMINATION.—Pursuant to subsection (j)(1) of 23 section 1, the Special Envoy shall be appointed by the 24 President, by and with the advice and consent of the Sen- 25 ate, and may be appointed from among the officers and 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:33 Jun 14, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3099.RFS H3099 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 HR 3099 RFS employees of the Department except that such officer or 1 employee may not retain the position (or the responsibil- 2 ities associated with the position) held by such officer or 3 employee prior to such appointment simultaneously with 4 the position or responsibilities of the Special Envoy. 5 ‘‘(c) RANK AND STATUS OF AMBASSADOR.—The Spe- 6 cial Envoy shall have the rank and status of ambassador. 7 ‘‘(d) DUTIES.—The Special Envoy shall be respon- 8 sible for— 9 ‘‘(1) encouraging countries without diplomatic 10 relations with Israel to establish formal diplomatic, 11 economic, security, and people-to-people ties; 12 ‘‘(2) seeking to expand and strengthen existing 13 relationships between Israel and Muslim-majority 14 countries, including those outside the geographic 15 scope of the Near Eastern Affairs Bureau of the De- 16 partment of State, to ensure that all parties reap 17 tangible security and economic benefits for their citi- 18 zens; 19 ‘‘(3) building on existing efforts, including the 20 Negev Forum, to help foster enhanced cooperation 21 between Israel and Muslim-majority countries on 22 shared priorities including as relates to trade, agri- 23 culture, and water security; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:33 Jun 14, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3099.RFS H3099 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 HR 3099 RFS ‘‘(4) providing diplomatic support for Israel’s 1 integration into cooperative efforts related to re- 2 gional security; and 3 ‘‘(5) coordinating lines of effort across the 4 United States Government, including the regional 5 and functional bureaus within the Department of 6 State, and conducting appropriate diplomatic en- 7 gagement with foreign governments, nongovern- 8 mental organizations, and other stakeholders deter- 9 mined appropriate by the Special Envoy in order to 10 expand and strengthen the Abraham Accords. 11 ‘‘(e) REPORT.— 12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 13 the date of the confirmation of the first Special 14 Envoy appointed pursuant to this section, and annu- 15 ally thereafter, the Special Envoy shall submit to the 16 Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on 17 Appropriations of the House of Representatives and 18 the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Com- 19 mittee on Appropriations of the Senate a report de- 20 scribing all United States efforts to expand the 21 Abraham Accords, including specific diplomatic en- 22 gagements and status of efforts with respect to spe- 23 cific countries. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:33 Jun 14, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3099.RFS H3099 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 HR 3099 RFS ‘‘(2) FORM OF REPORT.—The report required 1 by paragraph (1) shall be submitted in unclassified 2 form but may contain a separate, classified annex.’’. 3 Passed the House of Representatives June 13, 2023. Attest: CHERYL L. JOHNSON, Clerk. VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:33 Jun 14, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3099.RFS H3099 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB