U.S.-Israel Partnership and Abraham Accords Enhancement Act of 2023

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3792 To modify and extend certain authorities relating to cooperation between the United States and Israel, expand and strengthen the Abraham Ac- cords, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 1, 2023 Mr. WILSON of South Carolina (for himself, Mr. PHILLIPS, Mr. MCCAUL, Mr. MEEKS, Mr. BAIRD, and Mr. ALLRED) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee con- cerned A BILL To modify and extend certain authorities relating to coopera- tion between the United States and Israel, expand and strengthen 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 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘U.S.-Israel Partner- 4 ship and Abraham Accords Enhancement Act of 2023’’. 5 SEC. 2. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 6 It is the policy of the United States to— 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:53 Jun 27, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3792.IH H3792 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3792 IH (1) support the democratic, Jewish state of 1 Israel’s right to self-defense, including through For- 2 eign Military Financing and security cooperation 3 programs; 4 (2) seek a successor to the current U.S.-Israel 5 Memorandum of Understanding reflecting the 6 United States’ unshakeable commitment to Israel’s 7 security; 8 (3) encourage the expansion and strengthening 9 of the Abraham Accords, in accordance with the 10 Israel Relations Normalization Act of 2022 (division 11 Z of Public Law 117–103), to urge other nations to 12 normalize relations with Israel and ensure that exist- 13 ing agreements reap tangible security and economic 14 benefits for the citizens of those countries and all 15 peoples in the region; 16 (4) support Israel’s full participation as an 17 equally treated member of the community of nations, 18 including by expanding the Abraham Accords and 19 opposing anti-Israel bias at the United Nations and 20 other international fora; and 21 (5) continue to expand the United States-Israel 22 relationship to deepen existing economic and people- 23 to-people ties, including through cooperative pro- 24 grams. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:53 Jun 27, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3792.IH H3792 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3792 IH SEC. 3. EXTENSION OF WAR RESERVES STOCKPILE AU- 1 THORITY. 2 (a) DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE APPROPRIATIONS 3 ACT, 2005.—Section 12001(d) of the Department of De- 4 fense Appropriations Act, 2005 (Public Law 108–287; 5 118 Stat. 1011) is amended by striking ‘‘after September 6 30, 2025’’ and inserting ‘‘after September 30, 2028’’. 7 (b) FOREIGN ASSISTANCE ACT OF 1961.—Section 8 514(b)(2)(A) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 9 U.S.C. 2321h(b)(2)(A)) is amended by striking ‘‘or 2025’’ 10 and inserting ‘‘, 2025, 2026, 2027, or 2028’’. 11 SEC. 4. EXTENSION OF AUTHORITY TO FINANCE COOPERA- 12 TIVE PROJECTS AMONG THE UNITED STATES, 13 ISRAEL, AND CERTAIN DEVELOPING COUN- 14 TRIES. 15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 106(e) of the Foreign As- 16 sistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151d(e)) is amended by 17 striking ‘‘through 2023’’ and inserting ‘‘through 2026’’. 18 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 90 days after the date 19 of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the 20 Secretary of State and Administrator of the United States 21 Agency for International Development shall submit to the 22 appropriate congressional committees a report on coopera- 23 tive projects financed under section 106(e) of the Foreign 24 Assistance Act of 1961, as amended by subsection (a). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:53 Jun 27, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3792.IH H3792 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3792 IH SEC. 5. UNITED STATES-ISRAEL ENERGY COOPERATION. 1 Section 917 of the Energy Independence and Security 2 Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17337) is amended— 3 (1) in subsection (a)(6), by inserting ‘‘United 4 States and’’ before ‘‘Israeli’’; 5 (2) in subsection (b)— 6 (A) in paragraph (2)— 7 (i) in subparagraph (H), by striking 8 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 9 (ii) in subparagraph (I), by striking 10 the period at the end and inserting a semi- 11 colon; and 12 (iii) by adding at the end the fol- 13 lowing: 14 ‘‘(J) advanced nuclear technologies, to in- 15 clude nuclear fusion; and 16 ‘‘(K) carbon capture, utilization, and stor- 17 age.’’; and 18 (B) by adding at the end the following: 19 ‘‘(9) COST-SHARING; REIMBURSEMENT.—The 20 Secretary shall, to the maximum extent practicable, 21 require a recipient of a grant provided under this 22 subsection to share the costs of feasibility studies 23 and other planning services with respect to a project 24 for which the grant is provided. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:53 Jun 27, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3792.IH H3792 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3792 IH ‘‘(10) PROHIBITIONS RELATING TO SANC- 1 TIONS.—The Secretary— 2 ‘‘(A) is prohibited from all dealings related 3 to any grant under this Act that is prohibited 4 under United States sanctions laws or regula- 5 tions including dealings with persons on the list 6 of specially designated persons and blocked per- 7 sons maintained by the Office of Foreign Assets 8 Control of the Department of the Treasury, ex- 9 cept to the extent otherwise authorized by the 10 Secretary of the Treasury or the Secretary of 11 State; and 12 ‘‘(B) may not provide a grant under this 13 subsection to any applicant that is receiving 14 support under this section unless such applicant 15 certifies that the applicant, and any entity 16 owned or controlled by the applicant, is in com- 17 pliance with all United States sanctions laws 18 and regulations.’’; 19 (3) by redesignating subsection (e) as sub- 20 section (g); 21 (4) by inserting after subsection (d) the fol- 22 lowing: 23 ‘‘(e) RESEARCH SECURITY.—The activities author- 24 ized under this section shall be applied in a manner con- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:53 Jun 27, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3792.IH H3792 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 3792 IH sistent with subtitle D of title VI of the Research and De- 1 velopment, Competition, and Innovation Act (enacted as 2 division B of the CHIPS Act of 2022 (Public Law 117– 3 167; 42 U.S.C. 19231 et seq.)). 4 ‘‘(f) REPORT.—The Secretary shall submit to the 5 congressional committees specified in subsection (c)(3) an 6 annual report that describes the activities undertaken pur- 7 suant to subsections (b) and (d) during the preceding 8 year.’’; and 9 (5) in subsection (g), as redesignated by para- 10 graph (3), by striking ‘‘September 30, 2024’’ and in- 11 serting ‘‘September 30, 2029’’. 12 SEC. 6. REPORT ON REGIONAL SECURITY COOPERATION. 13 (a) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 14 of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter for 15 7 years, the Secretary of State shall submit to the appro- 16 priate congressional committees a report on bilateral and 17 multinational cooperation on regional security between 18 Israel and other countries in the Middle East and North 19 Africa region, including with respect to arms transfers, 20 joint technology development, military drills, and informa- 21 tion sharing. 22 (b) FORM OF REPORT.—The determination required 23 by subsection (a) shall be provided in an unclassified form 24 but may contain a classified annex provided separately. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:53 Jun 27, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3792.IH H3792 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 3792 IH SEC. 7. MIDDLE EAST PARTNERSHIP INITIATIVE. 1 The Secretary of State should consider as part of the 2 Middle East Partnership Initiative programming to ex- 3 pand people-to-people ties between Israel and other coun- 4 tries in the Middle East and North Africa region so as 5 to further the goal of expanding and deepening the Abra- 6 ham Accords. 7 SEC. 8. MIDDLE EAST REGIONAL COOPERATION. 8 The Administrator of the United States Agency for 9 International Development shall ensure that applicants 10 from countries participating in the Abraham Accords are 11 eligible for assistance under the Middle East Regional Co- 12 operation competitive grant program managed by such 13 Agency. 14 SEC. 9. INTERNATIONAL VISITOR LEADERSHIP PROGRAM. 15 The Secretary of State should consider as part of the 16 International Visitor Leadership Program programming 17 to expand people-to-people ties between current and 18 emerging leaders in Israel and Muslim-majority countries 19 so as to further the goal of expanding and deepening the 20 Abraham Accords. 21 SEC. 10. POLITICALLY-MOTIVATED INVESTIGATIONS BY 22 THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT. 23 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:53 Jun 27, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3792.IH H3792 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 3792 IH (1) Neither Israel nor the United States is a 1 state party to the International Criminal Court 2 (ICC). 3 (2) The ICC has pursued investigations against 4 both the United States and Israel despite not having 5 legitimate jurisdiction in such cases. 6 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 7 of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter for 8 7 years, the Secretary of State shall submit to the appro- 9 priate congressional committees a report on United States 10 diplomatic efforts to oppose politically-motivated inves- 11 tigations against the United States and Israel at the ICC. 12 SEC. 11. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON THE AFRICAN UNION. 13 It is the sense of the Congress that reinstating 14 Israel’s observer status at the African Union would be of 15 benefit to both Israel and African countries. 16 SEC. 12. REPORT ON UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT TOOLS 17 TO SUPPORT THE I2U2 GROUP. 18 Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact- 19 ment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall submit to 20 the appropriate congressional committees a report regard- 21 ing appropriate tools that the Department of State, the 22 United States Agency for International Development, and 23 the United States International Development Finance 24 Corporation can utilize to support India’s participation in 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:53 Jun 27, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3792.IH H3792 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 3792 IH the grouping of India, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, 1 and the United States (commonly referred to as the ‘‘I2U2 2 Group’’). 3 SEC. 13. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON INTERNATIONAL RELI- 4 GIOUS FREEDOM. 5 It is the sense of Congress that— 6 (1) fostering support for the Abraham Accords 7 and the normalization of diplomatic relations with 8 Israel among the general public in Arab and Mus- 9 lim-majority countries is in the interest of the 10 United States; 11 (2) additional opportunities for interfaith dia- 12 logue may help increase support for normalization of 13 diplomatic relations with Israel; and 14 (3) promoting cultural and societal under- 15 standing of international religious freedom in Arab 16 and Muslim-majority countries with the goal of in- 17 creasing public acceptance of the Abraham Accords 18 is consistent with the statutory duties and respon- 19 sibilities of the Ambassador at Large for Inter- 20 national Religious Freedom and the Office on Inter- 21 national Religious Freedom established by section 22 101 of the International Religious Freedom Act of 23 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6411). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:53 Jun 27, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3792.IH H3792 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 3792 IH SEC. 14. APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES DE- 1 FINED. 2 In this Act, the term ‘‘appropriate congressional com- 3 mittees’’ means— 4 (1) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 5 House of Representatives; and 6 (2) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 7 Senate. 8 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:53 Jun 27, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3792.IH H3792 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS