United States-Israel International Development Cooperation Act of 2023

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3907 To amend the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to authorize appropriations for certain cooperative projects among the United States, Israel, and developing countries, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 7, 2023 Ms. LOIS FRANKEL of Florida (for herself and Mr. WILSON of South Caro- lina) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs A BILL To amend the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to authorize appropriations for certain cooperative projects among the United States, Israel, and developing countries, 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 ‘‘United States-Israel 4 International Development Cooperation Act of 2023’’. 5 SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 6 It is the sense of Congress that— 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:46 Jul 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3907.IH H3907 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HR 3907 IH (1) shared international development coopera- 1 tion between the United States and Israel benefits 2 the development efforts of the United States through 3 the sharing of Israel’s unique expertise as seen in 4 the work done by Israel’s Agency for International 5 Development Cooperation (MASHAV) as well as 6 Israel’s humanitarian programs and robust civil soci- 7 ety sector; 8 (2) since the signing of a memorandum of un- 9 derstanding for global development cooperation be- 10 tween the United States Agency for International 11 Development and MASHAV on August 21, 2019, 12 the United States and Israel have collaborated on a 13 number of initiatives in Africa, Eastern Europe, and 14 Latin America across such sectors as water tech- 15 nology, agriculture, and education; 16 (3) this ongoing cooperation harnesses the 17 strengths of the United States and Israel in carrying 18 out projects in developing countries and dem- 19 onstrates the shared commitment of both the United 20 States and Israel to international development, 21 thereby furthering the policy of the United States to 22 expand prospects for engagement and normalization 23 between Israel and other countries; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:46 Jul 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3907.IH H3907 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HR 3907 IH (4) the United States should continue to part- 1 ner with Israel to advance common goals on energy, 2 agriculture, food security, democracy, human rights, 3 governance, economic growth, trade, education, envi- 4 ronment, global health, water, and sanitation, with 5 a focus on strengthening mutual ties and coopera- 6 tion with other countries throughout the world. 7 SEC. 3. COOPERATIVE PROJECTS AMONG THE UNITED 8 STATES, ISRAEL, AND DEVELOPING COUN- 9 TRIES. 10 Section 106(e) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 11 (22 U.S.C. 2151d(e)) is amended in the matter preceding 12 paragraph (1)— 13 (1) by striking ‘‘$2,000,000’’ and inserting 14 ‘‘$4,000,000’’; and 15 (2) by striking ‘‘2021 through 2023’’ and in- 16 serting ‘‘2024 through 2026’’. 17 SEC. 4. USAID REPORT TO CONGRESS ON EXPANDING DE- 18 VELOPMENT COOPERATION. 19 Within 180 days after the date of the enactment of 20 this Act, the Administrator of the United States Agency 21 for International Development shall prepare and submit, 22 to the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Rep- 23 resentatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of 24 the Senate, a written report on— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:46 Jul 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3907.IH H3907 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •HR 3907 IH (1) the feasibility and advisability of expanding 1 development projects under section 106(e) of the 2 Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to include multilat- 3 eral cooperation among the United States, Israel, 4 and regional Arab partners that promote new devel- 5 opment projects, including in Africa; and 6 (2) the need for additional resources to do so. 7 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:46 Jul 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3907.IH H3907 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB