I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1268 

To amend the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 to establish 

the position of Special Envoy for the Abraham Accords, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 28, 2023 

Mr. TORRES of New York (for himself and Mr. LAWLER) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

A BILL 

To amend the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 

1956 to establish the position of Special Envoy for the 

Abraham Accords, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Special Envoy for the 

5 Abraham Accords Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that the policy of the United States, 

8 as enacted in section 104 of the Israel Relations NormalVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:23 Mar 15, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1268.IH H1268

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1 ization Act of 2022 (division Z of Public Law 117–103), 

2 with respect to the Abraham Accords remains unchanged. 

3 SEC. 3. SPECIAL ENVOY FOR THE ABRAHAM ACCORDS. 

4 Title I of the State Department Basic Authorities Act 

5 of 1956 (22 U.S.C. 2651a et seq.) is amended by adding 

6 at the end the following new section: 

7 ‘‘SEC. 64. SPECIAL ENVOY FOR THE ABRAHAM ACCORDS. 

8 ‘‘(a) SPECIAL ENVOY FOR THE ABRAHAM AC9 CORDS.—There is in the Department of State a Special 

10 Envoy for the Abraham Accords (in this section referred 

11 to as the ‘Special Envoy’). 

12 ‘‘(b) NOMINATION.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Special Envoy shall be 

14 appointed by the President, by and with the advice 

15 and consent of the Senate. The Special Envoy shall 

16 report directly to the Secretary. 

17 ‘‘(2) DETERMINATION.—If the President deter18 mines that such is appropriate, the President may 

19 nominate the Special Envoy from among officers 

20 and employees of the Department. Such officer or 

21 employee may not retain the position (or the respon22 sibilities associated with such position) held by such 

23 officer or employee prior to the nomination of such 

24 officer or employee to the position of Special Envoy 

25 under this paragraph. 


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1 ‘‘(c) QUALIFICATIONS.—The Special Envoy should be 

2 a person of recognized distinction in the field high-level 

3 diplomatic experience, and or knowledge of the Islamic 

4 and Jewish worlds, knowledge of economics, security, and 

5 human rights. 

6 ‘‘(d) RANK AND STATUS OF AMBASSADOR.—The 

7 Special Envoy who shall have the rank of ambassador and 

8 shall hold the office at the pleasure of the President. 

9 ‘‘(e) DUTIES.—The Special Envoy shall seek to ex10 pand and strengthen the Abraham Accords, in coordina11 tion with regional ambassadors, nongovernmental organi12 zations, and other stakeholders determined appropriate by 

13 the Special Envoy. 

14 ‘‘(f) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Special Envoy shall— 

15 ‘‘(1) serve as the primary advisor to, and co16 ordinate efforts across, the United States Govern17 ment relating to expanding and strengthening the 

18 Abraham Accords; 

19 ‘‘(2) engage in discussions with nation-state of20 ficials lacking official diplomatic relations with Israel 

21 regarding the Abraham Accords; and 

22 ‘‘(3) consult with representatives of nongovern23 mental organizations that have attempted to expand 

24 and strengthen the Abraham Accords.’’. 

Æ 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS