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86–467PDF 2014

SUPPORTING THE DEMOCRATIC AND EUROPEAN ASPIRATIONS

OF THE PEOPLE OF UKRAINE, AND THEIR RIGHT TO CHOOSE

THEIR OWN FUTURE FREE OF INTIMIDATION AND FEAR;

AND THE UNITED STATES–ISRAEL STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP

ACT OF 2013

MARKUP

BEFORE THE

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

ONE HUNDRED THIRTEENTH CONGRESS

SECOND SESSION

ON

H. Res. 447 and H.R. 938

JANUARY 29, 2014

Serial No. 113–105

Printed for the use of the Committee on Foreign Affairs

(

Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.foreignaffairs.house.gov/ or

http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/

(II)

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS 

EDWARD R. ROYCE, California, Chairman 

CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey 

ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida 

DANA ROHRABACHER, California 

STEVE CHABOT, Ohio 

JOE WILSON, South Carolina 

MICHAEL T. MCCAUL, Texas 

TED POE, Texas 

MATT SALMON, Arizona 

TOM MARINO, Pennsylvania 

JEFF DUNCAN, South Carolina 

ADAM KINZINGER, Illinois 

MO BROOKS, Alabama 

TOM COTTON, Arkansas 

PAUL COOK, California 

GEORGE HOLDING, North Carolina 

RANDY K. WEBER SR., Texas 

SCOTT PERRY, Pennsylvania 

STEVE STOCKMAN, Texas 

RON DESANTIS, Florida 

DOUG COLLINS, Georgia 

MARK MEADOWS, North Carolina 

TED S. YOHO, Florida 

LUKE MESSER, Indiana 

ELIOT L. ENGEL, New York 

ENI F.H. FALEOMAVAEGA, American 

Samoa 

BRAD SHERMAN, California 

GREGORY W. MEEKS, New York 

ALBIO SIRES, New Jersey 

GERALD E. CONNOLLY, Virginia 

THEODORE E. DEUTCH, Florida 

BRIAN HIGGINS, New York 

KAREN BASS, California 

WILLIAM KEATING, Massachusetts 

DAVID CICILLINE, Rhode Island 

ALAN GRAYSON, Florida 

JUAN VARGAS, California 

BRADLEY S. SCHNEIDER, Illinois 

JOSEPH P. KENNEDY III, Massachusetts 

AMI BERA, California 

ALAN S. LOWENTHAL, California 

GRACE MENG, New York 

LOIS FRANKEL, Florida 

TULSI GABBARD, Hawaii 

JOAQUIN CASTRO, Texas

AMY PORTER, Chief of Staff THOMAS SHEEHY, Staff Director

JASON STEINBAUM, Democratic Staff Director 

(III)

C O N T E N T S 

Page

MARKUP OF 

H. Res. 447, Supporting the democratic and European aspirations of the 

people of Ukraine, and their right to choose their own future free of intimidation and fear ..................................................................................................... 2

An amendment in the nature of a substitute to H. Res. 447 offered by 

the Honorable Eliot L. Engel, a Representative in Congress from the 

State of New York ............................................................................................ 7

An amendment to the amendment in the nature of a substitute to H. 

Res. 447 offered by the Honorable Eliot L. Engel .......................................... 18

H.R. 938, United States-Israel Strategic Partnership Act of 2013 ...................... 26

An amendment in the nature of a substitute to H.R. 938 offered by the 

Honorable Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a Representative in Congress from the 

State of Floria, and the Honorable Theodore E. Deutch, a Representative 

in Congress from the State of Florida ............................................................ 35

An amendment to H.R. 938 offered by the Honorable Christopher H. Smith, 

a Representative in Congress from the State of New Jersey ........................ 49

APPENDIX 

Markup notice .......................................................................................................... 54

Markup minutes ...................................................................................................... 55

Markup summary .................................................................................................... 57

The Honorable Albio Sires, a Representative in Congress from the State 

of New Jersey: Prepared statement .................................................................... 58

The Honorable Tom Cotton, a Representative in Congress from the State 

of Arkansas: Prepared statement ....................................................................... 59

The Honorable Lois Frankel, a Representative in Congress from the State 

of Florida: Prepared statement ........................................................................... 60

The Honorable Doug Collins, a Representative in Congress from the State 

of Georgia: Prepared statement .......................................................................... 61

(1)

SUPPORTING THE DEMOCRATIC AND EUROPEAN ASPIRATIONS OF THE PEOPLE OF UKRAINE, AND THEIR RIGHT 

TO CHOOSE THEIR OWN FUTURE FREE OF INTIMIDATION 

AND FEAR; AND THE UNITED STATES–ISRAEL STRATEGIC 

PARTNERSHIP ACT OF 2013

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 29, 2014

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS,

Washington, DC. 

The committee met, pursuant to notice, at 9:41 a.m., in room 

2172, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Ed Royce (chairman of 

the committee) presiding. 

Chairman ROYCE. This meeting will come to order. We will ask 

all members to take their seats. 

And pursuant to notice, we meet today to mark up two strongly 

bipartisan measures. Without objection, all members may have 5 

days to submit statements for the record and also to submit any 

extraneous materials on any of today’s business. And I am going 

to remind members that we will soon face votes on the floor. 

We now call up House Resolution 447, the ranking member’s 

Ukraine resolution. The clerk will report the title of the bill. 

Ms. MARTER. H. Res. 447, Supporting the democratic and European aspirations of the people of Ukraine, and their right to choose 

their own future free of intimidation and fear. 

‘‘Whereas a democratic, prosperous, and independent Ukraine is 

in the national interest of the United States; 

‘‘Whereas closer relations with the European Union through the 

signing of an Association Agreement will promote democratic values’’——

Chairman ROYCE. Without objection, the measure is considered 

read. 

The Engel amendment in the nature of a substitute that was 

provided to your offices Monday morning is considered base text for 

the purposes of the markup. 

[The information referred to follows:]

2


86467b-1.eps

113m CONGRESS 

18'1' SB88!0!\ H. RES. 447 

IV 

Supporting tl1C dcmocratic and j<Juropran aspirations of tI1C people of Ukraille, 

and their right to choose theil' OWll fUllll'e free of intimidation alld fear. 

IK THE HOUSE OF REPRESE)JTATIVES 

De:CK'vrmm 16, 2013 

:'111'. E.':Gl£L (for himself, Mr. ROYCE, Mr. LBVL'l, Ms. KAJc"l'Ul" Mr. IVJA'l'l.':G, 

and :'Ill'. <JERI.ACH) subnutted the follO\ving resolution: ,,,hieh was referred 

tn tl1C Connnitt,('c on 1,'orcigl1 Affairs 

RESOLUTION 

Supporting the democratic and European aspirations of the 

people of rkraine, and their right to choose their OVVll 

future free of intimidation and fear. 

\\liereas a democratic, prosperons, and independent Ukraine 

is in the national interest of the United States; 

\\liereas closer relations with the European Unioll (EU) 

through the signing of an Association Agreement will 

promotc democratic values, good govcrmlllCC, and economic opportunity in Ukraine; 

\\11ereas milliolls of Ukrainian eitizens support doser relations ,vith Europe and the signing of an Association 

Agreemellt; 

\\llCreas the Government of Ukraine has deelared integration 

""rith Europe a national priority and has made significant 
3


86467b-2.eps

prognc"" toward meeting the re(lllirement" for the ~~"l"ociation Agreement; 

\\11erea" 1~kraine has the "overelgn right to enter into volulltary partnerships of its choositlg, in keeping with its 

interests; 

Whereas Ukraitle's closer relations with the E L do not 

threaten any other eountry, and will benefit both Ukraine 

and its neighbors; 

Whereas on ~ovembel' 21, 201:3, following scveral months of 

intense outside pressure, Ukrainian President Viktor 

Yanukovyeh abruptly su"pended negotiation" on the A,,-

sociation A12Tcement oae week beforc it was due to be 

signed at the EU's Eastern Partnership Summit m 

Vilnius, Lithuania; 

\Vhereas this reversal of stated government poliey precipitated demonstrations by hundreds of thousands of 

Ukrainian eiti~ens in Kyiv as well as ill eitics throughout 

the eonntry; 

\\lwrea" the demonstrator" have been oven'.'hdmingly pea('eful and have sought to exereise their constitutional rights 

to freely assemble and express their opposition to President Yanukovych's decision, as well as their SUppOli. for 

greater government accountability and closer relations 

v\~th Europe; 

Whereas on l\ovember 30, 2013, police violently dispersed 

peaceful demonstrators in Ky'iv's Indepelldence Square, 

remllting in many in.juries and the arrest of "everal llozen 

individuals; 

\\llE'reas on December 11, 2013, poliee raided 3 opposition 

media outlets and the headquarters of an opposition 

party; 
4


86467b-3.eps

\\11ereas on Deeernher 11, 20L3, despite President 

Yanulwvyeh's statement the previous day that he would 

engage in talks with the opposition, poliee attempted to 

forcibly evict peaceful protesters from cetltral locatiolls ill 

Kyiv; and 

\\1lCI"eaS United States, European, and other leaders, as well 

as :3 former presidents of Ukraine, have urged restraint 

and warned against the llse of violenee against peaeeful 

protesters, and have eaHeel for dialogue with the opposition to resolve the current political and eeonomle crisis: 

Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resoll'ed, That the House of Representatives2 (1) greatly values the warm and close relation3 ship the Cnited States has established with Ukraine 

4 smC'e that country regained its independenee in 

5 1991 ; 

6 (2) supports the demoeratie alld lDul'Opean aspi7 rations of the people of Ukraine, and their right to 

8 dlOose their own future free of intimidation and 

9 fear; 

]0 (3) ealls on the United States and the Euro11 pean U uion to continue to work together to support 

12 a peaeeful resolution to the crisis, and to continue 

13 to support the desire of millions of Ukrainian (~iti14 zeus for closer relations with Europe through the 

15 signing of an Assoeiation Agreement, as well as for 

16 a demoeratie future; 
5


86467b-4.eps

4 

(4) urges the Government of Ukraine, 1~krain2 ian opposition parties, and all protesters to exercise 

3 the utmost restraint amI avoid (:onfrontation, Hml 

4 calls on the Governmellt of Ukraine to live up to its 

5 international obligations and respect and uphold the 

6 dcmocratic rights of its citizens, including the free7 dom of assembly and e~'Pression, as well as the free8 dom of the press; 

9 (5) calls on the Government of Ukraine to bring 

10 to justice those responsible for yiolence against 

11 pe~weful protesters, and to release and drop erirninal 

12 charges against those detained for exercising their 

13 democratic rights; 

14 (6) urges the U llited States and the European 

15 Union to continue to make clear to rkraille's leaders 

16 that those who authorize or engage in violenee 

17 against peaceful protesters "ill be held personally 

18 accountable; 

19 (7) states that ill the event of further violence 

20 by government authorities against peaceful pro21 testers, the rnited States House of Representatiyes 

22 lllay consider targeted sanctions against those who 

23 anthori7.e or engage in this use of force; and 

24 (R) urg'es all parties to engage in eonstrudive, 

25 sustained dialogue in order to find a peaceful solu-
6


86467b-5.eps

f) 

tion to Ukraine's enrrent politieal and e('onorni(~ eri2 sis. 
7


86467c-1.eps

AMENDMENT IN THE NATURE OF A SUBSTITUTE 

TO H. RES. 447 

OFFERED BY MR. ENGEL OF NEW YORK 

Strikc thc prcamble and inscrt thc following: 

\Vhcrcas a dcmocratic, prospcrous, and indcpcndcnt Ukrainc 

is in the national interest of the United States; 

"11ereas doser relations with the European Union (EU) 

through thc signing of an Association Agrccmcnt should 

promote democratic values, good governance, and economic opportunity in Ukrainc; 

'Vhereas the Government of Ukraine has declared integration 

v\~th Europe a national priority and has made sigl1ificant 

progrcss toward mccting thc rcquircmcnts for thc Association Agreement; 

"11ereas on )J"overnher 21, 201:'3, following several months of 

intense outside pressure, Ukrainian President Viktor 

Yanukovych abruptly suspended negotiations on the Association Agrccmcnt onc wcck beforc it was duc to bc 

signed at the EU's Eastern Partnership Summit III 

Vilnius, TJithuania; 

Whcrcas this rcvcrsal of statcd govcrnmcnt policy prcCIpitated demonstrations by hundreds of thousands of 

Ukrainian (~itizens in K:viv as well as in eities throughout 

the country; 

"llereas the demonstrators have been overwhelmingly peaceful and havc sought to cxcrcisc thcir constitutional rights 
8


86467c-2.eps

2 

to freely a~~ernhle and expre~s their oppo~ition to Pre~ident Y anukovych' s decision; 

"11erea~ the dernonstrator~ have eonsi~tently expres~ed their 

support for democracy, human rights, greater government accountability, and the rule of law, as well as for 

closer relations with Europe; 

'Vhereas on Kovember :30, 2013, police ~violently dispersed 

peaceful demonstrators in Kyiv's Independence Square, 

resultillg ill many iqjuries and the arrest of several do~en 

individuals; 

"11erea~ on Deeernher 11, 201:1, poli(~e raidecl :1 oppo~ition 

media outlets and the headquarters of an oppositioll 

party; 

Whereas on December 11, 2013, despite Pre side llt 

Yanukovych's statement the previous day that he would 

engage in talks vvith the opposition, police attempted to 

forcibly evict peaceful protesters from central locatiolls ill 

K;viv; 

"11erea~ ~everal journali~t~, indU(ling from Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, and civic activists supporting the 

demonstrators have been brutally attacked; 

Whereas on January Hi, 2014, the Ukrainian parliament 

passed, and President Yanukovych signed, legislation 

which severely limits the right of peaceful protest, constrains freedom of speech alld the indepelldellt media, 

and unduly restricts civil society organi~ations; 

"11erea~ the pa~~age of these umlemoeratie rnea~ure~ amI 

President Yanukovych's refusal to engage in substantive 

dialogue vvith opposition leaders precipitated several days 

of violence and resulted in several deaths and hundreds 
9


86467c-3.eps

of in,juries, as well as numerous allegations of poliee hrutality; and 

"11ereas United States, European, and other le~l(lers have 

urged all sides to exercise restraint and have warned the 

Ukrainian Government against the use of violence against 

peaceful protesters, and have further called on the government to engage in substantive dialogue yvith the opposition to resolve the current political and economic crisis: 

Now, therefore, be it 

Strike all after the resolving clause and insert the 

following: 

That the House of Representatives-

(1) gTeatly values the warm and close relation2 ship the Cnited States has established with Ukraille 

3 smce that country regained its independence in 

4 1991; 

5 (2) supports the democratic and European aspi6 rations of the people of Ukraine, and their right to 

7 choose their OWll future free of intimidation alld 

8 fear; 

9 (3) calls on the United States and the Euro10 pean Union to continue to work together to support 

II a peaceful resolution to the crisis, and to continue 

12 to support the desire of millions of Ukrainian (~iti13 zens for democracy, human rights, government ac-
10


86467c-4.eps

4 

eountability, and the rule of law, and doser relations 

2 \vith Europe; 

3 (4) urges the Government of Ukraine, 1~krain4 ian opposition parties, and all protesters to exercise 

5 the utmost restraint and avoid confrontation, and 

6 calls on the Government of Ukraine to live up to its 

7 international obligations and respect and uphold the 

8 democratic rightR of itR citizenR, including the free9 dom of assembly and e:X'Pression, as well as the free10 dom of the press; 

11 ([)) (~ondernm; all ads of violelwe and ealls on 

12 the Government of rkraine to bring to justice those 

13 responsible for violence and brutality against peace14 ful protesters, and to release and drop any criminal 

15 charges against those detained for peacefully exer16 eising their derrl()(~rati(~ rights; 

17 (6) calls on President Yanulwvych and the Par18 liament of Ukraine to rescind immediately the meas19 ures adopted on January Hi, 2014, and restore full 

20 democratic protections and fundamental rights to 

21 Ukrainian citizenR, and urgeR PreRident Yanukovych 

22 to engage in substantive talks w~th oppositioll lead23 ers to address the legitimate grievances of the oppo24 sitioll; 
11


86467c-5.eps

5 

(7) urges the United States and the European 

2 Union to continue to make clear to rkraine's leaders 

3 that those who authorize or engage in violenee 

4 agaillst peaccful protcsters will bc held pcrsonally 

5 accountable; 

6 (8) supports thc mcasurcs takcll by thc Dcpart7 ment of State to revoke the visas of several rkrain8 iam; linked to the violence, and encourageR the Ad9 ministration to consider additional targeted sanclOtions against those who authorize or engage in the 

11 use of foree; and 

12 (9) urges all parties to engage 1Il constructive, 

13 sustained dialog11e in order to find a peaceful solu14 tion to Ukraillc's currcllt political and economic cri15 SIS. 
12

Chairman ROYCE. It is open for amendment at any point, and 

after my brief remarks, I am going to recognize the ranking member and then any other member seeking recognition to speak on 

this resolution. 

Ukraine is a country of quite strategic significance for us in the 

United States. Its stability, its continued economic development are 

very important to our national interests. The Ukrainian people’s 

determination to ensure basic human rights and freedom for themselves and their country has been inspiring. It is a country with a 

long tortured history. 

The determination that we have seen there is being demonstrated by the hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian citizens who 

have peacefully taken to the streets in defense of their rights. This 

protest movement began with the decision by President 

Yanukovych not to deepen economic engagement with the European Union, but it has since become a struggle between those who 

want a democratic future based on the rule of law for Ukraine and 

those who are prepared to use violence to turn back the clock. And 

in this particular resolution, we call upon all factions to ratchet 

down the use of any violence. 

Events are changing by the hour, at times threatening a dissent 

into chaos and at others offering the possibility of a peaceful resolution to the crisis. This resolution comes at a decisive moment in 

that contest. 

I commend the ranking member for his efforts to ensure that the 

Congress clearly state our support for a peaceful outcome to this 

crisis. He is an individual who has had a great deal of focus since 

the fall of the Berlin Wall, frankly, on the Ukraine, and knows 

from personal experience the costs of the tortured history of the 

Ukraine. His own grandmother disappeared there during those turbulent times, and many, many Americans now turn their focus on 

what they can do in order to try to bring some order out of this 

chaos so that the hopes and aspirations of the people of the 

Ukraine for democracy can truly be realized. 

Mr. Engel. 

Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Chairman, thank you so much for holding this 

markup today and, as I always like to point out, for working with 

us in a bipartisan manner on both of the measures under consideration. 

I strongly support H. Res. 447, a bipartisan resolution I authored 

that supports the democratic and European aspirations of the people of Ukraine and their right to choose their own future. 

As a longstanding advocate of a democratic, prosperous, and 

independent Ukraine, I was very disappointed by the Ukrainian 

Government’s decision last November to reject an offer from the 

European Union for closer economic and political ties. This decision 

derailed years of hard work as well as the prospects for long-term 

economic growth and stronger democratic institutions that would 

result from enhanced relations with the European Union. More immediately, it sparked massive demonstrations in Kyiv and throughout the country. Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians have come 

out in the streets to show their support not only for closer relations 

with Europe but also more fundamentally for democracy, more accountable government, human rights and basic human dignity. 

13

The fact that the protests have been overwhelmingly peaceful 

makes them all the more impressive. Unfortunately, there have 

been exceptions, including police violence on several occasions in 

November and December, the beatings and abductions of journalists and civil society activists, and the most recent and tragic violence following the January 16th passage of antidemocratic laws by 

Ukraine’s Parliament. I strongly condemn all acts of violence. It is 

imperative that all sides exercise restraint and avoid confrontation. 

My sympathies are certainly with the demonstrators, but I think 

we have to monitor the situation carefully because allegations of 

anti-Semitic acts and plays coming from some of the demonstrators 

is very disturbing, and of course, we will not stand for that. Individuals must behave responsibly, and the authorities in particular 

must respect and uphold the democratic rights of all citizens. And 

those who authorize or engage in violence should be held personally accountable for their actions, including by targeted sanctions, 

if appropriate. That is why I welcome the recent actions by the Department of State to revoke the visas of several individuals linked 

to the violence. Following the dramatic increase in tensions this 

month, the most recent developments in Ukraine give some cause 

for hope. I welcome the repeal of most of the antidemocratic measures and the fact that meaningful talks appear to have begun between the government and opposition leaders, but the situation in 

Ukraine remains very volatile and more needs to be done. 

I have a particular interest in Ukraine since my four grandparents were born there. They left for America 100 years ago and 

more, and again, I think that a number of us are very concerned 

with some of the anti-Semitic rants we have heard from some of 

the demonstrators who otherwise seem to be well-intentioned. 

I commend the efforts of the administration and our European 

partners to de-escalate tensions and believe that we must remain 

engaged, and once again, at this critical moment of Ukraine’s history I urge all parties to continue the substantive and sustained 

dialogue that is essential to resolve the crisis and address the desire of millions of Ukrainian citizens for a democratic European future. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Chairman ROYCE. We thank the ranking member not only for his 

long engagement and leadership on this issue, but also this legislation. 

Do any other members seek recognition? Mr. Smith? 

Mr. SMITH. Mr. Chairman, thank you very much, and I wanted 

to thank you for again bringing up in a very bipartisan way resolutions that reflect very deeply held convictions on the part of Members of both sides of the aisle. 

I want to thank Mr. Engel, the ranking member, for sponsoring 

this. I think it really raises an issue at an extremely important 

time. I was in the Ukraine last year. I was in Kyiv. There are areas 

where we have had cooperation with the Yanukovych government, 

especially with his Foreign Minister, who was the chair at office for 

the OSCE (the Organization for Security Cooperation in Europe). 

I was actually there on an anti-human-trafficking effort, and it was 

like I said, tremendous cooperation, but on the whole list of human 

rights concerns, the Yanukovych government has fallen far short, 

14

and the people who are demonstrating, as you pointed out so correctly, Mr. Chairman, on the Maidan, this isn’t just about European integration or taking steps in that direction. It is far larger. 

Basic fundamental human rights need to be respected, freedom of 

the press. We still have a number of outstanding political prisoners 

that need to be released, so I think, again, this raises the issue at 

a very timely time that we stand in solidarity with the people who 

are on the streets, and I want to especially note and underscore 

with emphasis how strong the church is and the churches and the 

other parts of the faith community in saying no violence. They have 

literally, many of the bishops, the metropolitans and others, stood 

right in the crosshairs of what could have been a very violent situation to admonish the leadership and the guys with the guns not to 

shoot. So that shows tremendous courage. Wonderful resolution. 

Chairman ROYCE. Thank you, Mr. Smith. 

Mr. Cicilline. 

Mr. CICILLINE. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I want to thank you 

and Ranking Member Engel for your leadership and for the bipartisan manner in which we are marking up these bills today. In particular, I would like to thank the committee for this vote on House 

Resolution 447, Supporting the democratic and European aspirations of the people of Ukraine and the right to choose their own future free of intimidation and fear. 

The resolution stresses the importance of the adoption of democratic social norms in Ukraine and in the region and supports the 

democratic aspirations of the people of the Ukraine. Over the past 

several years, we have seen some impressive improvements in 

human rights. However, the situation for lesbian, gay, bisexual, 

and transgender individuals continues to be a cause for concern. 

The rampant and unacceptable state-sponsored homophobia we are 

witnessing in neighboring Russia is slowly invading Ukraine as 

well. Russian President Putin’s allies in Kyiv have sought to introduce similar legislation in the Ukrainian Rada to ban so-called homosexual propaganda, which does nothing more than limit the fundamental freedoms of association, speech, and assembly for all 

Ukrainians, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. 

Ukrainian authorities have a clear choice to make. They can 

move closer to the European Union, toward openness, prosperity, 

and the rule of law or they can return to the old days when the 

only rule that mattered was the rule from Moscow. I commend the 

committee for bringing this important resolution forward. The citizens of Ukraine, including her LGBT citizens, deserve much, much 

better, and they should know we stand with them. I again thank 

you, Chairman and Ranking Member, for moving this important 

piece of legislation forward. I look forward to its passage. 

I yield back. 

Chairman ROYCE. Mr. Rohrabacher. 

Mr. ROHRABACHER. Well, I hate to be the only one opposing this, 

but I think that honesty requires us sometimes to step forward and 

say that certain things aren’t true that everybody seems to accept. 

We are talking about the rule of law. Who won the last election 

in Ukraine? The people who won the last election in Ukraine are 

the ones who should be making policy in Ukraine. Our resolution 

here suggests that the people are very upset because their PresiVerDate 0ct 09 2002 13:40 Feb 25, 2014 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00018 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 F:\WORK\_FULL\012914M\86467 HFA PsN: SHIRL
15

dent abruptly suspended negotiations when talking about joining 

the EU or going in that direction. 

How do we know what demands were made on that President? 

Are we backing up some big European banking system that made 

some demand on the Ukraine? Is that what we are doing? We don’t 

even know why they abruptly ended that negotiation, and all we 

know is that that government was elected by the people of the 

Ukraine, and now we are siding with people who want to superimpose their positions on Ukraine. 

If they don’t like the policies of this government, they should 

elect another government the next time they get a chance and reverse the policy, and instead they have been in the streets trying 

to use brute force, and who says that the government was the first 

one to use violence in this? We don’t know that. I have been watching this situation as closely as anybody. And for all we know, the 

demonstrators, there were people in the demonstrations, and Eliot 

has already mentioned that there are some rogue elements in this 

whole confrontation. On the side of the demonstrators, there are 

pretty unsavory people, just as we know in the government they 

have got a bunch of unsavory people there as well. 

The question is, should the United States Government be telling 

them that joining the EU is what is good for them, no matter what 

demands the EU is making on Ukraine? Let’s quit trying to tell 

these people what to do. You want the rule of law? Let’s talk about 

the rule of law. I mean, how can we pass a thing on the rule of 

law when the rule of law has that elected government making the 

decision, and we are trying to tell them not to let the elected government make the decision; let demonstrators in the street do it instead. 

Now, if we were calling on the Government of Ukraine to have 

a referendum on the EU, I would be supporting that resolution. 

That, indeed, would be a democratic solution to that, and whoever 

is opposing it, I would think they are making the wrong decision 

in Ukraine, but let’s be for the rule of law. Let’s not try to superimpose our vision, yeah, Ukraine should be more aligned with the 

EU than with some Russian economic federation. Let’s—we can’t 

superimpose our values like that, our decisions on them. If we do, 

we are contradicting our own basic concept of the rule of law and 

the democratic process. 

We need to do a lot of thinking about this resolution, and I am 

sorry to have to put this in everybody’s face because I can see everybody wants to do this, this is the popular thing, this is what 

makes you look, look, I am so concerned about freedom when, in 

fact, the substance of what we are doing is against the rule of law 

and against permitting the people of Ukraine to make their decisions through the democratic process. And we should condemn violence on both sides, which I imagine this does. I will be opposing 

this resolution. 

Chairman ROYCE. If I could respond as chairman because the 

gentleman from California has raised some points that, indeed, you 

have a duly elected government in the Ukraine, but at the same 

time, one of the questions before us is if a government does not go 

through regular order but, instead, suspends the rights or the liberties of people through a process whereby that government takes 

16

the executive branch and utilizes the executive branch for what 

should have gone through the Parliament in order to strip citizens, 

from their perspective, of their basic rights—in other words, if you 

have antidemocratic measures that are put in place by executive 

fiat or by promulgation only from the Presidency and they are not 

ratified by the Parliament, you can see why this becomes a more 

confusing issue, and that is why I think at the end of the day, the 

fact that the resolution calls for restraint on all factions, basically 

the thrust of the resolution is to try to get back toward leverage 

for a resolution based upon nonviolence, based upon consultation, 

based upon not going out into the streets, either the military or the 

protesters in order to get back to some semblance of an environment in which perhaps the Parliament can again begin to make the 

decisions and do it in a democratically inclined way is to set a 

framework here, and this is what Mr. Engel, I believe, is trying to 

do, a framework whereby we can have reason prevail. So from that 

standpoint and especially since the powers of the Parliament have 

been usurped arguably by the executive branch with these antidemocratic measures, I think it is appropriate for the House to 

urge a potential solution here. 

Any other members seek recognition? 

Mr. KEATING. Mr. Chairman. 

Chairman ROYCE. Mr. Keating. 

Mr. KEATING. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Mr. Chairman, I would like to thank you and Ranking Member 

Engel for working together with myself and other people on this bipartisan resolution. Further, I would like to thank the members of 

the European Subcommittee that have signed on, which include 

each minority member of that subcommittee. As ranking member 

of the Subcommittee on Europe, Eurasia, and Emerging Threats, I 

believe that it is indeed essential for the United States to show our 

strong support for the democratic aspirations of the Ukrainian people. Many of us have been deeply troubled by the developments in 

Ukraine in the wake of President Yanukovych’s decision not to sign 

an association agreement with the European Union and the resulting activities that followed. 

We have been troubled, but we have also been inspired by the 

thousands of nonviolent protesters and journalists who have taken 

to the streets, despite subzero temperatures and bitter wind chill 

to peacefully demonstrate and demand in a more democratic way 

for an open society. 

We have been disappointed in the Ukrainian Government’s repeated refusal to engage in substantive dialogue with these protesters, and we have been deeply dismayed at reports of violence, 

especially the deaths, beatings, and disappearances, illegal arrests, 

and hospitalization of peaceful protesters, social activists, and journalists. I applaud the administration’s decision to revoke the U.S. 

visas of the Ukrainian Government officials who were responsible 

for ordering or committing acts of violence against peaceful protesters. I believe additional sanctions should be considered, especially in the event of further violence. 

On Tuesday, Ukraine’s Parliament voted to repeal five of the repressive measures enacted on January 16th, and this is an important first step. Another hopeful sign was the resignation of the 

17

Prime Minister and his cabinet. This creates an opening for serious 

dialogue between the government and the opposition. 

Quite appropriately, this resolution urges all parties to refrain 

from violence, all parties, and to engage in constructive, sustained 

dialogue in order to find a peaceful solution to the current crisis. 

To facilitate that process, this resolution underscores to protesters, 

to the government, and to all Ukrainians that the United States 

will continue to defend Ukraine’s sovereign right to chart its own 

course and build its own future. It also makes clear not just to the 

protesters, but to President Yanukovych as well, that the United 

States will continue to support the Ukrainian people’s aspirations 

to build a strong and prosperous democracy, one that is firmly rooted in Europe. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I yield back. 

Chairman ROYCE. Given our time constraints, I am going to go 

ahead and ask unanimous consent that the brief Engel amendment 

No. 84 sent around to all offices yesterday updating the text to reflect events in the last couple of days be considered en bloc with 

the base text. 

Without objection, so ordered. 

[The amendment follows:]

18


86467d-1.eps

AMENDMENT TO THE AMENDMENT IN THE 

NATURE OF A SUBSTITUTE TO H. RES. 447 

OFFERED BY MR. ENGEL OF NEW YORK 

In the second-to-last clause of the preamble, strike 

"and" at the end. 

Tn the last clause of the preamble, strike" "\fow, 

therefore, be it" and insert "and". 

At the end of the preamble, add the following: 

"Vhereas in the face of spreading demonstrations, rkrainian 

Government representatives and opposition leaders have 

entered into negotiations which on Januar,Y 28, 2014, resulted in the resignation of the Prime lVIinister and his 

eahinet and the repeal of most of the anti -demoeratie 

laws from January Hi, 2014: Now, therefore, be it 

Strike paragraph (6) of the resolved text and insert 

the follovving: 

(6) weleornes the repeal hy the 1~krainian par2 liament of most of the anti-democratic measures 

3 adopted on ,January 16, 2014, and urges President 

4 Yanukov,Ych to continue to engage in substantive 

5 talks ,vit11 opposition leaders to address the legiti-
19

Mr. SMITH. Mr. Chairman? 

Chairman ROYCE. Yes? 

Mr. SMITH. Might I ask a question of the bill sponsor? 

Chairman ROYCE. Absolutely. 

Mr. SMITH. Thank you. 

And I would ask Mr. Engel, you know, we don’t define any country or government as to how we look at their work on democracy 

or human rights as to who they associate with, in this case the European Union. In reading your ‘‘be it resolved clauses’’ and that the 

House should do this, the House should do that, I don’t see anything in this that says they should join the European Union; is that 

correct? 

Mr. ENGEL. I believe that is correct. 

Mr. SMITH. So you would leave it exclusively up to the Ukrainian 

people to decide when and if, if ever, they would like to become 

part of the European Union? 

Mr. ENGEL. Yes. 

Mr. SMITH. Okay. So this focuses on the human rights abuses 

and the violence that has taken the lives of several people and our 

concern for their lives and that the aspiration of the Ukrainian 

people be properly respected? 

Mr. ENGEL. Absolutely. 

Mr. SMITH. Thank you. 

Mr. ENGEL. Thank you. 

Chairman ROYCE. Without——

Mr. ROHRABACHER. Mr. Chairman? 

Chairman ROYCE. Yes, the gentleman is recognized. 

Mr. ROHRABACHER. I would like to ask Mr. Engel some questions 

as well. 

Chairman ROYCE. The gentleman from California is recognized. 

Mr. ROHRABACHER. Mr. Engel, doesn’t this resolution say, 

‘‘Whereas the Government of Ukraine has declared integration 

with Europe a national priority and has made significant progress 

toward meeting the requirement of that association agreement,’’ 

isn’t that basically a ‘‘whereas’’ saying that is what we believe they 

should do? And ‘‘Whereas, on November 21, 2013, following several 

months of intense outside pressure, the President of Ukraine 

abruptly suspended negotiations on the association agreement 1 

week before it was due to be signed at the EU’s Eastern Partnership Summit in Lithuania.’’ Isn’t that our suggestion, then, this 

President, who was elected to represent his people, and we have no 

idea what demands are being made of him to become part of the 

EU, aren’t we then here condemning him for suspending those neVerDate 0ct 09 2002 13:40 Feb 25, 2014 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00023 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 F:\WORK\_FULL\012914M\86467 HFA PsN: SHIRL

86467d-2.eps
20

gotiations when we don’t even know what demands were being 

made on his country? 

Mr. ENGEL. Well, first of all, Mr. Rohrabacher, the ‘‘whereas’’ 

clauses just simply state the facts, and the facts as we know them 

is that there were negotiations going on with the European Union 

and also lots of pressure from Russia to not join with the European 

Union but instead to join a Russian customs union. And it has been 

obvious to anyone who has watched the situation that that was a 

very unpopular move with the people of Ukraine. That is why you 

have these spontaneous demonstrations. So the ‘‘whereas’’ clauses 

were just simply laying out the facts as we see them. 

Mr. ROHRABACHER. Well, Mr. Engel, it is hard for me to suggest 

that we know exactly what the view of the majority of the people 

of Ukraine is by the number of demonstrators that certain groups 

can put in the streets. Now, by the way, several years ago, I was 

out in the streets in Ukraine camping out with protesters, and but 

basically, they were calling for a new election, et cetera, and I 

thought that was justified. 

We are not even asking people here to call for a referendum on 

this issue. We are just basically saying that the Government of 

Ukraine doesn’t have the right—or at least we are condemning 

them for making a decision that we disagree with them on. 

Mr. ENGEL. Well, I——

Mr. ROHRABACHER. This is—you know, this is a slippery slope 

here, folks. 

Mr. ENGEL. Well, I do think that——

Mr. ROHRABACHER. We are talking rule of law. Rule of law 

means the guy who wins the election makes the decisions. 

Mr. ENGEL. Well, I think that any objective observation of what 

has been happening in Ukraine seems clear to me that this government is going against the will of the people. We saw that happen 

in Egypt, and we were able to make some conclusions, even though 

in Egypt, you had the Muslim Brotherhood duly elected. I mean, 

most of us didn’t like that government, but it was duly elected, but 

it became clear that it no longer seemed to represent the wishes 

of the people. I think it is a similar situation here in Ukraine. That 

would be my opinion. I understand we have a disagreement, and 

I respect your view, but I think it is pretty clear that the people 

of Ukraine are fed up with the decisions that were made by the 

current leaderin Ukraine. 

Mr. ROHRABACHER. And Mr. Engel, immediately after Mr. Morsi 

was removed from a government in Egypt, the people involved in 

that immediately put in process a road map for elections, and they 

did so. So, basically, we were talking about leading up to elections, 

and frankly, I don’t see that this is being aimed at the democratic 

process. I see what we are doing here as being something aimed 

at forcing a country to join the European Union. And we have no 

idea what demands are being made of them to be part of that 

union. 

Mr. ENGEL. Well, let me just say that I think that the demonstrators in the streets of Kyiv are asking the President to resign 

so that new elections can be held. I think that is their goal, and 

I, for one, certainly am sympathetic to that goal. 

Chairman ROYCE. Hearing no further amendments——

21

Mr. GRAYSON. Mr. Chairman? 

Chairman ROYCE. Mr. Grayson? 

Mr. GRAYSON. Listening to the debate that has been going on, I 

am wondering how the propounders of this measure would feel 

about deleting the second ‘‘whereas’’ clause, the 12th ‘‘whereas’’ 

clause, and the 13th ‘‘whereas’’ clause, leaving the rest of the bill 

intact. I will read the three clauses. The first one reads, ‘‘Whereas 

closer relations with the European Union through the signing of an 

association agreement would promote democratic values, good governance, and economic opportunity in Ukraine.’’ The 12th ‘‘whereas’’ clause, which is at the bottom of page 2, says, ‘‘Whereas on 

January 16, 2014, the Ukrainian Parliament passed and President 

Yanukovych signed legislation which severely limits the right of 

peaceful protest, constrains the freedom of speech and independent 

media and unduly restricts civil society organizations.’’ And the 

third ‘‘whereas’’ clause reads, ‘‘Whereas the passage of these undemocratic measures and President Yanukovych’s refusal to engage 

in substantive dialogue with opposition leaders precipitated several 

days of violence and resulted in several deaths and hundreds of injuries as well as numerous allegations of police brutality.’’

I think that deleting these three ‘‘whereas’’ clauses avoids the 

implication that we are somehow suggesting or implying that the 

Ukraine needs to join the EU, whether or not it does so voluntarily, 

and also avoids the implication that we believe that the actions 

taken through color of law in the Ukraine are somehow undemocratic. Thank you. 

Mr. ENGEL. Well, let me, if I might, Mr. Grayson. I certainly, you 

know, respect your counsel in going through the resolution, but I 

think, at this time, I really would not feel comfortable with eliminating certain clauses. I can speak for myself. I think that, personally, obviously, it is up to the Ukrainian people, but I happen to 

believe, as the demonstrators do, that the country would be far better off working out a partnership with the European Union than 

with the Russian customs union. 

Obviously, we as Americans don’t have the right to make that 

decision, but I certainly think that it is not off base or out of line 

to express our feelings in that regard. Russia has been putting lots 

of pressure on a number of countries in the region, not only 

Ukraine but Moldova, Georgia, and some of the other countries to 

try to blackmail them or bully them into joining the Russian customs union rather than the EU partnership, and I think that the 

majority of people on this committee and in the Congress think or 

would like to see these countries have the opportunity to join the 

EU. So I just worry about starting at this late date as we are 

marking this up to pull out various paragraphs would be detrimental, so I certainly respect what you have tried to do, but I really think that I would decline to chop this up at this date. 

Chairman ROYCE. Ms. Frankel wanted recognition. 

Ms. FRANKEL. Thank you, Mr. Chair. 

I have a question of the sponsor. I have enjoyed this debate. 

What is the potential impact of this resolution? 

Mr. ENGEL. Well, like so many other resolutions like this, it is 

essentially a sense of Congress talking about how we feel. I would 

think that if word got back to the demonstrators in Ukraine that 

22

the U.S. Congress had passed such a resolution, it would give a 

boost to them in their efforts psychologically, if nothing else, and 

I don’t think there is anything wrong with the Congress stating 

how we feel about democratic aspirations of people. 

You know, the United States, the European Union are allies, and 

I think they share common values with us, democratic common values, and I don’t think it is wrong of us to express that we are sympathetic to those democratic common values. 

Chairman ROYCE. Mr. Sherman? 

Mr. SHERMAN. I share Mr. Rohrabacher’s concern that it is not 

for us to tell the Ukrainians what to do and that just the number 

of demonstrators on the streets may not show where the majority 

opinion lies. 

But in this case, this President of the Ukraine ran on a platform 

that he would join and go forward with the European Union. Of 

course, his opponents ran on a similar platform. This is a fundamental decision. This isn’t like, you know, changing your opinion 

on a minor matter, and for the President to reject the European 

Union without going back to the people of his country seems unfair. 

As to whether there are unreasonable demands being made by 

the Europeans at these negotiations, if so, the President of the 

Ukraine should share that information with his people, and so I do 

think it is appropriate for us to assume that, while there is substantial opposition to going forward, that the President of the 

Ukraine should not be rejecting European membership and association without going back to his people. 

As to the text of the resolution and Mr. Grayson’s comments, I 

think that the second ‘‘whereas’’ clause does seem to imply that we 

are telling the people of the Ukraine they would be better off with 

the European Union, but it contains the word ‘‘should’’ rather than 

‘‘would,’’ so it says ‘‘signing the association agreement should promote democratic values.’’ Everything we do should support democratic values and promote democratic values, but I do think the 

resolution would be improved by removing that ‘‘whereas’’ clause so 

that we can say we are in favor of a democratic decision. Ordinarily 

democracy takes place through just electing a President and a Parliament, but when you elect a President and a Parliament on a 

platform to do this, and they decide to do that, then it is time to 

go back to the people——

Mr. ROHRABACHER. Would the gentleman yield? 

Mr. SHERMAN. And as to the other two ‘‘whereas’’—I will yield in 

a second. Whereas the other clauses that Mr. Grayson objects to, 

I would not join him in that concern because it is simply true that 

this government in Kyiv has adopted, through parliamentary 

means, restrictions on peaceful protest that clash with the democratic values, and throughout the world, we oppose antidemocratic, 

anti-free-speech provisions, even if adopted by a duly elected Parliament. So I think it is up to the author to decide whether to perhaps satisfy some of us and eliminate that second ‘‘whereas’’ 

clause. I think as long as it has the word ‘‘should’’ in it, it is not 

as objectionable as it would if it had the word ‘‘would’’ promote 

democratic values. 

Mr. ROHRABACHER. Would the gentleman yield for a question? 

Mr. SHERMAN. And I yield to the gentleman from California. 

23

Mr. ROHRABACHER. Wouldn’t you say that if we were really suggesting that the democratic process be followed that we should—

that instead, the people of Ukraine should unelect this government 

and elect a government that does follow through on its commitments, and are we calling for—if we are calling for a referendum 

here or something like that, I think I would be less hesitant because we really don’t know about these type of negotiations that go 

on between—Margaret Thatcher was attacked, by the way, let me 

be very clear: There were riots, and there were major demonstrations against Margaret Thatcher for not wanting to go into the EU. 

And I am sorry, she was elected at that time, and she—of course, 

she lost her position, but it was good that—anyway——

Mr. SHERMAN. Just to reclaim my time. I don’t think the resolution has the specificity of saying what mechanism the Ukrainian 

people should use to make their views known on this important 

issue, whether that is new elections for a new Chief Executive or 

whether that is a referendum, either would take the same approach, which is allowing the people of the Ukraine to make this 

important decision. The resolution doesn’t deal with that, and so 

maybe some steps could be——

Mr. ROHRABACHER. That might be a better resolution. Thank 

you. 

Mr. SHERMAN. I yield back. 

Chairman ROYCE. Mr. Engel. 

Mr. ENGEL. Yes, I want to ask Mr. Grayson, was that one of the 

paragraphs that you had suggested we remove? That ‘‘whereas,’’ 

the second ‘‘whereas’’? 

Mr. GRAYSON. Yes. Also, it might accommodate Mr. 

Rohrabacher’s concern if you simply changed ‘‘should’’ to ‘‘might’’ or 

‘‘may.’’

Mr. SHERMAN. I would just take it out. 

Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Chairman, since there seems to be some concern 

with that paragraph, let me make an amendment to remove it. Ask 

unanimous consent to remove that paragraph. 

Chairman ROYCE. Without objection. 

Mr. ENGLE. All right. Then might I suggest——

Yes, the gentleman from Virginia. 

Mr. CONNOLLY. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I know we are 

trying to move this along. 

Chairman ROYCE. We have one more resolution. 

Mr. CONNOLLY. I know. I just want to say, I think Mr. Rohrabacher actually brings up a good point. There is some danger 

when we do things like this that we are the new imperium, deciding for others all over the world what our version of legitimate democracy is for them. 

I have enormous respect for the ranking member, but he cited 

Egypt as an analogy. We replaced an elected government because 

or, I should say, an elected government was replaced by a military 

junta that has slaughtered people in the streets because we think, 

we think the elected government lost its legitimacy. Where will 

that end if we go down that road, even if we don’t like the particular government that got elected? That is the warning Mr. Rohrabacher is laying in front of us beyond the specific wording, and I 

just, I want to join with him in expressing that concern because I 

24

think we are all, frankly, going to regret the change that occurred 

in Egypt, even though what it replaced was something most of us 

were probably not all that comfortable with. And we need to take 

care, as the House Foreign Affairs Committee and as the Congress 

of the United States, to show a little humility and respect for others’ sovereignty and others’ processes, even if they are not always 

ours. 

And I just wanted to say that, Mr. Chairman, because the analogy to Egypt is to me a very troubling one. I thank you. 

Chairman ROYCE. Would the gentleman yield? 

Mr. CONNOLLY. Of course. 

Chairman ROYCE. But getting back to the actual ‘‘resolved’’ 

clauses, and I would just repeat for the members here the basic 

concept here, ‘‘urges the Government of Ukraine, Ukrainian opposition parties, and all protesters to exercise the utmost restraint and 

avoid confrontation and calls on the Government of Ukraine to live 

up to its international obligations to respect and uphold the democratic rights of its citizens, including the freedom of assembly and 

expression as well as the freedom of the press.’’ It condemns all 

acts of violence. In other words, what I don’t want to be lost here 

in the debate is the fact that in the body of the ‘‘resolved’’ clauses, 

which is the main portion of this document before us, this resolution, is the intent to convey exactly that, and I think that is the 

spirit with which the resolution was offered. 

I want to recognize Mr. Keating for a minute. 

Mr. CONNOLLY. Mr. Chairman, if I could just reclaim my time before, Mr. Chairman, because I yielded to you. I just want to say I 

agree with you; I support the resolution as amended, but the word 

of caution coming from our friend from California I think is worthy 

of note. 

Thank you. 

Chairman ROYCE. Right, right. 

Mr. Keating. 

Mr. KEATING. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Just briefly, because we are up against a timeline. Just a few 

weeks ago, this committee unanimously passed, no opposition that 

I am aware of, a resolution concerning the eastern partnership that 

dealt with Ukraine aspirations just like this. We are already on 

record on that. So you are going to have to go back and put the 

genie back in the bottle. 

This committee has already done that. Now this resolution, any 

fair reading of it, the substance is just to say we want a dialogue. 

We are encouraging a dialogue. That is all we are doing. 

Chairman ROYCE. Yes. 

Mr. KEATING. And there is nothing more democratic than that. 

I yield back. 

Chairman ROYCE. Well, I think the legislation that is now before 

us is the underlying House Resolution 447, as amended, first by 

the en bloc amendments and secondarily by the amendments just 

offered, suggested, and by unanimous consent accepted, removing 

that one particular clause. So if we might——

Mr. ROHRABACHER. Mr. Chairman? 

Chairman ROYCE. Yes? 

25

Mr. ROHRABACHER. Let me just note that I accept your explanation of the resolution condemning all acts of violence, not just 

government on the people but any violence that may have occurred 

by demonstrators trying to force their will through that type of violent demonstration. I accept that explanation. I accept that we 

have amended the bill to try to at least acknowledge that we are 

not telling these people that joining the EU is what we are insisting on, and I believe that that, you have amended it, and we have 

explained it enough that I will be supporting the resolution. 

Chairman ROYCE. We thank the gentleman from California, and 

the question now occurs on agreeing to House Resolution 447, as 

amended, by the Engel amendment. 

All in favor signify by saying aye. 

All opposed? 

The ayes have it. 

The amendments that are in the underlying bill are agreed to, 

and without objection, the resolution, as amended, is ordered favorably reported and will be reported as a single amendment in the 

nature of a substitute. Staff is directed to make any technical and 

conforming changes. 

And I now call up H.R. 938 for consideration. The clerk will report the title of the bill. 

Ms. MARTER. H.R. 938, To strengthen the strategic alliance between the United States and Israel and for other purposes. 

Chairman ROYCE. Without objection, the measure is considered 

read. 

The Ros-Lehtinen/Deutch amendment in the nature of a substitute that was provided to your offices Monday morning is considered base text for purposes of markup. 

[The information referred to follows:]

26


86467a-1.eps

113m CONGRESS 

1",'1' SB",,,,lOl\ H. R. 938 

'1'0 strengthen the strategic alliance between the United St:JteR :md IRraeL 

and lor other purposes. 

IK THE HOUSE OF REPRESE~TATIVES 

MAB.eR 4, 2013 

}Is. Ros-LBll'1'11\8N (for herself and Mr. Dl£U'l'Cll) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition t.o the Committees on the .Judiciary and Science, Spael', and Technology, for a period to be EubN('{lUently <let.erlllillt'd by 1.11" Speaker, in 

each case for consideration of such provisions as fall "ithin the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To strengthen the strategic alliance between the rnited 

States and Israel, and for other purposes. 

Be it enaet(;d by {he 8enate and llouse (if Repn;sentl1-

2 tI:IXS of the United States of.1!merica in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the "United States-Israel 

5 Strategic Partnership Act of 2013". 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 
27


86467a-2.eps

(1) The turmoil in the :.\!fiddle Ea14t p014es a 14e2 rious threat to rl1ited States national security inter3 est14 a11(l re(111ire14 eooperation with allie14 that are 

4 wining to work with the United States in pursuit of 

5 shared objectives. 

6 (2) The October 81, 1998, Memorandum of 

7 Agreement signed by President Clinton and Prime 

8 MiniRter Netanyahn commitR the United StateR to 

9 ~working jointly ,vith Israel towards enhancing 

10 Israel's defensive and deterrent capabilities and np11 gnHling the framework of the United State14-Israd 

12 strategic and military relationships, as well as the 

13 technological cooperation between both countries. 

14 (3) 011 August Hi, 2007, the United States and 

15 Israel signed a Memorandum of Understanding re16 affirming United Stat.es eornmitrnent t.o the 14eeurity 

17 of Israel and establishing a lO-year framework for 

18 incremental increases ill United States military as19 sistanC'e to Israel. 

20 (4) The Memorandum of Understanding signed 

21 two yearR later on ,T annary Hi, 2008 reaffirmed the 

22 United States commitment and noted "the security, 

23 military and intelligence cooperation between the 

24 Unit.ell State14 amI Israel". 
28


86467a-3.eps

(5) The 1~nited States and Israel eon(ilwt a 

2 semi-annual Strategic Dialogue. The Department of 

3 State, in a statement follo"\ving the ,July 12, 2012, 

4 meetillg of the Strategic Dialogue, noted that the 

5 discussions focused on such issues of mutual concern 

6 as "Irau's continued quest to devclop tluclear weap7 OIlS, which the United States and Israel are both de8 termined to prevent" and "how the continued VlO9 lence of the S.)l-ian regime against its citizens [as10 sisted by Iran and Hezbollah J could also lead to se11 vere ("onse(luenees for the entire region". 

12 SEC. 3. DECLARATION OF POLICY. 

13 Congress declares that Israel 1S a major strategic 

14 partner of the United States. 

15 SEC. 4. AMENDMENTS TO THE UNITED STATES-ISRAEL EN16 HANCED SECURITY COOPERATION ACT OF 

17 2012. 

18 (a) UNTTRD ST1'\TES ACTTOKS To ASSIST TN THE DE19 B'ENSE OF ISRAEL AKD PROTECT UNITED STATES INTER20 ESTS.-Section 4 of the rnited States-Israel Enhanced 

21 Serurity Cooperation Act of 2012 (Public Law 112-150; 

22 22 U.S.C. 8603) is amended23 (1) by striking "It is the sense of Congress that 

24 the United States Government should" amI inserting 
29


86467a-4.eps

4 

"(a) L"i GEKERAL.-The President should, to the 

2 maximum extent practicable,"; and 

3 (2) by aaaing at the end the follo"\ving: 

4 "(b) REPOR'l'.-1'\ot later than 180 days after the 

5 date of the enactment of this subsection, the President 

6 shall submit to Congress a report 011 the implemelltatioll 

7 of this sertion.". 

8 (11) EXTE:\SION OF W~ill RESERVES STOCKPILE An9 THORl'l'y.-Section 5(a) of the United States-Ismel EIl10 hanced Security Cooperation Act of 2012 (Public Law 

11 112-150) is amended to read a8 follovvs: 

12 "(a) EXTEKSION OF \VAR RESERV"ES STOCKPILE Au-

]3 l'TTORTl'Y.-

14 "(1) DEPARTMENT 01" DEl<'E.:-.rSE APPROPRlA15 TIONS ACT, 2oo5.-Seetion 12001(d) of the Depart.-

16 ment of Defense Appropriations Ad, 2005 (Pnblie 

17 Law 108-287: 118 Stat. 1011), is amended by strik18 ing 'more than 10 years after' and inserting 'more 

19 than 11 years after'. 

20 "(2) FOREIGN ASSISTANCE ACT OF 19G1.-SeC21 fion 514(h)(2)(A) of the Foreign ARRi8tanre J,,"ct of 

22 19G1 (22 U.S.C. 2321h(b)(2)(A)) is amended by 

23 striking 'and 2014' and inserting " 2014, and 

24 2015'.". 
30


86467a-5.eps

f) 

1 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF ASSISTANCE FOR ISRAEL. 

2 (a) FIKDING.-Congre,,,, finds that Israel has adopt3 ed high standards in the field of export controls, including 

4 by becoming adherent to the Australia Group, the Missile 

5 Technology Control Regime, the Nuclear Suppliers Group, 

6 and the \VassenaarArrangement, and by ena('ting robust 

7 legislation and regulations for the ('ontrol of dual-use and 

8 defense items. 

9 (b) EA'PEDITED IJICENSING PROCEDURES.-The 

10 President should Indwle Israel on the list of destinations 

11 described ill paragraph (c)(l) of seetioll 740.20 of title 15, 

12 Code of Federal Reg111ations (relating to Li('ense Rxeep13 tion Strategic Trade Authoril':ation). 

14 (e) OVEHSEAS PRIVATE IN\TESTMENT COHPORA15 TIO~.-In earrying ont its authorities under title IV of 

16 ehapter 2 of part I of the Foreign Assistanee Aet of 1961 

17 (22 r.s.c. 2191 et seq.), the Overseas Private Investment 

18 Corporation should consider giving preferenee to providing 

19 insnranee, finaneing, or reinsuranee for energy and water 

20 projeets in Israel. 

21 (d) ENERGY, WA'TER, HONlEL&"lD SECURITY, Am\!-

22 CUTn'rrU~, AND ALTER~NrTV1;: FTTRL TECTTNOTlXHES.-

23 (1) IN GENERAL.-The President is authorized 

24 to earry out United States-Israel eooperative aetivi25 ties and to provide a~sistan('e promoting eooperation 
31


86467a-6.eps

6 

in the fields of energy, water, homeland seenrity, ag2 riculture, and alternative fuel technologies. 

3 (2) RE(~nIRElVIENT8.-In earrying out para4 graph (1), the President is authori:ted to share aud 

5 exchange \vith Israel research, technology, intel6 ligellcc, information, equipment, and personnel that 

7 the President determines ~will advance the national 

8 security interests of the United States and is con9 sistent vvith the Strategic Dialogue and pertilleut 

10 provisions of law11 (A) hy enliane.ing seientifie eooperation be12 tween Israel and the rnited States; or 

13 (TIl hy the sale, lease, exchange in kind, or 

14 other techniques the President deter-milles to be 

15 suitable. 

16 SEC. 6. EXTENSION OF EXISTING AUTHORIZATION OF 

17 

18 

UNITED STATES-ISRAEL ENERGY COOPERATION. 

19 Sectioll 917(c) of the Energy independellce and Secu20 rity Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 173:37(c)) is amended by 

21 striking" 7 years" and im;erting "17 years" . 
32


86467a-7.eps

7 

1 SEC. 7. UNITED STATES-ISRAEL COOPERATION ON CYBER2 SECURITY. 

3 It is a sense of COllgress that the Lnited States and 

4 Israel should take steps and e:ll.1l1ore avenues to increase 

5 eooperation on cyher-security. 

6 SEC. 8. STATEMENT OF UNITED STATES POLICY REGARD7 ING ISRAEL'S DEFENSE SYSTEMS. 

8 (a) P1KDlNGS.-Congress9 (1) commends the first phase completion of the 

10 D~rvjd's Sling Weapon System (DSWS) by the Israel 

11 Missile Defense OrgalliL';aticm and the t: .S. Missile 

12 Defense Agency, which is designed to pro,~de addi13 tiona 1 opportunities for interceptioll by the joint 

14 United States-Israel Arrow ~Weapon System (Arrow 

15 2 and Arruw 8); 

16 (:2) congratulates the Israel :J,fissile Defense 01'-

17 ganization and the r.s. Missile Defense Agency on 

18 suecessfully executing the A1'rOl"- 3 flyout of a more 

19 advanced interceptor, which vvill improve Israel's de20 fenses against upper tier ballistic missile threats 

21 from nations including Iran; 

22 (3) recogni7.es that during Operation Pillar of 

23 Defense in November 2012. Israel aeployed Iron 

24 Dome short-range rocket defense batteries to inter25 eept Hamas-laundled ro('kets fired from Haza-of 
33


86467a-8.eps

8 

Israeli citizens, 80 to 8G percent were suceessfully 

2 intercepted, sav-ing countless lives; and 

3 (4) agrees that, as stated by former Seeretary 

4 of Defense IJeon Panetta, "Iron Dome performed, I 

5 think it's fair to say, remarkably well during the re6 ceut escalation. . . Iron Dome does not start wars. 

7 It helps prevent wars.". 

8 (11) STATEMEKT OF POLICY.-The Pret;ident, acting 

9 through the Secretary of Defense amI the Secretary of 

10 State, should provide assistance, upon request by the Gov11 ernrnent of IsraeL for the enhaneement of the D avid \.; 

12 Sling vVeapon System, the enhancement of the joint 

13 United States-Israel Arrow vVeapon System (Arrow 2 and 

14 ~\iTOW 3), and the procurcmcut and enhancement of the 

15 Iron Dome short-range rocket defense system for purposes 

16 of intereepting shOli,-range roekets, missiles, amI other 

17 projeetiles lauuehed against Israel. 

18 SEC. 9. REPORT ON ELIGIBILITY OF ISRAEL FOR VISA 

19 WAIVER PROGRAM. 

20 (a) STATE:\IENT OF POLICY.-It shall be the policy 

21 of the United States to include It;rael in the lit;t of coun22 tries that pariieipate in the visa waiver program under 

23 seetioll 217 of the TmmigTation and Nationality Aet (8 

24 U.S.C. 1187) when I~rad sati~fies the re(l'lirements for 

25 inelusion in such program speeified in sueh seetion. 
34


86467a-9.eps

9 

(h) REPORT.-Not later than IRO !lays after the date 

2 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall 

3 submit to the Committee on the ,Tudieiary of the House 

4 of Representatives alld the Committee 011 the .J udiciary 

5 of the Senate a report on the extent to which Israel satis6 fies the requirements specified in section 217 of the lmmi7 gTation and Nationality Act for inclusion in the ·visa waiver 

8 program under t;nch t;ection and what additional steps, if 

9 any, are required in order for Israel to quality for inclusion 

lOin such program. 
35


86467e-1.eps

AMENDMENT IN THE NATURE OF A SUBSTITUTE 

TO H.R. 938 

OFFERED BY Ms. Ros-LEHTINEN OF FLORIDA 

AND MR. DEUTCH OF FLORIDA 

Strike all after the enaetillg elause and insert the 

follmving: 

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Ad may be eited as the "United States-Israel 

3 Strategie Partnership Aet of 2014". 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 Congress finds the following: 

6 (1) The turmoil ill the Yfiddle East poses a se7 rious threat to rnited States national seeurity interS ests and requires eooperation with allies that are 

9 \villing to work ~with the United States in pursuit of 

10 shared objeetives. 

II (2) The Oetober 31, 1998, Memorandum of 

12 Agreement signed by President Clillton alld Prime 

13 Minister Netanyahu eommits the United States to 

14 working jointly \vith Israel towards el1han(~ing 

15 Israel's defensive and deterrent eapabilities and up16 grading the framework of the United States-Israel 
36


86467e-2.eps

2 

strategi(~ amI military relationships, as well as the 

2 technological cooperation between both countries. 

3 (8) On August 16, 2007, the United States and 

4 Israel signed a lVIemoramIum of U mlcrstanding reS affirming United States commitment to the security 

6 of Israel and establishing a 10-year framework for 

7 incremental increases in United States military as8 sistance to Israel. 

9 ( 4) The Memorandum of Understanding signed 

10 two years later on .J anuary 16, 2009 reaffirmed the 

11 United States eommitment amI noted "the seeurity, 

12 military and intelligence cooperation between the 

13 United States and Israel". 

14 (5) The C nited States alld Israel conduct a 

15 semi-annual Strategic Dialogue. The Department of 

16 State, in a statement follmving the ,July 12, 2012, 

17 meeting of the Strategic Dialogue, noted that the 

18 discussions focused on such issues of mutual concern 

19 as "Iran's continued quest to develop mwlear weap20 ons, which the United States and Israel are both de21 termined to prevent" and "how the continued vlO22 lence of the Syrian regime against its citizens [as23 sisted by Irall and TTezhollah 1 could also lead to se24 vere eonse(luem~es for the entire region". 
37


86467e-3.eps

:1 

1 SEC. 3. DECLARATION OF POLICY. 

2 Congress dedares that Israel IS a IrlaJor strategic 

3 partncr of thc Unitcd Statcs. 

4 SEC. 4. AMENDMENTS TO THE UNITED STATES-ISRAEL EN5 HANCED SECURITY COOPERATION ACT OF 

6 2012. 

7 (a) UNITIW STATES ACTTOKS To ASSIST IN TTTR DE8 YI~NSE OF ISRAEL AKD PROTECT UNITED STATES INTER9 ESTS.-Section 4 of the rnited States-Israel Enhanced 

10 Seeurity Cooperation A(~t of 2012 (Publie Law 112-150; 

11 22 U.S.C. 8(03) is amcndcd12 (1) by striking "It is the sense of Congress that 

13 thc Unitcd Statcs Govcrnmcnt should" and inscrting 

14 "(a) IN GEKERAL.-The President should, to the 

15 maximum extent practicahle,"; and 

16 (2) by adding at the end the follcl\ving: 

17 "(b) HEPORT.-Kot later than 180 days after the 

18 elate of the enaetment of this subseetion, the President 

19 shall submit to Congress a report on the implementation 

20 of this section.". 

21 (b) EX'rE~SlON 01<' WAR RESERVES STOCKPILE Au22 TTTORTTY.-Sectioll 5(a) of the United States-Israel En23 han(~ed Seeurity Cooperation A(~t of 2012 (Publie Law 

24 112-150) is amended to read as follows: 

25 "(a) EXTEKSION OF WAR RESERV'ES STOCKPILE Au26 THORlTY.-
38


86467e-4.eps

4 

"(1) DEPARTMEKT OF DEFE~8E ArPROPRIA2 TIONS ACT, 2oob.-Section 12001(cl) of the Depact3 ment of Defense Appropriations Ad, 2005 (Publie 

4 Law 108-287; 118 Stat. 1011), is amended by strik5 ing 'more than 10 years after' and inserting 'more 

6 than 11 years after'. 

7 "(2) FOREIGN ASSISTANCE ACT OF 1961.-SeC8 tion 514(b)(2)(A) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 

9 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2321h(b)(2)(A)) is amended by 

10 striking 'and 2014' and inserting " 2014, and 

11 2015'.". 

12 (c) AMENDMENTS TO REQUIRE::\IENTS REh~TING TO 

13 ASSRSSlYTRKT OF TSHART/S QUAT,TTATTVR }fTLTTARY EDCm 

14 OVER lVllLITARY THREATS.-

15 (1) ASSESS1IE~T REQUIRED; REPORTS.-Sec16 tion 201 of Public: Law 110-429 (122 Stat. 484:1; 

17 22 U.S.C. 2776 note) is amended18 (A) in subsection (a), by striking "an on19 gomg basis" and inscrting "a biennial basis"; 

20 and 

21 (n) in subsection (c)(2)-

22 (i) in the heading, by striking "QUAD23 H,RNNTAT/' and inserting "DmNNTAT/'; and 

24 (ii) in the text, by striking "1\ot later 

25 than four years after the date on which the 
39


86467e-5.eps

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

13 

14 

15 

16 

17 

18 

19 

20 

21 

22 

23 

24 

25 

5 

President transmits the initial report 

under paragraph (1), and every four years 

thereafter," and inserting "N()t later than 

Ol1e year after the date of the enactme11t of 

the United States-Israel Strategic Partnershi p Act of 2014, and biennially thereafter," . 

(2) RRPOR.T.-

(A) IN Gl£Nl£~~.-Not later than 90 days 

after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

Seeretary of State shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report on-

(i) the range of cyber and as:ymmetric 

threats posed to Israel by state and l1onstate actors; and 

(ii) the joint efforts of the 1~nited 

States and Israel to address the threats 

identified in clause (i). 

(B) j1'oRNl.-'l'he report required u11der 

subparagraph (A) shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may contain a classified annex. 

(C) ApPROPRL~TE CO~GRESSIONAL COMMTTTRRS DRFT~RD.-Il1 this paragraph, the 

term "appropriate eongTessional (~ommittees" 

means the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 
40


86467e-6.eps

6 

House of Representatives and the Committee 

2 on Foreign Relations of the Senate. 

3 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF ASSISTANCE FOR ISRAEL. 

4 (a) PIl\DlNG.-Collgress finds that Israel has adoptS ed high standards in the field of export controls, including 

6 by becoming adherent to the Australia Group, the Missile 

7 Technology Control Regime, the Nuclear Suppliers Group, 

8 and the \Vassenaar Arrangement control lists, and by en9 acting robust legislation and regulations for the control 

10 of dual-use and defense items. 

11 (1)) EXPEDITED LICEN8INC{ PROCEDT~RE8.-

12 (1) I~ GEKERAL.-The President shall direct 

13 the Secretary of State to undertake discussions with 

14 Israel to identi(v the steps required to be taken to 

15 include Israel ~vvithin the list of countries described 

16 in seetion 740.20 ( (~)( 1) of title 15, Code of Federal 

17 Regulations (relating to eligibility for Strategic 

18 Trade Authorization). 

19 (2) Rl£PORT.-

20 (A) IN GENERAL.-Not later than 180 

21 days after the date of the enactment of this 

22 Act, and every 180 days thereafter or until such 

23 time that Israel is included on the list of COUll24 tries determinecl as eligihle for the Strategie 

25 Trade Authorization, the President shall submit 
41


86467e-7.eps

7 

to the Committee on ForeigTl Affairs of the 

2 House of Hepresentatives and the Committee 

3 on Foreign Helations and the Committee on 

4 Banking, Housing, and Urban lV'fairs of the 

5 Senate a report on the following: 

6 (i) The current status of negotiations. 

7 (ii) The reasons that Israel has not 

8 yet been determined as eligible for the 

9 Strategic Trade Authorization. 

10 (B) FORlvI.-The report required by sub11 paragTC:lph (A) shall he submitted in undassi12 fied form but may contain a classified annex. 

13 (c) IjTCENST~(} TR.EATlVffiKT AS MTCR ADTTER.ENT.-

14 The President shall direct the Secretary of Commerce to 

15 ensure that Israel is treated no less favorably than any 

16 other memher or adherent to the Missile Tedmology Con17 trol Hegime designated in Country Group A:2 in Supple18 ment :\fo. 1 to part 740 of title 15, Code of Federal Regu19 lations. 

20 (d) OVERSEAS PRIVATE INVESTMENT CORPORA21 TTO~.-In carrying out its authorities under title TV of 

22 chapter 2 of part I of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 

23 (22 r.s.c. 2191 et seq.), the Overseas Private Investment 

24 Corporation should (~onsider giving preferell(~e to providing 
42


86467e-8.eps

insuranee, financing, or reinsuran(~e for energy and water 

2 projects in Israel. 

3 (e) E~ERGY, WATER, AGRICTTLTrRE, AND ALTER4 .:\ATIVE PUEL 'l'ECHNOLOGlES.-

5 (1) IN GENRRAh-The President is authorihed 

6 to carry out cooperative activities with Israel and to 

7 provide assistance to Israel that promotes coopera8 tion in the fields of energy, water, agriculture, alter9 native fuel techllologies, and civil space, where ap10 propriate and pursuant to existing law. 

11 (2) REqmRElVIENTs.-In earrying out para12 graph (1), the President is authorized to share and 

13 exchange \vith Israel research, technology, intel14 ligellce, illformation, equipment, and personnel that 

15 the President determines ,,,ill advance the national 

16 se(mrity interests of the United States and is con17 sistent with the Strategic Dialogue and pertinent 

18 provisions of law19 (A) by enhancing scientific cooperation be20 tween Israel and the rnited States; or 

21 (n) by the sale, lease, exchange in kind, or 

22 other techniques the President determines to be 

23 suitable. 

24 (f) COOPERATII7E RESEARCH PILOT PROC}P"A}IS.-
43


86467e-9.eps

9 

(1) IN GENERAL.-The Seeretal7 of Homeland 

2 Security, acting through the Director of the Home3 land Seeurity Advan(~ed Resean~h Projeets Agel1(~y, 

4 is authorilled to enter into cooperative research pilot 

5 progTams v.~th Israel to enhance Israel's capabilities 

6 in the following areas: 

7 (A) Border, maritime, and aviation secu8 rity. 

9 (B) E:x'})losives detection. 

10 (C) Emergency services. 

11 (2) AUTHORIZATION OF ArPROPRgTION8.-For 

12 fiscal year 2014, there are authorized to be appro13 priated to the Secretary of Homeland Security14 (A) $1,000,000 to carry out paragraph 

15 (l)(A): 

16 (B) $1,000,000 to (~arry out paragraph 

17 ( 1 )( B ): and 

18 (C) $1,000,000 to carry out paragraph 

19 (l)(C). 

20 SEC. 6. UNITED STATES·ISRAEL COOPERATION ON CYBER· 

21 SECURITY. 

22 It is a sense of Congress that the rnited States and 

23 Israel should take steps and e""l)lore avenues to increase 

24 eooperation on eyher-se(mrity. 
44


86467e-10.eps

10 

1 SEC. 7. STATEMENT OF UNITED STATES POLICY REGARD2 ING ISRAEL'S DEFENSE SYSTEMS. 

3 (a) P1KDlNGS.-Congrcss4 (1) commends the first phase completion of the 

5 David's Sling Weapon System (DSWS) by the Israel 

6 Missile Defense Organization and the r.s. Missile 

7 Defense Agency, which is designed to prO\~de addi8 tional opportunities for interceptioll by the joint 

9 United States-Israel Arrow "Weapon System CArrow 

10 2 and Arrow 8); 

11 (2) cOllgratulates the Israel Slissile Defellse Or12 ganihation and the r.s. Missile Defense Agency on 

13 successfully executing the lhrow 3 t1yout of a more 

14 advanced interceptor, which will improve Israel's de15 fem;et; againt;t upper tier hallit;tic mit;sile threats 

16 from nations including Iran; 

17 (:3) recognizes that during Operation Pillar of 

18 Defense in Novemher 2012, Israel lleployed Iron 

19 Dome short-range rocket defense batteries to inter20 cept TTamas-launched rockets fired from Gaha-of 

21 those rockets that posed a threat to the life of 

22 Israeli citihens, 80 to 85 percent were successfully 

23 inten~epted, saving eountless lives; and 

24 (4) agrees that, as stated by former Secretary 

25 of Defent;e Leon Panetta, "Iron Dome performed, I 

26 think it's fair to say, remarkably well during the re-
45


86467e-11.eps

11 

eent e~ealation . . . Iron Dome doe~ not start war~. 

2 It helps prevent wars.". 

3 (h) STATEMEKT OF POLICY.-The President, ~wting 

4 through the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of 

5 State, should provide assistance, upon request by the Gov6 ernment of Israel, for the enhancement of the David's 

7 Sling '\Veapon System, the enhancement of the joint 

8 United States-Israel Arrow \Veapon System (Arrow 2 and 

9 Arrow 3), and the procurement and enhancement of the 

10 Iron Dome short-range rocket defense system for purposes 

11 of intereepting ~holi,-range roeket~, mi~sile~, amI other 

12 projectiles launched against Israel. 

13 SEC. 8. REPORT ON OTHER MATTERS. 

14 (a) SEKSE OF CONGRESS.-lt is the sense of Con15 gress that16 (1) the United State~ amI I~rael ~houIa eon17 tinue collaborative efforts to enhance Israel's mili18 tary capabilities, including through the transfer of 

19 advanced combat aircraft, active phased array radar, 

20 military tanker-transports, other multi-mission mili21 tary aircraft, advanced or speciali7.ed munitions, and 

22 through joint training and exercise opportunities in 

23 the United States; 

24 (2) the United State~ amI I~rael ~houhl e}..1)edi25 tiously conclude an updated Memorandum of Under-
46


86467e-12.eps

12 

standing- regarding United States seeurity assistanee 

2 in order to help Israel meet its unique security re3 quirernents and uphoM its qualitative military edge; 

4 (3) thc U nitcd Statcs should Cllsurc that Israel 

5 has timely access to important military equipment, 

6 including by augmclltillg thc forward dcploycd 

7 United States ~War Reserve Stockpile in Israel and 

8 by continuing to provide Israel vvith critical military 

9 equipment and spare parts through the Department 

10 of Defense's Excess Defense ~t\rticles program; and 

11 (4) the Unitell States should (~ontinue to sup12 port Israel's inherent right of self-defense. 

13 (b) RRPOHT.-

14 (1) 11'\ GENERAL.-Not latcr than 120 days 

15 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

16 Comptroller General of the United States shall sub17 mit to the appropriate congressional committees a 

18 report that19 (A) rCVIeWS and commcnts 011 thc rcport 

20 required under section G (b) of the r nited 

21 States-Israel Enhanced Security Cooperation 

22 Act of 2012 (Public Law 112-150; 22 U.S.C. 

23 SG04(b)); and 

24 (B) provides poliey reeornmendations, if 

25 necessary. 
47


86467e-13.eps

1:1 

(2) FOK\L-The report required hy paragTaph 

2 (1) may include a classified annex. 

3 (:1) APPROPRIATE CO~CmE88IONAL COlVDHT4 TEES DEl"lNED.-In this subsection, the term "apS propriate congressional committees" means6 (A) the Committee on l<'oreign Affairs alld 

7 the Committee on Armed Services of the House 

8 of Representatives; and 

9 (B) the Committee on Foreign Relations 

10 and the Committee on Armed Services of the 

11 Senate. 

12 SEC. 9. REPORT ON ELIGIBILITY OF ISRAEL FOR VISA 

13 WAIVER PROGRAM. 

14 (a) S'1'A'l'K\1EN'1' 01" POLICY.-lt shall be the policy 

15 of the United States to include Israel in the list of coun16 trie~ that partieipate in the vi~a waiver prognull under 

17 section 217 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

18 U.S.C. 1187) when Israel satisfies the requirements for 

19 inclusion in such program specified ill such section. 

20 (b) REPORT.-Not later than 180 days after the elate 

21 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall 

22 submit to the Committee on the J ucliciary of the House 

23 of Representatives and the Committee on the ,Judiciary 

24 of the Senate a report on the extent to whi(~h I~rael ~ati~-

25 fies the requirements specified in section 217 of the Immi-
48

Chairman ROYCE. It is open for amendment at any point, and 

after brief remarks by myself and the ranking member, I am going 

to recognize the chairman emeritus, and I want to thank Ileana 

Ros-Lehtinen, our chairman emeritus here, and the ranking member, Mr. Deutch, as well as Ranking Member Engel for their leadership and hard work in authoring this bipartisan legislation that 

I think is quite important. 

Two years ago, the Congress passed the U.S.-Israel Enhanced Security Cooperation Act, which provided a clear, concise demonstration of support for the U.S.-Israel relationship. The legislation before us today builds on that work, and it does so by making additions to Israel-based defense stockpiles, by authorizing cooperative 

activities in a range of fields, including energy and water, homeland security, agriculture, civil space, and provides for a framework 

to expedite licenses for Israel to acquire U.S. goods and services 

critical to the defense. 

The bill also requires more timely assessments regarding Israel’s 

qualitative military edge. Today, as Israel is surrounded by threats 

in every direction, this legislation is an important symbol of U.S. 

support. This is a strong bipartisan measure. I urge its expeditious 

consideration by this body and passage by this committee. 

And given our time constraints, I am going to go ahead and ask 

unanimous consent that the brief Smith amendment No. 99, sent 

around to all offices last night, the sense of Congress on cooperation to combat anti-Semitism, be considered en bloc with the base 

text. 

Without objection, so ordered. 

[The information referred to follows:]


86467e-14.eps
49

Chairman ROYCE. Mr. Engel, would you like to be recognized? 

Mr. ENGEL. Yes, thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

I strongly support H.R. 938, the Israel Strategic Partnership Act. 

Israel is one of our closest and most reliable allies, and this important legislation seeks to further strengthen and broaden our mutually beneficial relationship. 

I want to commend Ms. Ros-Lehtinen, the chairman of the Middle East and North Africa Subcommittee, Mr. Deutch, the ranking 

member, for authorizing this legislation. 

Israel, as we know, faces a growing array of threats in the Middle East and around the world and is the target of vicious 

delegitimatization campaigns by international institutions, universities, and others that seek to undermine Israel’s right to self-defense. And Israel would face an existential threat from a nuclear 

armed Iran, and the legislation before us today is critical because 

it sends a clear and unmistakable message to Israel’s foes: America 

stands with Israel. 

So now is the time to reaffirm the importance we place on the 

U.S.-Israel relationship and to pursue new ways to improve our 

partnership at every level. The bill will expand our robust defense 

cooperation, increase U.S.-Israel collaboration on cybersecurity, reaffirm our commitment to Israeli missile defense programs, which 

have saved many innocent lives. 

And this legislation also includes the text of H.R. 1992, the Israel 

QME (Qualitative Military Edge Enhancement) Act, which passed 

the House in December. I also, again, in conclusion, would like to 


86467f.eps
50

thank the authors of that important bill, Mr. Collins of Georgia, 

Mr. Schneider of Illinois, for their hard work on this issue, so I am 

very pleased to support this and urge our colleagues to support it 

as well. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Chairman ROYCE. Thank you, Mr. Engel. 

I will remind members, you may put statements into the record. 

We are going to go to Ms. Ros-Lehtinen for any statement she 

may wish to make. 

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Thank you so much, Mr. Chairman, and I 

will be brief. 

Thank you for an excellent summary that you and Ranking 

Member Engel gave about the bill. There is a memo that explains 

the bill in your folder. I also had given to members yesterday or 

the day before an explanation about an erroneous campaign of misinformation about the bill that said that the bill would somehow 

allow Israel to discriminate against Arab Americans, and that is 

not true, and I hope you had the chance to read that memo. 

But thank you, Mr. Chairman, to all of your staff for helping us 

work on this bill, especially I would like to point out Matt Zweig, 

who—I don’t know if Matt is here—but worked so hard on this bill 

in its many forms. 

And thank you to Mr. Collins for the qualitative military edge 

section, and it has been a pleasure to work with my wonderful colleague, Ted Deutch, and I won’t delay it further, but there is a 

good explanation of the bill in your folder. 

Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, again, for your staff and 

Mr. Engel’s staff for working with us. 

I yield back, sir. 

Chairman ROYCE. Thank you. 

Any other members seek recognition? Mr. Deutch? 

Mr. DEUTCH. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I, too, will be brief, but 

I would just like to thank you and Ranking Member Engel for holding this markup, for your strong support of this legislation. I would 

like to thank your staffs as well, and it is an honor and a pleasure 

to work with my friend, Chairman Emeritus Ros-Lehtinen, and I 

thank her for her leadership on this legislation. I would only make 

one point about this, the importance of passing this bill right now, 

and it is that this bill offers a reminder to the international community of the depth of the partnership between the United States 

and Israel. Ultimately, at a time when there are very few things 

that everyone in Congress can agree to, we are now marking up a 

bill that has over 350 members of our Congress as cosponsors. And 

at a time when many of our constituents think that it is just impossible to agree on anything, this level of support really is remarkable. It is precisely because, precisely because of this support 

that the U.S. is able to send a message to the rest of the world that 

our commitment, America’s commitment to Israel is unshakeable. 

I thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I yield back. 

Chairman ROYCE. Thank you, Mr. Deutch. 

Mr. Smith, and then Mr. Sherman. 

Mr. SMITH. Mr. Chairman, thank you very much. 

I want to thank Chairwoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen for this very 

fine—and Mr. Deutch, the cosponsor—for this timely and very efVerDate 0ct 09 2002 13:40 Feb 25, 2014 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00054 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 F:\WORK\_FULL\012914M\86467 HFA PsN: SHIRL
51

fective piece of legislation. Couldn’t come at a better time, as was 

just noted. I just want to say, I have a full statement, but very 

briefly, in 1995, I chaired the first hearing on the rising tide of 

global anti-Semitism when we took control of the House and have 

done more than 18 hearings on that since and raised it in numerous, numerous fora, including the OSCE. In 2004, I sponsored the 

amendment that became law that created the Office to Monitor and 

Combat Anti-Semitism with a special envoy. 

What the amendment seeks to do is to better understand and coordinate with the Israeli Government, particularly the Netanyahu 

special adviser on anti-Semitism, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs 

and the Ministry for the Diaspora, that much of the violence on 

both the micro and the macro level is all about the hatred of Jews. 

That is where the incitement leads to, and it whips up people, even 

moderate Muslims, very often if they are not on the same page in 

hating Jewish people are ostracized. I had a hearing last year on 

it, and Dr. Jasser made very telling points about how if you are not 

going along with the anti-Semitic hate, you are then targeted yourself, so I think this amendment seeks to say we need to see this 

in security terms, not just in discriminatory terms, and I thank the 

chair for yielding. 

Chairman ROYCE. Mr. Sherman. 

Mr. SHERMAN. I would like to join in support with the author of 

the bill of the provisions dealing with making Israel a visa waiver 

country and to say that, of course, that Israel does not discriminate 

against Arab Americans. There has been this effort by anti-Israel 

extremists to accuse Israel of that. For example, one case they 

bring up is that someone they questioned at the airport, and it 

turned out this individual had played on an Islamic jihad-sponsored sports team but said, well, since I wasn’t a real member of 

Islamic jihad, they shouldn’t have asked me any questions. 

Israel does have unique security needs, so does the United 

States. We have a no-fly list. They have a no-enter list, and those 

associated with Islamic extremism tend to find their names on both 

lists. 

The provision in this bill simply says that Israel would become 

a visa waiver country when it satisfies all the requirements, including nondiscrimination requirements. My hope is that in conference, 

this bill will be amended to help Israel achieve the full participation in the visa waiver program. 

Along with Ted Deutch, I introduced the Visa Waiver Act for 

Israel in May 2012. We reintroduced it in January 2013. There are 

now 76 cosponsors. Not everyone on this committee has cosponsored the bill, but there is still an opportunity. What that bill 

would do is allow Israel to become a visa waiver country, even if 

in over 3 percent of the cases our counselor personnel fear that 

those who were applying for a tourist visa may overstay that visa. 

The tradition has been to have a 3-percent rule on that, but the 

fact is that we have gone up to 8 percent in giving visa waiver status to virtually every country that was between 3 percent and 8 

percent. Israel was left out of that, but Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, 

and Hungary were all included. All of them are over 3 percent, 

under 8 percent, as Israel is today. So I hope that we would defend 

this provision from outrageous attacks and strengthen it in conVerDate 0ct 09 2002 13:40 Feb 25, 2014 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00055 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 F:\WORK\_FULL\012914M\86467 HFA PsN: SHIRL
52

ference so that it will be as easy for Israelis to visit. When they 

want to see Mickey Mouse, they should see the real one in 

Disneyland in California, close to Mr. Rohrabacher’s district, or the 

newest imitation in Florida. Right now, Israel has a visa waiver relationship, has a visa waiver relationship with the EU. Israelis are 

free to travel to Europe without getting a visa, where they see 

what we all regard as the complete impostor, the Mickey Mouse at 

Euro Disney. So we need Israelis to bring those shekels here. We 

need to expand person-to-person contacts, and I hope that this provision is not only defended but strengthened as it goes through the 

process. 

I commend the author for all of the provisions of the bill. I am 

one of the many cosponsors. 

I yield back. 

Chairman ROYCE. Are there any other amendments to the base 

text? Hearing no further amendments——

Mr. SHERMAN. A point of personal privilege. I commend Ted 

Deutch in every way, but the cosponsor of that visa waiver bill is 

Ted Poe. 

Chairman ROYCE. Ted Poe. 

Mr. SHERMAN. Very good. 

Chairman ROYCE. Well, hearing no further amendments to this 

measure, the question occurs on agreeing to H.R. 938, as amended 

en bloc. 

All those in favor say aye. 

All those opposed, no. 

In the opinion of the Chair, the ayes have it, and the bill, as 

amended, is agreed to. 

And without objection, this legislation is ordered favorably reported. It will be reported as a single amendment in the nature of 

a substitute. Staff is directed to make any technical and conforming changes, and we stand adjourned. 

[Whereupon, at 10:35 a.m., the committee was adjourned.] 

(53)

A P P E N D I X 

MATERIAL SUBMITTED FOR THE RECORD

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FULL COMMITTEE MARKUP NOTICE 

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS 

U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

W ASHTNGTON, DC 20515-6128 

Edward R. Royce (R-CA), Chairman 

January 29, 2014 

TO: MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS 

You are respectfully requested to attend an OPEN meeting of the Committee on Foreign 

AtIairs, to be held in Room 2172 of the Rayburn House Ofilce Building (and available live on 

the Committee website at .http://wvvw.Fort;ignAffairs.Jlouse-JLQY) 

DATE: 

TIME: 

MARKlJPOF: 

Wednesday, January 29, 2014 

9:30 a.m. 

H.R. 938, To strengthen the strategic alliance between the United States 

and Israel, and for other purposes; and 

H. Res. 447, Supporting the democratic and European aspirations of the 

people of Ukraine, and their right to choose their own future free of 

intimidation and fear. 

By Direction of the Chairman 
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86467m-1.eps

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS 

MINUTES OF FULL COMMITTEE MARKUP 

Day Wednesday Date ___ -"O""1I2=9!.cV1c:4'----__ Room ___ .::2:.o1-'-7::.2 __ _ 

Starting Time 9:41 A.M. Ending Time 10:35 A.M. 

Recesses ~I ( __ to ~ L-lo __ ) L-to __ ) L-to __ )( __ to ~ ( __ to __ ) 

Presiding Member(s) 

Rep. Edward R. Royce, Chairman 

Check all of the following that apply: 

Open Session []] 

Executive (closed) Session D 

Televised [2J 

Electronically Recorded (taped) []] 

Stenographic Record [2J 

BILLS FOR MARKUP: (include hill number(s) and tillers) of legisiation.) 

H.R.938 

H. Res. 447 

COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT: 

See Attendance Sheet. 

NON-COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT: 

None. 

STATEMENTS FOR THE RECORD: (List any slatements submittedfor the record.) SFR-Sire,' 

SFR_Co/t()ll 

SFR-Frollkd 

SFR_CiJlli"., 

ACTIONS TAKEN DURING THE MARKUP: (Allach copies oflegislalion and amendments.) 

See Markup Summary. 

RECORDED VOTES TAKEN (FOR MARKUP): (Allachfinai vote tally sheet listing each member) 

Not Voting 

TIME SCHEDULED TO RECONVENE ___ _ 

or 

TIME ADJOURNED 10:34 A.M. 

Doug Anderson, General Counsel 
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86467m-2.eps

Present 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS 

FilII Committee Markup 

Member Present Member 

Edward R. Royce. CA X EliotL EngcLNY 

Christopher H. Smith, NJ Eni F.H. Faleomavaega, AS 

lleana Ros-Lehtinen. FL X Brad Sherman. C A 

Dana Rohrabachcr. CA Gregory W. Meeks. NY 

Steve Chabot OH X Albio Sires. NJ 

Joe Wilson. SC X Gerald E. Connolly. VA 

Michael T. McCaul, TX X ll1eodore E. Deutch. FL 

Ted Poe. TX Brian Higgins. NY 

Matt Salmon. AZ Karen Bass. CA 

Tom Marino, PA X William Keating. MA 

Jeff Duncan. SC X David Cieilline. RI 

Adanl Kinzinger, lL X Alan Grayson. FL 

Mo Brooks. AL X Juan Vargas, CA 

Tom Cotton. AR X Bradley S. Schneider, lL 

Paul Cook. CA Joseph P. Kennedy III. MA 

George Holding, N C X Ami Bera. CA 

Randv K. Weber, Sr., TX X Alan S. Lowenthal, CA 

Scott Perry, PA X Grace Meng, NY 

Steve Stockman. TX X Lois FrankeL FL 

Ron DeSantis. FL X Tulsi Gabbard. HI 

Trey RadeL FL X Joaquin Castro, TX 

Doug Collins. GA 

Mark Mcadows. NC 

Ted S. Yoho. FL 

Luke Messer. TN 
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1129/14 Foreign Affairs Committee Markup Summary 

The Chair called up the following measures for consideration by the Committee 

H.Res. 447 (Engell. "Supporting the democratic and European aspirations of the people of 

Ukraine, and their right to choose their own future free of intimidation and fear." 

a By unanimous consent, Engel 16 (an amendment in the nature of a substitute previously 

provided to Members of the Committee) was considered the base text; 

By unanimous consent, Engel 84, (an amendment to the base text, previously 

provided to Members of the Committee) was considered en hloe with the base 

text; 

ii By unanimous consent, at the request of Rep. Engel, the second full paragraph 

of the preamble ("Whereas closer relations with the European Union (EU) 

through the signing of an Association Agreement should promote democratic 

values, good governance, and economic opportunity in Ukraine;") was struck 

from the base text. 

H.Res. 477, as amended, was agreed to by voice vote, and ordered favorably reported to the 

House by unanimous consent. 

2 H.R. 938 (Ros-Lehtinen/Deutch), "To strengthen the strategic alliance between the United 

States and Israel, and for other purposes." 

a. By unanimous consent, Ros-Lehtinen/Deutch 15 (an amendment in the nature of a 

substitute previously provided to Members of the Committee) was considered the base 

text; and 

By unanimous consent, Smith 99, (an amendment to the base text, previously 

provided to Members of the Committee) was considered en bloc with the base 

text 

H.R. 938, as amended, was agreed to by voice vote, and ordered favorably reported to the 

House by unanimous consent. 

The Committee adjourned. 
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86467g.eps

Statement for the Record 

Submitted by the Honorable Albio Sires 

Mister Chairman, I thank you for holding this Markup to consider such timely and 

important legislation. As upheaval in the region grows, Israel is surrounded by increasingly 

volatile nations and we must do all we can to ensure that Israel can thrive in a safe and secure 

environment free from terror. Not only to defend the Israeli people, but to protect US interests 

in the region. I am a proud cosponsor ofH.R. 938, the United States- Israel Strategic Partnership 

Act of2013, legislation reaffirming the US. commitment to Israel's security and expands 

military and civilian cooperation between our two countries. Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons 

continues to threaten Israel and the stability of the entire region. It is more important than ever 

that the United States stay committed to working with our long time ally Israel to address 

common threats. The United States must provide all the support we can to ensure Israel's 

security. I am a strong supporter ofHR 938, I thank the Chairman and Ranking Member for 

bringing this bill before the committee today, And I thank my good friends Chairman Emeritus 

Ros-Lehtinen and Representative Deutch for their steadfast efforts to advancing their legislation. 

I urge my colleagues to support this bill 
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Statement for the Record 

Submitted by the Honorable Tom Cotton 

U.S.-Israel Strategic Partnership Act (RR. 938) 

A resolution calling on Ukrainian authorities to respect the democratic rights of the hundreds of 

thousands of Ukrainian citizens who continue to demonstrate in support of a democratic, 

European tuture for their country (H.Res. 447) 

I'm pleased to support both of the measures before the committee today. And I thank Chairman 

Royce, Ranking Member Engel, Chairman Emeritus Ros-Lehtinen, and Congressman Deutch for 

their work on this legislation. 

Our allies in the Middle East face serious threats and it is important to reaffirm our commitment 

to Israel through diplomatic measures like the U.S.-Israel Strategic Partnership Act. This 

legislation declares Israel a "major strategic partner" of the United States which lays the 

foundation for expanded U.S.-Israel cooperation in defense, intelligence, homeland security, 

energy, science, and trade. A nuclear Iran remains a very real threat and as the Obama 

administration continues to implement their "deal" with the mullahs, Congress must assure the 

Israeli people of its commitment to a secure Israel and a nuclear-free Iran. 

Likewise, HRes. 447 shows the Ukrainian people and government that the U.S. does not 

condone violence against peaceful protestor who seek only to hold their leaders accountable. 

Until recently, Ukraine was moving toward signing a pivotal economic accord with the European 

Union, which would have liberalized trade, relaxed certain visa restrictions, and opened the door 

for future membership in the EU. I am deeply troubled by President Yanukovich 's change of 

course and action against his people. I, along with many EU leaders, feel his behavior is the 

direct result of economic threats delivered by the Kremlin. In December, I and several members 

of this committee wrote to Secretary Kerry directly expressing this concern. This resolution is 

timely and appropriate and I will continue to monitor the situation in Ukraine and condemn 

violence against peaceful protestors. 
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86467i.eps

Statement for the Record 

Submitted by the Honorable r~ois Frankel 

Thank you Chairman Royce and Ranking Member Engel for the continued bipartisan spirit of 

this committee, and Chairwoman Ros-Lehtinen and Ranking Member Deutch for your leadership 

on this bilL 

Anyone who turns on the news for even a few minutes will see our good friend Israel in a region 

of chaos and unrest. 

War in Syria - with refugees pouring into Turkey, Jordan, and Lebanon. Violence in Iraq. 

Upheaval in Egypt. And of course, the threat of nuclear advancement in Iran. 

And yet, Israel remains a strong, stable, and reliable ally. 

More than ever, we must do all we can to strengthen our critical relationship. 

H.R. 938, the United States-Israel Strategic Partnership Act of2013, will do just that. 

It designates Israel as a "major strategic partner" and increases our mutually beneficial 

cooperation in the areas of energy, science, water, agriculture, alternative fuel technologies, and 

homeland security. 

At a time of deep political division in Congress, this bill has across the board support, with 350 

cosponsors, a reflection that our alliance with Israel is rooted in shared national interests, 

common values of democracy and freedom, and a recognition that the same forces threatening 

Israel also threaten the United States. 

Thank you and I yield back. 
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86467j.eps

Statement for the Record 

Suhmitted hy the Honorahle Douglas A Collins 

I've recognized the value of America's partnership with Israel for many years, and I'm humbled 

and grateful to now be in a position where I can support this alliance. 

Our alliance with Israel has been vital for each nation's foreign policy efforts. Both nations have 

provided valuable intelligence saving the lives of civilians as well as military personnel. 

I am pleased that the QME language I sponsored with Rep. Schneider has been included as a part 

of the United States-Israel Strategic Partnership Act of 2013. The QME language helps ensure 

that the United States' commitment to Israel's qualitative military edge remains substantial and 

meaningful. 

It provides Congress the ability to continue its oversight of weapon sales to the Middle East at an 

increased regularity by reviewing arms sales every two years. 

The very real threats of cyber-attacks and asymmetrical warfare in Israel must be taken into 

account as our nations continue fighting terrorism in the 21 st century. 

I am very appreciative that Chairman Royce included the QME laflb'llage in the United StatesIsrael Strategic Partnership Act of 2013. I feel honored to be a part oflegislation receiving such 

broad support.