II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4097 

To modernize the defense capabilities of the Philippines, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 10, 2024 

Mr. HAGERTY (for himself and Mr. KAINE) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

To modernize the defense capabilities of the Philippines, 

and for other purposes. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Philippines Enhanced 

5 Resilience Act’’ or the ‘‘PERA Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. MODERNIZING THE DEFENSE CAPABILITIES OF THE 

7 PHILIPPINES. 

8 (a) USE OF AUTHORITIES.—The Secretary of State, 

9 in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, shall use 

10 the authorities under this section— 


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1 (1) to strengthen the United States-Philippines 

2 alliance; and 

3 (2) to support the acceleration of the mod4 ernization of the defense capabilities of the Phil5 ippines. 

6 (b) PURPOSE.—In addition to the purposes otherwise 

7 authorized for Foreign Military Financing programs 

8 under the Arms Export Control Act ( 22 U.S.C. 2751 et 

9 seq.), a purpose of such programs shall be to provide as10 sistance, including equipment, training, and other support, 

11 to modernize the defense capabilities of the Armed Forces 

12 of the Philippines— 

13 (1) to safeguard the territorial sovereignty of 

14 the Philippines; 

15 (2) to improve maritime domain awareness; 

16 (3) to counter coercive military activities; 

17 (4) to improve the military and civilian infra18 structure and capabilities necessary to prepare for 

19 regional contingencies; and 

20 (5) to strengthen cooperation between the 

21 United States and the Philippines on counterter22 rorism-related efforts. 

23 (c) ANNUAL SPENDING PLAN.—Not later than 

24 March 1, 2025, and annually thereafter for a period of 

25 5 years, the Secretary of State, in coordination with the 


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1 Secretary of Defense, shall submit to the appropriate con2 gressional committees a plan describing how amounts au3 thorized to be appropriated pursuant to subsection (e), if 

4 made available, would be used to achieve the purpose de5 scribed in subsection (b). 

6 (d) ANNUAL REPORT ON ENHANCING THE UNITED

7 STATES-PHILIPPINES DEFENSE RELATIONSHIP.— 

8 (1) REPORT.—Not later than 270 days after 

9 the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually 

10 thereafter for a period of 7 years, the Secretary of 

11 State, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, 

12 and in consultation with such other heads of Federal 

13 departments and agencies as the Secretary of State 

14 considers appropriate, shall submit to the appro15 priate congressional committees a report that de16 scribes steps taken to enhance the United States17 Philippines defense relationship. 

18 (2) MATTERS TO BE INCLUDED.—Each report 

19 required under paragraph (1) shall include the fol20 lowing: 

21 (A) A description of the capabilities needed 

22 to modernize the defense capabilities of the 

23 Philippines, including with respect to— 

24 (i) coastal defense; 

25 (ii) long-range fires; 


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1 (iii) integrated air defenses; 

2 (iv) maritime security; 

3 (v) manned and unmanned aerial sys4 tems; 

5 (vi) mechanized ground mobility vehi6 cles; 

7 (vii) intelligence, surveillance, and re8 connaissance; 

9 (viii) defensive cybersecurity; and 

10 (ix) any other defense capabilities that 

11 the Secretary of State determines, includ12 ing jointly with the Philippines, are crucial 

13 to the defense of the Philippines. 

14 (B) A description of additional statutory 

15 authorities and funding levels required to pro16 vide support for and cooperation with the Phil17 ippines on the capabilities described in subpara18 graph (A). 

19 (3) FORM.—Each report required under para20 graph (1) shall be submitted in unclassified form, 

21 but may contain a classified annex. 

22 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—In addi23 tion to amounts otherwise authorized to be appropriated 

24 for Foreign Military Financing, there is authorized to be 

25 appropriated to the Department of State for Foreign MiliVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:08 Apr 19, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4097.IS S4097

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1 tary Financing grant assistance for the Philippines 

2 $500,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 through 2029. 

3 (f) USE OF FUNDS.—Of the amounts authorized to 

4 be appropriated pursuant to subsection (e), the Secretary 

5 of State shall obligate and expend not less than $500,000 

6 each fiscal year for one or more blanket order agreements 

7 for Foreign Military Financing training programs related 

8 to the defense needs of the Philippines. 

9 (g) SUNSET PROVISION.—Assistance may not be pro10 vided under this section after September 30, 2030. 

11 (h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

12 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT13 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com14 mittees’’ means— 

15 (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations, 

16 the Committee on Armed Services, and the 

17 Committee on Appropriations of the Senate; 

18 and 

19 (B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the 

20 Committee on Armed Services, and the Com21 mittee on Appropriations of the House of Rep22 resentatives. 

23 (2) BLANKET ORDER AGREEMENT.—The term 

24 ‘‘blanket order agreement’’ means an agreement be25 tween a foreign customer and the United State GovVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:08 Apr 19, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4097.IS S4097

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1 ernment for a specific category of items or services 

2 (including training) that— 

3 (A) does not include a definitive list of 

4 items or quantities; and 

5 (B) specifies a dollar ceiling against which 

6 orders may be placed. 

Æ 


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