In the House of Representatives, U. S., 

September 12, 2018. 

Resolved, That the bill from the Senate (S. 2497) entitled ‘‘An Act to amend the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 

and the Arms Export Control Act to make improvements to 

certain defense and security assistance provisions and to authorize the appropriations of funds to Israel, and for other 

purposes.’’, do pass with the following 

AMENDMENT: 

Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert: 

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

2 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

3 ‘‘Ileana Ros-Lehtinen United States-Israel Security Assist4 ance Authorization Act of 2018’’. 

5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

6 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Appropriate congressional committees defined. 

TITLE I—SECURITY ASSISTANCE FOR ISRAEL 

Sec. 101. Findings. 

Sec. 102. Statement of policy regarding Israel’s defense systems. 

Sec. 103. Assistance for Israel. 

Sec. 104. Extension of war reserves stockpile authority. 

Sec. 105. Extension of loan guarantees to Israel. 

Sec. 106. Transfer of precision guided munitions to Israel. 

Sec. 107. Sense of Congress on rapid acquisition and deployment procedures. 

Sec. 108. Eligibility of Israel for the strategic trade authorization exception to 

certain export control licensing requirements. 
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TITLE II—ENHANCED UNITED STATES-ISRAEL COOPERATION 

Sec. 201. United States-Israel space cooperation. 

Sec. 202. United States Agency for International Development-Israel enhanced 

partnership for development cooperation in developing nations. 

Sec. 203. Authority to enter into a cooperative project agreement with Israel to 

counter unmanned aerial vehicles that threaten the United 

States or Israel. 

TITLE III—ENSURING ISRAEL’S QUALITATIVE MILITARY EDGE 

Sec. 301. Statement of policy. 

1 SEC. 2. APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES DE2 FINED. 

3 In this Act, the term ‘‘appropriate congressional com4 mittees’’ means— 

5 (1) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the 

6 Committee on Armed Services of the Senate; and 

7 (2) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the 

8 Committee on Armed Services of the House of Rep9 resentatives. 

10 TITLE I—SECURITY ASSISTANCE 

11 FOR ISRAEL 

12 SEC. 101. FINDINGS. 

13 Congress makes the following findings: 

14 (1) In February 1987, the United States granted 

15 Israel major non-NATO ally status. 

16 (2) On August 16, 2007, the United States and 

17 Israel signed a 10-year Memorandum of Under18 standing on United States military assistance to 

19 Israel. The total assistance over the course of this un20 derstanding would equal $30 billion. 
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1 (3) On July 27, 2012, the United States-Israel 

2 Enhanced Security Cooperation Act of 2012 (Public 

3 Law 112–150; 22 U.S.C. 8601 et seq.) declared it to 

4 be the policy of the United States ‘‘to help the Govern5 ment of Israel preserve its qualitative military edge 

6 amid rapid and uncertain regional political trans7 formation’’ and stated the sense of Congress that the 

8 United States Government should ‘‘provide the Gov9 ernment of Israel defense articles and defense services 

10 through such mechanisms as appropriate, to include 

11 air refueling tankers, missile defense capabilities, and 

12 specialized munitions’’. 

13 (4) On December 19, 2014, President Barack 

14 Obama signed into law the United States-Israel Stra15 tegic Partnership Act of 2014 (Public Law 113–296) 

16 which stated the sense of Congress that Israel is a 

17 major strategic partner of the United States and de18 clared it to be the policy of the United States ‘‘to con19 tinue to provide Israel with robust security assistance, 

20 including for the procurement of the Iron Dome Mis21 sile Defense System’’. 

22 (5) Section 1679 of the National Defense Author23 ization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 (Public Law 114– 

24 92; 129 Stat. 1135) authorized funds to be appro25 priated for Israeli cooperative missile defense pro-
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1 gram codevelopment and coproduction, including 

2 funds to be provided to the Government of Israel to 

3 procure the David’s Sling weapon system as well as 

4 the Arrow 3 Upper Tier Interceptor Program. 

5 (6) On September 14, 2016, the United States 

6 and Israel signed a 10-year Memorandum of Under7 standing reaffirming the importance of continuing 

8 annual United States military assistance to Israel 

9 and cooperative missile defense programs in a way 

10 that enhances Israel’s security and strengthens the bi11 lateral relationship between the two countries. 

12 (7) The 2016 Memorandum of Understanding re13 flected United States support of Foreign Military Fi14 nancing (FMF) grant assistance to Israel over the 10- 

15 year period beginning in fiscal year 2019 and ending 

16 in fiscal year 2028. FMF grant assistance would be 

17 at a level of $3,300,000,000 annually, totaling $33 

18 billion, the largest single pledge of military assistance 

19 ever and a reiteration of the seven-decade, 

20 unshakeable, bipartisan commitment of the United 

21 States to Israel’s security. 

22 (8) The Memorandum of Understanding also re23 flected United States support for funding for coopera24 tive programs to develop, produce, and procure mis25 sile, rocket, and projectile defense capabilities over a 
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1 10-year period beginning in fiscal year 2019 and 

2 ending in fiscal year 2028 at a level of $500 million 

3 per year, totaling $5 billion. 

4 SEC. 102. STATEMENT OF POLICY REGARDING ISRAEL’S DE5 FENSE SYSTEMS. 

6 It shall be the policy of the United States to provide 

7 assistance to the Government of Israel in order to support 

8 funding for cooperative programs to develop, produce, and 

9 procure missile, rocket, projectile, and other defense capa10 bilities to help Israel meet its security needs and to help 

11 develop and enhance United States defense capabilities. 

12 SEC. 103. ASSISTANCE FOR ISRAEL. 

13 Section 513(c) of the Security Assistance Act of 2000 

14 (Public Law 106–280; 114 Stat. 856) is amended— 

15 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘2002 and 

16 2003’’ and inserting ‘‘2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 

17 2024, 2025, 2026, 2027, and 2028’’; and 

18 (2) in paragraph (2)— 

19 (A) by striking ‘‘equal to—’’ and inserting 

20 ‘‘not less than $3,300,000,000.’’; and 

21 (B) by striking subparagraphs (A) and (B). 

22 SEC. 104. EXTENSION OF WAR RESERVES STOCKPILE AU23 THORITY. 

24 Section 514(b)(2)(A) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 

25 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2321h(b)(2)(A)) is amended by striking 
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1 ‘‘2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018’’ and inserting 

2 ‘‘2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023.’’. 

3 SEC. 105. EXTENSION OF LOAN GUARANTEES TO ISRAEL. 

4 Chapter 5 of title I of the Emergency Wartime Supple5 mental Appropriations Act, 2003 (Public Law 108–11; 117 

6 Stat. 576) is amended under the heading ‘‘LOAN GUARAN7 TEES TO ISRAEL’’— 

8 (1) in the matter preceding the first proviso, by 

9 striking ‘‘September 30, 2019’’ and inserting ‘‘Sep10 tember 30, 2023’’; and 

11 (2) in the second proviso, by striking ‘‘September 

12 30, 2019’’ and inserting ‘‘September 30, 2023’’. 

13 SEC. 106. TRANSFER OF PRECISION GUIDED MUNITIONS TO 

14 ISRAEL. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding section 514 of the 

16 Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2321h), the 

17 President is authorized to transfer such quantities of preci18 sion guided munitions from reserve stocks to Israel as nec19 essary for legitimate self-defense and otherwise consistent 

20 with the purposes and conditions for such transfers under 

21 the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2751 et seq.). 

22 (b) CERTIFICATIONS.—Except in case of emergency, 

23 not later than 5 days before making a transfer under this 

24 section, the President shall certify in an unclassified notifi-
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1 cation to the appropriate congressional committees that the 

2 transfer of the precision guided munitions— 

3 (1) does not affect the ability of the United 

4 States to maintain a sufficient supply of precision 

5 guided munitions; 

6 (2) does not harm the combat readiness of the 

7 United States or the ability of the United States to 

8 meet its commitment to allies for the transfer of such 

9 munitions; 

10 (3) is necessary for Israel to counter the threat 

11 of rockets in a timely fashion; and 

12 (4) is in the national security interest of the 

13 United States. 

14 SEC. 107. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON RAPID ACQUISITION 

15 AND DEPLOYMENT PROCEDURES. 

16 It is the sense of Congress that the President should 

17 prescribe procedures for the rapid acquisition and deploy18 ment of precision guided munitions for United States 

19 counterterrorism missions, or to assist an ally of the United 

20 States, including Israel, that is subject to direct missile 

21 threat. 
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1 SEC. 108. ELIGIBILITY OF ISRAEL FOR THE STRATEGIC 

2 TRADE AUTHORIZATION EXCEPTION TO CER3 TAIN EXPORT CONTROL LICENSING REQUIRE4 MENTS. 

5 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following findings: 

6 (1) Israel has adopted high standards in the field 

7 of export controls. 

8 (2) Israel has declared its unilateral adherence to 

9 the Missile Technology Control Regime, the Australia 

10 Group, and the Nuclear Suppliers Group. 

11 (3) Israel is a party to— 

12 (A) the Convention on Prohibitions or Re13 strictions on the Use of Certain Conventional 

14 Weapons which may be Deemed to be Excessively 

15 Injurious or to Have Indiscriminate Effects, 

16 signed at Geneva October 10, 1980; 

17 (B) the Protocol for the Prohibition of the 

18 Use in War of Asphyxiating, Poisonous or Other 

19 Gases, and of Bacteriological Methods of War20 fare, signed at Geneva June 17, 1925; and 

21 (C) the Convention on the Physical Protec22 tion of Nuclear Material, adopted at Vienna Oc23 tober 26, 1979. 

24 (4) Section 6(b) of the United States-Israel Stra25 tegic Partnership Act of 2014 (22 U.S.C. 8603 note) 

26 directs the President, consistent with the commitments 
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1 of the United States under international agreements, 

2 to take steps so that Israel may be included in the list 

3 of countries eligible for the strategic trade authoriza4 tion exception under section 740.20(c)(1) of title 15, 

5 Code of Federal Regulations, to the requirement for a 

6 license for the export, reexport, or in-country transfer 

7 of an item subject to controls under the Export Ad8 ministration Regulations. 

9 (b) REPORT ON ELIGIBILITY FOR STRATEGIC TRADE

10 AUTHORIZATION EXCEPTION.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 120 days after 

12 the date of the enactment of this Act, the President 

13 shall submit to the appropriate congressional commit14 tees a report that describes the steps taken pursuant 

15 to section 6(b) of the United States-Israel Strategic 

16 Partnership Act of 2014 (22 U.S.C. 8603 note). 

17 (2) FORM.—The report required under para18 graph (1) shall be provided in unclassified form, but 

19 may contain a classified portion. 

20 TITLE II—ENHANCED UNITED 

21 STATES-ISRAEL COOPERATION 

22 SEC. 201. UNITED STATES-ISRAEL SPACE COOPERATION. 

23 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following findings: 

24 (1) Authorized in 1958, the National Aeronautics 

25 and Space Administration (NASA) supports and co-
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1 ordinates United States Government research in aero2 nautics, human exploration and operations, science, 

3 and space technology. 

4 (2) Established in 1983, the Israel Space Agency 

5 (ISA) supports the growth of Israel’s space industry 

6 by supporting academic research, technological inno7 vation, and educational activities. 

8 (3) The mutual interest of the United States and 

9 Israel in space exploration affords both nations an 

10 opportunity to leverage their unique abilities to ad11 vance scientific discovery. 

12 (4) In 1996, NASA and the ISA entered into an 

13 agreement outlining areas of mutual cooperation, 

14 which remained in force until 2005. 

15 (5) Since 1996, NASA and the ISA have success16 fully cooperated on many space programs supporting 

17 the Global Positioning System and research related to 

18 the sun, earth science, and the environment. 

19 (6) The bond between NASA and the ISA was 

20 permanently forged on February 1, 2003, with the 

21 loss of the crew of STS–107, including Israeli Astro22 naut Ilan Ramon. 

23 (7) On October 13, 2015, the United States and 

24 Israel signed the Framework Agreement between the 

25 National Aeronautics and Space Administration of 
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1 the United States of America and the Israel Space 

2 Agency for Cooperation in Aeronautics and the Ex3 ploration and Use of Airspace and Outer Space for 

4 Peaceful Purposes. 

5 (b) CONTINUING COOPERATION.—The Administrator 

6 of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration 

7 shall continue to work with the Israel Space Agency to iden8 tify and cooperatively pursue peaceful space exploration 

9 and science initiatives in areas of mutual interest, taking 

10 all appropriate measures to protect sensitive information, 

11 intellectual property, trade secrets, and economic interests 

12 of the United States. 

13 SEC. 202. UNITED STATES AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL 

14 DEVELOPMENT-ISRAEL ENHANCED PARTNER15 SHIP FOR DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION IN 

16 DEVELOPING NATIONS. 

17 (a) STATEMENT OF POLICY.—It should be the policy 

18 of the United States Agency for International Development 

19 (USAID) to partner with Israel in order to advance com20 mon goals across a wide variety of sectors, including energy, 

21 agriculture and food security, democracy, human rights 

22 and governance, economic growth and trade, education, en23 vironment, global health, and water and sanitation. 

24 (b) MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING.—The Admin25 istrator of the United States Agency for International De-
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1 velopment is authorized to enter into memoranda of under2 standing with Israel in order to enhance coordination on 

3 advancing common goals on energy, agriculture and food 

4 security, democracy, human rights and governance, eco5 nomic growth and trade, education, environment, global 

6 health, and water and sanitation with a focus on strength7 ening mutual ties and cooperation with nations throughout 

8 the world. 

9 SEC. 203. AUTHORITY TO ENTER INTO A COOPERATIVE 

10 PROJECT AGREEMENT WITH ISRAEL TO 

11 COUNTER UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES 

12 THAT THREATEN THE UNITED STATES OR 

13 ISRAEL. 

14 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following findings: 

15 (1) On February 10, 2018, Iran launched from 

16 Syria an unmanned aerial vehicle (commonly known 

17 as a ‘‘drone’’) that penetrated Israeli airspace. 

18 (2) According to a press report, the unmanned 

19 aerial vehicle was in Israeli airspace for a minute 

20 and a half before being shot down by its air force. 

21 (3) Senior Israeli officials stated that the un22 manned aerial vehicle was an advanced piece of tech23 nology. 

24 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of the Con25 gress that— 
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1 (1) joint research and development to counter 

2 unmanned aerial vehicles will serve the national secu3 rity interests of the United States and Israel; 

4 (2) Israel faces urgent and emerging threats from 

5 unmanned aerial vehicles, and other unmanned vehi6 cles, launched from Lebanon by Hezbollah, from 

7 Syria by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, or from 

8 others seeking to attack Israel; 

9 (3) efforts to counter unmanned aerial vehicles 

10 should include the feasibility of utilizing directed en11 ergy and high powered microwave technologies, which 

12 can disable vehicles without kinetic destruction; and 

13 (4) the United States and Israel should continue 

14 to work together to defend against all threats to the 

15 safety, security, and national interests of both coun16 tries. 

17 (c) AUTHORITY TO ENTER INTO AGREEMENT.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—The President is authorized to 

19 enter into a cooperative project agreement with Israel 

20 under the authority of section 27 of the Arms Export 

21 Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2767), to carry out research 

22 on, and development, testing, evaluation, and joint 

23 production (including follow-on support) of, defense 

24 articles and defense services, such as the use of di25 rected energy or high powered microwave technology, 
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1 to detect, track, and destroy unmanned aerial vehicles 

2 that threaten the United States or Israel. 

3 (2) APPLICABLE REQUIREMENTS.—The coopera4 tive project agreement described in paragraph (1) 

5 shall— 

6 (A) provide that any activities carried out 

7 pursuant to the agreement are subject to— 

8 (i) the applicable requirements de9 scribed in subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C) 

10 of section 27(b)(2) of the Arms Export Con11 trol Act (22 U.S.C. 2767(b)(2)); and 

12 (ii) any other applicable requirements 

13 of the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 

14 2751 et seq.) with respect to the use, trans15 fers, and security of such defense articles 

16 and defense services under that Act; 

17 (B) establish a framework to negotiate the 

18 rights to intellectual property developed under 

19 the agreement; and 

20 (C) include appropriate protections for sen21 sitive technology. 

22 (d) REPORT ON COOPERATION.— 

23 (1) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than 90 days 

24 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec25 retary of Defense shall submit to the congressional de-
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1 fense committees (as that term is defined in section 

2 101(a) of title 10, United States Code), the Committee 

3 on Foreign Relations of the Senate, and the Com4 mittee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representa5 tives a report describing the cooperation of the United 

6 States with Israel with respect to countering un7 manned aerial systems that includes each of the fol8 lowing: 

9 (A) An identification of specific capability 

10 gaps of the United States and Israel with respect 

11 to countering unmanned aerial systems. 

12 (B) An identification of cooperative projects 

13 that would address those capability gaps and 

14 mutually benefit and strengthen the security of 

15 the United States and Israel. 

16 (C) An assessment of the projected cost for 

17 research and development efforts for such cooper18 ative projects, including an identification of 

19 those to be conducted in the United States, and 

20 the timeline for the completion of each such 

21 project. 

22 (D) An assessment of the extent to which the 

23 capability gaps of the United States identified 

24 pursuant to subparagraph (A) are not likely to 
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1 be addressed through the cooperative projects 

2 identified pursuant to subparagraph (B). 

3 (E) An assessment of the projected costs for 

4 procurement and fielding of any capabilities de5 veloped jointly pursuant to an agreement de6 scribed in subsection (c). 

7 (2) LIMITATION.—No activities may be con8 ducted pursuant to an agreement described in sub9 section (c) until the date that is 15 days after the 

10 date on which the Secretary of Defense submits the re11 port required under paragraph (1). 

12 TITLE III—ENSURING ISRAEL’S 

13 QUALITATIVE MILITARY EDGE 

14 SEC. 301. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

15 It is the policy of the United States to ensure that 

16 Israel maintains its ability to counter and defeat any cred17 ible conventional military, or emerging, threat from any 

18 individual state or possible coalition of states or from non19 state actors, while sustaining minimal damages and casual20 ties, through the use of superior military means, possessed 

21 in sufficient quantity, including weapons, command, con22 trol, communication, intelligence, surveillance, and recon23 naissance capabilities that in their technical characteristics 
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1 are superior in capability to those of such other individual 

2 or possible coalition states or non-state actors. 

Attest: 

Clerk. 
115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2497 

AMENDMENT