III 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 383 

Recognizing the importance of the United States-Israel economic relationship 

and encouraging new areas of cooperation. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 1, 2016 

Mr. PERDUE (for himself, Mr. TESTER, Mr. COONS, Mr. ISAKSON, Mr. RUBIO, 

Mr. KAINE, Mrs. BOXER, Mr. KIRK, Mr. WYDEN, Mr. INHOFE, Mr. 

PETERS, Mr. CASEY, Mr. CRUZ, and Ms. COLLINS) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

MARCH 16, 2016 

Reported by Mr. CORKER, without amendment 

APRIL 27, 2016 

Considered, amended, and agreed to with an amended preamble 

RESOLUTION 

Recognizing the importance of the United States-Israel economic relationship and encouraging new areas of cooperation. 

Whereas the deep bond between the United States and Israel 

is exemplified by its many facets, including the robust 

economic and commercial relationship; 

Whereas, on April 22, 2015, the United States celebrated the 

30th anniversary of its free trade agreement with Israel, 


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•SRES 383 ATS 

which was the first free trade agreement entered into by 

the United States; 

Whereas the United States-Israel Free Trade Agreement established the Joint Committee to facilitate the agreement 

and collaborate on efforts to increase bilateral cooperation and investment; 

Whereas since the signing of this agreement, two-way trade 

has multiplied tenfold to over $40,000,000,000 annually; 

Whereas Israel is the third largest importer of United States 

goods in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region after Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, 

despite representing only 2 percent of the region’s population; 

Whereas nearly half of all investment in the United States 

from the MENA region comes from Israel; 

Whereas Israel has more companies listed on the NASDAQ 

Stock Exchange than any other country except for the 

United States and China; 

Whereas, in 1956, the United States-Israel Education Foundation was established to administer the Fulbright Program in Israel, and has facilitated the exchange of nearly 

3,300 students between the United States and Israel 

since its inception; 

Whereas the United States-Israel Innovation Index (USI3), 

which was developed by USISTF to track and benchmark 

innovation relationships, ranks the United States-Israel 

innovation relationship as top-tier; 

Whereas, since 2011, the United States Department of Energy and the Israeli Ministry of National Infrastructures, 

Energy and Water Resources have led an annual United 

States-Israel Energy Meeting with participants across 


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•SRES 383 ATS 

government agencies to facilitate bilateral cooperation in 

that sector; 

Whereas, in 2012, Congress passed and President Barack 

Obama signed into law the United States-Israel Enhanced Security Cooperation Act of 2012 (Public Law 

112–150), which set United States policy to expand bilateral cooperation across the spectrum of civilian sectors, 

including high technology, agriculture, medicine, health, 

pharmaceuticals, and energy; 

Whereas, in 2013, President Obama said in reference to 

Israel’s contribution to the global economy, ‘‘That innovation is just as important to the relationship between 

the United States and Israel as our security cooperation.’’; 

Whereas, in 2014, Secretary of the Treasury Jacob Lew said, 

‘‘As one of the most technologically-advanced and innovative economies in the world, Israel is an important economic partner to the United States.’’; 

Whereas the 2014 Global Venture Capital Confidence Survey 

ranked the United States and Israel as the two countries 

with the highest levels of investor confidence in the world; 

Whereas, in 2014, Congress passed and President Obama 

signed into law the United States-Israel Strategic Partnership Act of 2014 (Public Law 113–296), which deepened cooperation on energy, water, agriculture, trade, 

and defense, and expressed the sense of Congress that 

Israel is a major strategic partner of the United States; 

and 

Whereas economic cooperation between the United States and 

Israel has also thrived at the State and local levels 

through both formal agreements and bilateral organizaVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:30 Apr 27, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR383.ATS SR383

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•SRES 383 ATS 

tions in over 30 States that have encouraged new forms 

of cooperation in fields such as water conservation, cybersecurity, and alternative energy and farming technologies: 

Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) affirms that the United States-Israel eco3 nomic partnership has achieved great tangible and 

4 intangible benefits to both countries and is a 

5 foundational component of the strong alliance; 

6 (2) recognizes that science and technology inno7 vation present promising new frontiers for United 

8 States-Israel economic cooperation, particularly in 

9 light of widespread drought, cybersecurity attacks, 

10 and other major challenges impacting the United 

11 States; 

12 (3) encourages the President to regularize and 

13 expand existing forums of economic dialogue with 

14 Israel and foster both public and private sector par15 ticipation and investment, and remove barriers to, 

16 and to provide incentives for, private sector market 

17 entry; and 

18 (4) expresses support for the President to ex19 plore new agreements with Israel, including in the 

20 fields of energy, water, agriculture, medicine, 

21 neurotechnology, and cybersecurity. 

Æ 


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