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[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1159 Referred in Senate (RFS)]

<DOC>
115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1159

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           December 21, 2017

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT

 
To provide for continuing cooperation between the National Aeronautics 
  and Space Administration and the Israel Space Agency, and for other 
                               purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``United States and Israel Space 
Cooperation Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds that--
            (1) authorized in 1958, the National Aeronautics and Space 
        Administration (NASA) supports and coordinates United States 
        Government research in aeronautics, human exploration and 
        operations, science, and space technology;
            (2) established in 1983, the Israel Space Agency (ISA) 
        supports the growth of Israel's space industry by supporting 
        academic research, technological innovation, and educational 
        activities;
            (3) the mutual interest of the United States and Israel in 
        space exploration affords both nations an opportunity to 
        leverage their unique abilities to advance scientific 
        discovery;
            (4) in 1996, NASA and the ISA entered into their first 
        agreement outlining areas of mutual cooperation, which remained 
        in force until 2005;
            (5) since 1996, NASA and the ISA have successfully 
        cooperated on many space programs supporting the Global 
        Positioning System and research related to the sun, earth 
        science, and the environment;
            (6) the bond between NASA and the ISA was permanently 
        forged on February 1, 2003, with the loss of the crew of STS-
        107 including Israeli Astronaut Ilan Ramon;
            (7) the United States-Israel Strategic Partnership Act of 
        2014 (Public Law 113-296) designated Israel as a Major 
        Strategic Partner of the United States; and
            (8) on October 13, 2015, the United States and Israel 
        signed the Framework Agreement between the National Aeronautics 
        and Space Administration of the United States of America and 
        the Israel Space Agency for Cooperation in Aeronautics and the 
        Exploration and Use of Airspace and Outer Space for Peaceful 
        Purposes.

SEC. 3. CONTINUING COOPERATION.

    The Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space 
Administration shall continue to work with the Israel Space Agency to 
identify and cooperatively pursue peaceful space exploration and 
science initiatives in areas of mutual interest, taking all appropriate 
measures to protect sensitive information, intellectual property, trade 
secrets, and economic interests of the United States.

            Passed the House of Representatives December 20, 2017.

            Attest:

                                                 KAREN L. HAAS,

                                                                 Clerk.
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