115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1164 

AN ACT 

To condition assistance to the West Bank and Gaza on 

steps by the Palestinian Authority to end violence and 

terrorism against Israeli citizens. 

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

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Taylor Force Act’’. 

3 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

4 Congress makes the following findings: 

5 (1) The Palestinian Authority’s practice of pay6 ing salaries to terrorists serving in Israeli prisons, as 

7 well as to the families of deceased terrorists, is an 

8 incentive to commit acts of terror. 

9 (2) The United States does not provide direct 

10 budgetary support to the Palestinian Authority. The 

11 United States does pay certain debts held by the 

12 Palestinian Authority and funds programs for which 

13 the Palestinian Authority would otherwise be respon14 sible. 

15 (3) The United States Government supports 

16 community-based programs in the West Bank and 

17 Gaza that provide for basic human needs, such as 

18 food, water, health, shelter, protection, education, 

19 and livelihoods, and that promote peace and develop20 ment. 

21 (4) Since fiscal year 2015, annual appropria22 tions legislation has mandated the reduction of Eco23 nomic Support Fund aid for the Palestinian Author24 ity as a result of their payments for acts of ter25 rorism including, in fiscal year 2017, a reduction 

26 ‘‘by an amount the Secretary determines is equiva-
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1 lent to the amount expended by the Palestinian Au2 thority, the Palestine Liberation Organization, and 

3 any successor or affiliated organizations with such 

4 entities as payments for acts of terrorism by individ5 uals who are imprisoned after being fairly tried and 

6 convicted for acts of terrorism and by individuals 

7 who died committing acts of terrorism during the 

8 previous calendar year’’. 

9 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

10 Congress— 

11 (1) calls on the Palestinian Authority, the Pal12 estine Liberation Organization, and any successor or 

13 affiliated organizations to stop payments for acts of 

14 terrorism by individuals who are imprisoned after 

15 being fairly tried and convicted for acts of terrorism 

16 and by individuals who died committing acts of ter17 rorism and to repeal the laws authorizing such pay18 ments; 

19 (2) calls on all donor countries providing budg20 etary assistance to the Palestinian Authority to 

21 cease direct budgetary support until the Palestinian 

22 Authority stops all payments incentivizing terror; 

23 (3) urges the Palestinian Authority to develop 

24 programs to provide essential public services and 

25 support to any individual in need within its jurisdic-
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1 tional control, rather than to provide payments con2 tingent on perpetrating acts of violence; 

3 (4) urges the United States Permanent Rep4 resentative to the United Nations to use the voice, 

5 vote, and influence of the United States at the 

6 United Nations to highlight the issue of Palestinian 

7 Authority payments for acts of terrorism and to 

8 urge other Member States to apply pressure upon 

9 the Palestinian Authority to immediately cease such 

10 payments; and 

11 (5) urges the Department of State to use its bi12 lateral and multilateral engagements with all govern13 ments and organizations committed to the cause of 

14 peace between Israel and the Palestinians to high15 light the issue of Palestinian Authority payments for 

16 acts of terrorism and to urge such governments and 

17 organizations to join the United States in calling on 

18 the Palestinian Authority to immediately cease such 

19 payments. 

20 SEC. 4. LIMITATION ON ASSISTANCE TO THE WEST BANK 

21 AND GAZA. 

22 (a) LIMITATION.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—For fiscal year 2018 and 

24 each of the five subsequent fiscal years, funds au25 thorized to be appropriated or otherwise made avail-
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1 able for assistance under chapter 4 of part II of the 

2 Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2346 et 

3 seq.; relating to Economic Support Fund) and avail4 able for assistance for the West Bank and Gaza that 

5 directly benefits the Palestinian Authority may only 

6 be made available for such purpose if, except as pro7 vided in subsection (d), not later than 30 days after 

8 the date of the enactment of this Act, and every 180 

9 days thereafter, the Secretary of State certifies in 

10 writing to the appropriate congressional committees 

11 that the Palestinian Authority, the Palestine Libera12 tion Organization, and any successor or affiliated or13 ganizations— 

14 (A) are taking credible steps to end acts of 

15 violence against Israeli citizens and United 

16 States citizens that are perpetrated or materi17 ally assisted by individuals under their jurisdic18 tional control, such as the March 2016 attack 

19 that killed former United States Army officer 

20 Taylor Force, a veteran of the wars in Iraq and 

21 Afghanistan; 

22 (B) have terminated payments for acts of 

23 terrorism against Israeli citizens and United 

24 States citizens to any individual, after being 

25 fairly tried, who has been imprisoned for such 
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1 acts of terrorism and to any individual who died 

2 committing such acts of terrorism, including to 

3 a family member of such individuals; 

4 (C) have revoked any law, decree, regula5 tion, or document authorizing or implementing 

6 a system of compensation for imprisoned indi7 viduals that uses the sentence or period of in8 carceration of an individual imprisoned for an 

9 act of terrorism to determine the level of com10 pensation paid, or have taken comparable ac11 tion that has the effect of invalidating any such 

12 law, decree, regulation, or document; and 

13 (D) are publicly condemning such acts of 

14 violence and are taking steps to investigate or 

15 are cooperating in investigations of such acts to 

16 bring the perpetrators to justice. 

17 (2) ADDITIONAL CERTIFICATION REQUIRE18 MENT.—The Secretary of State shall include in the 

19 certification required under paragraph (1) the defi20 nition of ‘‘acts of terrorism’’ that the Secretary used 

21 for purposes of making the determination in sub22 paragraph (B) of such paragraph. 

23 (b) EXCEPTION.— 
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

2 the limitation on assistance under subsection (a) 

3 shall not apply to— 

4 (A) payments made to the East Jerusalem 

5 Hospital Network; 

6 (B) assistance for wastewater projects; and 

7 (C) assistance for any other program, 

8 project, or activity that provides vaccinations to 

9 children. 

10 (2) NOTIFICATION.—The Secretary of State 

11 shall notify in writing the appropriate congressional 

12 committees not later than 15 days prior to making 

13 funds available for assistance under subparagraph 

14 (A), (B), or (C) of paragraph (1). 

15 (c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Funds withheld pur16 suant to this section— 

17 (1) shall be deemed to satisfy any similar with18 holding or reduction required under any other provi19 sion of law relating to the Palestinian Authority’s 

20 payments for acts of terrorism; and 

21 (2) shall be in an amount that is not less than 

22 the total amount required by such other provision of 

23 law. 

24 (d) INITIAL USE AND DISPOSITION OF WITHHELD

25 FUNDS.— 
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1 (1) PERIOD OF AVAILABILITY.—Funds withheld 

2 pursuant to this section are authorized to remain 

3 available for an additional 2 years from the date on 

4 which the availability of such funds would otherwise 

5 have expired. 

6 (2) USE OF FUNDS.—Funds withheld pursuant 

7 to this section may be made available for assistance 

8 for the West Bank and Gaza that directly benefits 

9 the Palestinian Authority upon a certification by the 

10 Secretary of State that the Palestinian Authority, 

11 the Palestine Liberation Organization, and any suc12 cessor or affiliated organizations have met the condi13 tions set forth in subsection (a). Except as provided 

14 in paragraph (3), such funds may not be made avail15 able for any purpose other than for assistance for 

16 the West Bank and Gaza that directly benefits the 

17 Palestinian Authority. 

18 (3) DISPOSITION OF UNUSED FUNDS.—Begin19 ning on the date that is 180 days after the last day 

20 on which the initial availability of funds withheld 

21 pursuant to this section would otherwise have ex22 pired, such funds are authorized to be made avail23 able to the Department of State for assistance under 

24 chapter 4 of part II of the Foreign Assistance Act 

25 of 1961 (22 U.S.C.2346 et seq.; relating to Eco-
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1 nomic Support Fund) for purposes other than assist2 ance for the West Bank and Gaza. 

3 (e) REPORT.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary of State is 

5 unable to certify in writing to the appropriate con6 gressional committees that the Palestinian Author7 ity, the Palestine Liberation Organization, and any 

8 successor or affiliated organizations have met the 

9 conditions described in subsection (a), the Secretary 

10 shall, not later than 15 days after the date on which 

11 the Secretary is unable to make such certification, 

12 submit to the appropriate congressional committees 

13 a report that contains the following: 

14 (A) The reasons why the Secretary was 

15 unable to certify in writing that such organiza16 tions have met such requirements. 

17 (B) The definition of ‘‘acts of terrorism’’ 

18 that the Secretary used for purposes of making 

19 the determination in subparagraph (B) of sub20 section (a)(1). 

21 (C) The total amount of funds to be with22 held. 

23 (2) FORM.—The report required by this sub24 section shall be submitted in unclassified form but 

25 may include a classified annex. 
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1 (f) LIST OF CRITERIA.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 15 days after 

3 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

4 of State shall submit to the appropriate congres5 sional committees a list of the criteria that the Sec6 retary uses to determine whether assistance for the 

7 West Bank and Gaza is assistance that directly ben8 efits the Palestinian Authority for purposes of car9 rying out this section. 

10 (2) UPDATE.—The Secretary of State shall 

11 submit to the appropriate congressional committees 

12 an updated list under paragraph (1) not later than 

13 15 days after the date on which the Secretary makes 

14 any modification to the list. 

15 SEC. 5. INITIAL REPORT. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after the 

17 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State 

18 shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees 

19 a report describing those programs, projects, and activities 

20 funded by the United States Government that have been 

21 or will be suspended by reason of withholding of funds 

22 under section 4. 

23 (b) FORM.—The report required by subsection (a) 

24 shall be submitted in unclassified form but may include 

25 a classified annex. 
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1 SEC. 6. ANNUAL REPORT. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

3 date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter 

4 for 6 years, the Secretary of State shall submit to the ap5 propriate congressional committees a report including at 

6 a minimum the following elements: 

7 (1) An estimate of the amount expended by the 

8 Palestinian Authority, the Palestine Liberation Or9 ganization, and any successor or affiliated organiza10 tions during the previous calendar year as payments 

11 for acts of terrorism by individuals who are impris12 oned for such acts. 

13 (2) An estimate of the amount expended by the 

14 Palestinian Authority, the Palestine Liberation Or15 ganization, and any successor or affiliated organiza16 tions during the previous calendar year as payments 

17 to the families of deceased individuals who com18 mitted an act of terrorism. 

19 (3) An overview of Palestinian laws, decrees, 

20 regulations, or documents in effect the previous cal21 endar year that authorize or implement any pay22 ments reported under paragraphs (1) and (2). 

23 (4) A description of United States Government 

24 policy, efforts, and engagement with the Palestinian 

25 Authority in order to confirm the revocation of any 

26 law, decree, regulation, or document in effect the 
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1 previous calendar year that authorizes or implements 

2 any payments reported under paragraphs (1) and 

3 (2). 

4 (5) A description of United States Government 

5 policy, efforts, and engagement with other govern6 ments, and at the United Nations, to highlight the 

7 issue of Palestinian payments for acts of terrorism 

8 and to urge other nations to join the United States 

9 in calling on the Palestinian Authority to imme10 diately cease such payments. 

11 (b) FORM OF REPORT.—The report required by sub12 section (a) shall be submitted in unclassified form but may 

13 include a classified annex. 

14 SEC. 7. APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES DE15 FINED. 

16 In this Act, the term ‘‘appropriate congressional com17 mittees’’ means— 

18 (1) the Committee on Appropriations and the 

19 Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Rep20 resentatives; and 
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1 (2) the Committee on Appropriations and the 

2 Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate. 

Passed the House of Representatives December 5, 

2017. 

Attest: 

Clerk. 
115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1164 

AN ACT 

To condition assistance to the West Bank and Gaza 

lence and terrorism against Israeli citizens. on steps by the Palestinian Authority to end vio-