II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1143 

To direct the Secretary of Defense to carry out a grant program to increase 

cooperation on post-traumatic stress disorder research between the 

United States and Israel. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 30, 2023 

Mr. MORAN (for himself, Mr. PADILLA, Mr. CARDIN, Ms. ROSEN, Ms. HASSAN, Ms. STABENOW, Ms. COLLINS, Mr. PETERS, and Mr. MENENDEZ) 

introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 

Committee on Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Defense to carry out a grant 

program to increase cooperation on post-traumatic stress 

disorder research between the United States and Israel. 

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 ‘‘United States-Israel 

5 PTSD Collaborative Research Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 


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1 (1) The Department of Veterans Affairs reports 

2 that between 11 and 20 percent of veterans who 

3 served in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation 

4 Enduring Freedom have post-traumatic stress dis5 order (in this subsection referred to as ‘‘PTSD’’) in 

6 a given year. In addition, that figure amounts to 

7 about 12 percent of Gulf War veterans and up to 30 

8 percent of Vietnam veterans. 

9 (2) The Department of Veterans Affairs reports 

10 that among women veterans of the conflicts in Iraq 

11 and Afghanistan, almost 20 percent have been diag12 nosed with PTSD. 

13 (3) It is thought that 70 percent of individuals 

14 in the United States have experienced at least one 

15 traumatic event in their lifetime, and approximately 

16 20 percent of those individuals have struggled or 

17 continue to struggle with symptoms of PTSD. 

18 (4) Studies show that PTSD has links to home19 lessness and substance abuse in the United States. 

20 The Department of Veterans Affairs estimates that 

21 approximately 11 percent of the homeless population 

22 are veterans and the Substance Abuse and Mental 

23 Health Services Administration estimates that about 

24 seven percent of veterans have a substance abuse 

25 disorder. 


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1 (5) Our ally Israel, under constant attack from 

2 terrorist groups, experiences similar issues with 

3 Israeli veterans facing symptoms of PTSD. The Na4 tional Center for Traumatic Stress and Resilience at 

5 Tel Aviv University found that five to eight percent 

6 of combat soldiers experience some form of PTSD, 

7 and during wartime, that figure rises to 15 to 20 

8 percent. 

9 (6) Current treatment options in the United 

10 States focus on cognitive therapy, exposure therapy, 

11 or eye movement desensitization and reprocessing, 

12 but the United States must continue to look for 

13 more effective treatments. Several leading hospitals, 

14 academic institutions, and nonprofit organizations in 

15 Israel dedicate research and services to treating 

16 PTSD. 

17 SEC. 3. GRANT PROGRAM FOR INCREASED COOPERATION 

18 ON POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER RE19 SEARCH BETWEEN UNITED STATES AND 

20 ISRAEL. 

21 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con22 gress that the Secretary of Defense, acting through the 

23 Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury Re24 search Program, should seek to explore scientific collabo25 ration between academic institutions and nonprofit reVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:46 Apr 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1143.IS S1143

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1 search entities in the United States and institutions in 

2 Israel with expertise in researching, diagnosing, and treat3 ing post-traumatic stress disorder. 

4 (b) GRANT PROGRAM.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Defense, in 

6 coordination with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs 

7 and the Secretary of State, shall award grants to eli8 gible entities to carry out collaborative research be9 tween the United States and Israel with respect to 

10 post-traumatic stress disorders. 

11 (2) AGREEMENT.—The Secretary of Defense 

12 shall carry out the grant program under this section 

13 in accordance with the Agreement on the United 

14 States-Israel binational science foundation with ex15 change of letters, signed at New York September 27, 

16 1972, and entered into force on September 27, 

17 1972. 

18 (c) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—To be eligible to receive a 

19 grant under this section, an entity shall be an academic 

20 institution or a nonprofit entity located in the United 

21 States. 

22 (d) AWARD.—The Secretary shall award grants 

23 under this section to eligible entities that— 

24 (1) carry out a research project that— 


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1 (A) addresses a requirement in the area of 

2 post-traumatic stress disorders that the Sec3 retary determines appropriate to research using 

4 such grant; and 

5 (B) is conducted by the eligible entity and 

6 an entity in Israel under a joint research agree7 ment; and 

8 (2) meet such other criteria that the Secretary 

9 may establish. 

10 (e) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a grant 

11 under this section, an eligible entity shall submit an appli12 cation to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and 

13 containing such commitments and information as the Sec14 retary may require. 

15 (f) GIFT AUTHORITY.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may accept, 

17 hold, and administer any gift of money made on the 

18 condition that the gift be used for the purpose of the 

19 grant program under this section. 

20 (2) DEPOSIT.—Gifts of money accepted under 

21 paragraph (1) shall be deposited in the Treasury in 

22 the Department of Defense General Gift Fund and 

23 shall be available, subject to appropriation, without 

24 fiscal year limitation. 


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1 (g) REPORTS.—Not later than 180 days after the 

2 date on which an eligible entity completes a research 

3 project using a grant under this section, the Secretary 

4 shall submit to Congress a report that contains— 

5 (1) a description of how the eligible entity used 

6 the grant; and 

7 (2) an evaluation of the level of success of the 

8 research project. 

9 (h) TERMINATION.—The authority to award grants 

10 under this section shall terminate on the date that is seven 

11 years after the date on which the first such grant is 

12 awarded. 

Æ 


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