I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1837 

To make improvements to certain defense and security assistance provisions 

and to authorize assistance for Israel, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 21, 2019 

Mr. DEUTCH (for himself and Mr. WILSON of South Carolina) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, 

and in addition to the Committees on Armed Services, Science, Space, 

and Technology, Agriculture, Energy and Commerce, the Judiciary, 

Homeland Security, Transportation and Infrastructure, and Veterans’ Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each 

case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of 

the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To make improvements to certain defense and security assistance provisions and to authorize assistance for Israel, 

and for other purposes. 

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 AND TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

5 ‘‘United States-Israel Cooperation Enhancement and Re6 gional Security Act’’. 


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

2 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents. 

TITLE I—ENHANCED COOPERATION BETWEEN THE UNITED 

STATES AND ISRAEL 

Sec. 101. Coordinator of United States-Israel Research and Development. 

Sec. 102. Cooperation on directed energy capabilities. 

Sec. 103. Cooperation on cybersecurity. 

Sec. 104. Report on potential benefits and impact to the United States of establishing a joint United States-Israel Cybersecurity Center of 

Excellence. 

Sec. 105. Cyber attache ́. 

Sec. 106. United States Agency for International Development MemorandumIsrael enhanced cooperation. 

Sec. 107. Cooperative projects among the United States, Israel, and developing 

countries. 

Sec. 108. Joint cooperative program relating to regional cooperation on innovation and high-tech. 

Sec. 109. Sense of Congress on Eastern Mediterranean energy cooperation. 

Sec. 110. Cooperation on other matters. 

TITLE II—SECURITY ASSISTANCE FOR ISRAEL 

Sec. 201. Findings. 

Sec. 202. Statement of policy. 

Sec. 203. Contingency plans to provide Israel with necessary defense articles 

and services. 

Sec. 204. Waiver for existing or imminent military threat to Israel. 

Sec. 205. Security assistance for Israel. 

Sec. 206. Joint assessment of quantity of precision guided munitions for use by 

Israel. 

Sec. 207. Transfer of precision guided munitions to Israel. 

Sec. 208. Sense of Congress on rapid acquisition and deployment procedures. 

Sec. 209. Extension of War Reserves Stockpile authority. 

Sec. 210. Eligibility of Israel for the strategic trade authorization exception to 

certain export control licensing requirements. 

Sec. 211. Extension of loan guarantees to Israel. 

Sec. 212. Definition. 

TITLE III—JUSTICE FOR UNITED STATES VICTIMS OF 

PALESTINIAN TERRORISM 

Sec. 301. Short title. 

Sec. 302. Facilitation of the settlement of terrorism-related claims of nationals 

of the United States. 

Sec. 303. Modification to consent of certain parties to personal jurisdiction. 


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1 TITLE I—ENHANCED COOPERA2 TION BETWEEN THE UNITED 

3 STATES AND ISRAEL 

4 SEC. 101. COORDINATOR OF UNITED STATES-ISRAEL RE5 SEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The President is encouraged to 

7 designate the Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau 

8 of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific 

9 Affairs to act as Coordinator of United States-Israel Re10 search and Development (in this section referred to as the 

11 ‘‘Coordinator’’). 

12 (b) AUTHORITIES AND DUTIES.—The Coordinator, in 

13 conjunction with the heads of relevant Federal Govern14 ment departments and agencies and in coordination with 

15 the Israel Innovation Authority, shall oversee civilian 

16 science and technology programs on a joint basis with 

17 Israel. 

18 (c) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the date 

19 of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the 

20 Coordinator shall submit to the appropriate congressional 

21 committees a report on the implementation of this section. 

22 (d) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES

23 DEFINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘appropriate con24 gressional committees’’ means— 


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1 (1) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the 

2 Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the 

3 House of Representatives; and 

4 (2) the Committee on Foreign Relations and 

5 the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Trans6 portation of the Senate. 

7 SEC. 102. COOPERATION ON DIRECTED ENERGY CAPABILI8 TIES. 

9 (a) AUTHORITY.— 

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

11 upon request of the Ministry of Defense of Israel 

12 and with the concurrence of the Secretary of State, 

13 is authorized to carry out research, development, 

14 test, and evaluation activities, on a joint basis with 

15 Israel, to establish directed energy capabilities that 

16 address threats to the United States, deployed forces 

17 of the United States, or Israel. Any activities carried 

18 out pursuant to such authority shall be conducted in 

19 a manner that appropriately protects sensitive infor20 mation and the national security interests of the 

21 United States and the national security interests of 

22 Israel. 

23 (2) REPORT.—The activities described in para24 graph (1) may be carried out after the Secretary of 


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1 Defense submits to the appropriate congressional 

2 committees a report setting forth the following: 

3 (A) A memorandum of agreement between 

4 the United States and Israel regarding sharing 

5 of research and development costs for the capa6 bilities described in paragraph (1), and any 

7 supporting documents. 

8 (B) A certification that the memorandum 

9 of agreement— 

10 (i) requires sharing of costs of 

11 projects, including in-kind support, be12 tween the United States and Israel; 

13 (ii) establishes a framework to nego14 tiate the rights to any intellectual property 

15 developed under the memorandum of 

16 agreement; and 

17 (iii) requires the United States Gov18 ernment to receive semiannual reports on 

19 expenditure of funds, if any, by the Gov20 ernment of Israel, including a description 

21 of what the funds have been used for, 

22 when funds were expended, and an identi23 fication of entities that expended the 

24 funds. 

25 (b) SUPPORT IN CONNECTION WITH ACTIVITIES.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Defense is 

2 authorized to provide maintenance and sustainment 

3 support to Israel for the directed energy capabilities 

4 research, development, test, and evaluation activities 

5 authorized in subsection (a)(1). Such authority in6 cludes authority to install equipment necessary to 

7 carry out such research, development, test, and eval8 uation. 

9 (2) REPORT.—The support described in para10 graph (1) may not be provided until 15 days after 

11 the Secretary of Defense submits to the appropriate 

12 congressional committees a report setting forth a de13 tailed description of the support to be provided. 

14 (3) MATCHING CONTRIBUTION.—The support 

15 described in paragraph (1) may not be provided un16 less the Secretary of Defense certifies to the appro17 priate congressional committees that the Govern18 ment of Israel will contribute to such support— 

19 (A) an amount equal to not less than the 

20 amount of support to be so provided; or 

21 (B) an amount that otherwise meets the 

22 best efforts of Israel, as mutually agreed to by 

23 the United States and Israel. 

24 (c) LEAD AGENCY.—The Secretary of Defense shall 

25 designate an appropriate research and development entity 


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1 of a military department as the lead agency of the Depart2 ment of Defense in carrying out this section. 

3 (d) SEMIANNUAL REPORT.—The Secretary of De4 fense shall submit to the appropriate congressional com5 mittees on a semiannual basis a report that contains a 

6 copy of the most recent semiannual report provided by the 

7 Government of Israel to the Department of Defense pur8 suant to subsection (a)(2)(B)(iii). 

9 (e) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES DE10 FINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘appropriate congres11 sional committees’’ means— 

12 (1) the Committee on Armed Services, the 

13 Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee on 

14 Homeland Security, and the Committee on Appro15 priations of the House of Representatives; and 

16 (2) the Committee on Armed Services, the 

17 Committee on Foreign Relations, the Committee on 

18 Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, and 

19 the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate. 

20 SEC. 103. COOPERATION ON CYBERSECURITY. 

21 (a) GRANT PROGRAM.— 

22 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary, in ac23 cordance with the agreement entitled the ‘‘Agree24 ment between the Government of the United States 

25 of America and the Government of the State of 


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1 Israel on Cooperation in Science and Technology for 

2 Homeland Security Matters’’, dated May 29, 2008 

3 (or successor agreement), and the requirements 

4 specified in paragraph (2), shall establish a grant 

5 program at the Department to support— 

6 (A) cybersecurity research and develop7 ment; and 

8 (B) demonstration and commercialization 

9 of cybersecurity technology. 

10 (2) REQUIREMENTS.— 

11 (A) APPLICABILITY.—Notwithstanding any 

12 other provision of law, in carrying out a re13 search, development, demonstration, or com14 mercial application program or activity that is 

15 authorized under this section, the Secretary 

16 shall require cost sharing in accordance with 

17 this paragraph. 

18 (B) RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.— 

19 (i) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided 

20 in clause (ii), the Secretary shall require 

21 not less than 50 percent of the cost of a 

22 research, development, demonstration, or 

23 commercial application program or activity 

24 described in subparagraph (A) to be pro25 vided by a non-Federal source. 


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1 (ii) REDUCTION.—The Secretary may 

2 reduce or eliminate, on a case-by-case 

3 basis, the percentage requirement specified 

4 in clause (i) if the Secretary determines 

5 that such reduction or elimination is nec6 essary and appropriate. 

7 (C) MERIT REVIEW.—In carrying out a re8 search, development, demonstration, or com9 mercial application program or activity that is 

10 authorized under this section, awards shall be 

11 made only after an impartial review of the sci12 entific and technical merit of the proposals for 

13 such awards has been carried out by or for the 

14 Department. 

15 (D) REVIEW PROCESSES.—In carrying out 

16 a review under subparagraph (C), the Secretary 

17 may use merit review processes developed under 

18 section 302(14) of the Homeland Security Act 

19 of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 182(14)). 

20 (3) ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS.—An applicant shall 

21 be eligible to receive a grant under this subsection 

22 if the project of such applicant— 

23 (A) addresses a requirement in the area of 

24 cybersecurity research or cybersecurity tech25 nology, as determined by the Secretary; and 


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1 (B) is a joint venture between— 

2 (i)(I) a for-profit business entity, aca3 demic institution, National Laboratory (as 

4 defined in section 2 of the Energy Policy 

5 Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15801)), or non6 profit entity in the United States; and 

7 (II) a for-profit business entity, aca8 demic institution, or nonprofit entity in 

9 Israel; or 

10 (ii)(I) the Federal Government; and 

11 (II) the Government of Israel. 

12 (4) APPLICATIONS.—To be eligible to receive a 

13 grant under this subsection, an applicant shall sub14 mit to the Secretary an application for such grant 

15 in accordance with procedures established by the 

16 Secretary, in consultation with the advisory board 

17 established under paragraph (5). 

18 (5) ADVISORY BOARD.— 

19 (A) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary 

20 shall establish an advisory board to— 

21 (i) monitor the method by which 

22 grants are awarded under this subsection; 

23 and 


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1 (ii) provide to the Secretary periodic 

2 performance reviews of actions taken to 

3 carry out this subsection. 

4 (B) COMPOSITION.—The advisory board 

5 established under subparagraph (A) shall be 

6 composed of three members, to be appointed by 

7 the Secretary, of whom— 

8 (i) one shall be a representative of the 

9 Federal Government; 

10 (ii) one shall be selected from a list of 

11 nominees provided by the United States12 Israel Binational Science Foundation; and 

13 (iii) one shall be selected from a list 

14 of nominees provided by the United States15 Israel Binational Industrial Research and 

16 Development Foundation. 

17 (6) CONTRIBUTED FUNDS.—Notwithstanding 

18 any other provision of law, the Secretary may accept 

19 or retain funds contributed by any person, govern20 ment entity, or organization for purposes of carrying 

21 out this subsection. Such funds shall be available, 

22 subject to appropriation, without fiscal year limita23 tion. 

24 (7) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after 

25 the date of completion of a project for which a grant 


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1 is provided under this subsection, the grant recipient 

2 shall submit to the Secretary a report that con3 tains— 

4 (A) a description of how the grant funds 

5 were used by the recipient; and 

6 (B) an evaluation of the level of success of 

7 each project funded by the grant. 

8 (8) CLASSIFICATION.—Grants shall be awarded 

9 under this subsection only for projects that are con10 sidered to be unclassified by both the United States 

11 and Israel. 

12 (b) TERMINATION.—The grant program and the ad13 visory board established under this section terminate on 

14 the date that is 7 years after the date of the enactment 

15 of this Act. 

16 (c) NO ADDITIONAL FUNDS AUTHORIZED.—No addi17 tional funds are authorized to carry out the requirements 

18 of this section. Such requirements shall be carried out 

19 using amounts otherwise authorized. 

20 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

21 (1) the term ‘‘cybersecurity research’’ means re22 search, including social science research, into ways 

23 to identify, protect against, detect, respond to, and 

24 recover from cybersecurity threats; 


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1 (2) the term ‘‘cybersecurity technology’’ means 

2 technology intended to identify, protect against, de3 tect, respond to, and recover from cybersecurity 

4 threats; 

5 (3) the term ‘‘cybersecurity threat’’ has the 

6 meaning given such term in section 102 of the Cy7 bersecurity Information Sharing Act of 2015 (en8 acted as title I of the Cybersecurity Act of 2015 (di9 vision N of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 

10 2016 (Public Law 114–113))); 

11 (4) the term ‘‘Department’’ means the Depart12 ment of Homeland Security; and 

13 (5) the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 

14 of Homeland Security. 

15 SEC. 104. REPORT ON POTENTIAL BENEFITS AND IMPACT 

16 TO THE UNITED STATES OF ESTABLISHING A 

17 JOINT UNITED STATES-ISRAEL CYBERSECU18 RITY CENTER OF EXCELLENCE. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year after the 

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

21 shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees 

22 a report examining the potential benefits and impact to 

23 the United States of establishing a joint United States24 Israel Cybersecurity Center of Excellence based in the 

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1 edge, and expertise of institutions of higher education (as 

2 such term is defined in subsection (a) or (b) of section 

3 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

4 1001)), private sector entities, and government entities in 

5 the area of cybersecurity and protection of critical infra6 structure (as such term is defined in subsection (e) of sec7 tion 1016 of the Critical Infrastructures Protection Act 

8 of 2001 (42 U.S.C. 5195c; enacted in title X of the USA 

9 PATRIOT Act (Public Law 20 107–56))). 

10 (b) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES

11 DEFINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘appropriate con12 gressional committees’’ means— 

13 (1) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the 

14 Committee on Homeland Security of the House of 

15 Representatives; and 

16 (2) the Committee on Foreign Relations and 

17 the Committee on Homeland Security and Govern18 mental Affairs of the Senate. 

SEC. 105. CYBER ATTACHE ́ 19 . 

20 The Secretary of State, in consultation with the 

21 United States Ambassador to Israel, is encouraged to ap22 point a qualified individual to assume the role of cyber 

23 attache ́ at the United States Embassy in Israel. 


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1 SEC. 106. UNITED STATES AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL 

2 DEVELOPMENT MEMORANDUM-ISRAEL EN3 HANCED COOPERATION. 

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

5 of the United States Agency for International Develop6 ment to cooperate with Israel in order to advance common 

7 goals across a wide variety of sectors, including energy, 

8 agriculture and food security, democracy, human rights 

9 and governance, economic growth and trade, education, 

10 environment, global health and water and sanitation. 

11 (b) MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING.—The Sec12 retary of State, acting through the Administrator of the 

13 United States Agency for International Development, is 

14 authorized to enter into memoranda of understanding with 

15 Israel in order to advance common goals on energy, agri16 culture and food security, democracy, human rights and 

17 governance, economic growth and trade, education, envi18 ronment, global health and water sanitation with a focus 

19 on strengthening mutual ties and cooperation with nations 

20 throughout the world. 

21 SEC. 107. COOPERATIVE PROJECTS AMONG THE UNITED 

22 STATES, ISRAEL, AND DEVELOPING COUN23 TRIES. 

24 Section 106(f) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 

25 (22 U.S.C. 2151d) is amended to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(f) There are authorized to be appropriated 

2 $2,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2020 through 2024 

3 to finance cooperative projects among the United States, 

4 Israel, and developing countries that identify and support 

5 local solutions to address sustainability challenges relating 

6 to water resources, agriculture, and energy storage, in7 cluding for the following activities: 

8 ‘‘(1) Establishing public-private partnerships. 

9 ‘‘(2) Supporting the identification, research, de10 velopment testing, and scaling of innovations that 

11 focus on populations that are vulnerable to environ12 mental and resource-scarcity crises, such as subsist13 ence farming communities. 

14 ‘‘(3) Seed or transition-to-scale funding, pub15 licity and marketing promotional support, or 

16 mentorship and partnership brokering support. 

17 ‘‘(4) Acceleration of demonstrations or applica18 tions of local solutions to sustainability challenges, 

19 or the further refinement, testing, or implementation 

20 of innovations that have previously effectively ad21 dressed sustainability challenges.’’. 


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1 SEC. 108. JOINT COOPERATIVE PROGRAM RELATING TO 

2 REGIONAL COOPERATION ON INNOVATION 

3 AND HIGH-TECH. 

4 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con5 gress that the United States should help foster regional 

6 cooperation by financing and where appropriate, cooper7 ating in, projects related to innovation and high-tech in8 volving Israel, the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and other 

9 Middle Eastern countries wishing to participate. 

10 (b) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of State, act11 ing through the Administrator of the United States Agen12 cy for International Development may establish a joint co13 operative program for the United States, Israel, Egypt, 

14 Jordan, Morocco, Tunisia, Lebanon, and the West Bank 

15 and Gaza Strip to provide for cooperation in the fields of 

16 innovation and high-tech. 

17 SEC. 109. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON EASTERN MEDITERRA18 NEAN ENERGY COOPERATION. 

19 It is the sense of Congress that cooperation between 

20 the United States and Israel for the purpose of research 

21 and development of energy sources would be in the na22 tional interests of not only the United States and Israel, 

23 but also of the other nations in the Eastern Mediterranean 

24 and North Africa with similar natural gas finds. 


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1 SEC. 110. COOPERATION ON OTHER MATTERS. 

2 (a) UNITED STATES-ISRAEL ENERGY CENTER.— 

3 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary 

4 of Energy $4,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2020, 

5 2021, and 2022 to carry out the activities of the United 

6 States-Israel Energy Center established pursuant to sec7 tion 917(d) of the Energy Independence and Security Act 

8 of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17337(d)). 

9 (b) UNITED STATES-ISRAEL BINATIONAL INDUS10 TRIAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION.—It 

11 is the sense of Congress that grants to promote covered 

12 energy projects conducted by or in conjunction with the 

13 United States-Israel Binational Industrial Research and 

14 Development Foundation should continue to be funded at 

15 not less than $2,000,000 annually under section 917(b) 

16 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (42 

17 U.S.C. 17337(b)). 

18 (c) UNITED STATES-ISRAEL COOPERATION ON EN19 ERGY, WATER, HOMELAND SECURITY, AGRICULTURE, 

20 AND ALTERNATIVE FUEL TECHNOLOGIES.—Section 7 of 

21 the United States-Israel Strategic Partnership Act of 

22 2014 (22 U.S.C. 8606) is amended by adding at the end 

23 the following: 

24 ‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

25 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 


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1 $2,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2020, 2021, and 

2 2022.’’. 

3 (d) ANNUAL POLICY DIALOGUE.—It is the sense of 

4 Congress that the Department of Transportation and 

5 Israel’s Ministry of Transportation should engage in an 

6 annual policy dialogue to implement the 2016 Memo7 randum of Cooperation signed by the Secretary of Trans8 portation and the Israeli Minister of Transportation. 

9 (e) COOPERATION ON SPACE EXPLORATION AND

10 SCIENCE INITIATIVES.—The Administrator of the Na11 tional Aeronautics and Space Administration shall con12 tinue to work with the Israel Space Agency to identify and 

13 cooperatively pursue peaceful space exploration and 

14 science initiatives in areas of mutual interest, taking all 

15 appropriate measures to protect sensitive information, in16 tellectual property, trade secrets, and economic interests 

17 of the United States. 

18 (f) UNITED STATES-ISRAEL BINATIONAL AGRICUL19 TURAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT FUND.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 1458(e)(2) of the 

21 National Agricultural Research, Extension, and 

22 Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3291(e)(2)) 

23 is amended— 

24 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

25 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 


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1 (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking the 

2 period at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

3 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(C) include food and nutrition research 

5 and development and the commercialization of 

6 the best practices identified through such re7 search and development.’’. 

8 (2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

9 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

10 subparagraph (C) of section 1458(e)(2) of the Na11 tional Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teach12 ing Policy Act of 1977, as added by paragraph 

13 (1)(C), $7,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2020, 

14 2021, and 2022. 

15 (3) REPORT.— 

16 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year 

17 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

18 Secretary of Agriculture shall submit to the ap19 propriate congressional committees a report on 

20 activities of the United States-Israel Binational 

21 Agricultural Research and Development Fund 

22 under section 1458(e) of the Food and Agri23 culture Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3291(e)). 

24 (B) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COM25 MITTEES DEFINED.—In this paragraph, the 


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1 term ‘‘appropriate congressional committees’’ 

2 means— 

3 (i) the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

4 and the Committee on Agriculture of the 

5 House of Representatives; and 

6 (ii) the Committee on Foreign Rela7 tions and the Committee on Agriculture, 

8 Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate. 

9 (g) RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION

10 RELATING TO DESALINATION TECHNOLOGY.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year 

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

13 White House Office of Science and Technology Pol14 icy shall submit to the appropriate congressional 

15 committees a report on research and development 

16 cooperation with international partners, such as the 

17 State of Israel, in the area of desalination tech18 nology as required under section 9(b)(3) of the 

19 Water Desalination Act of 1996 (42 U.S.C. 10301 

20 note). 

21 (2) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT22 TEES DEFINED.—In this subsection, the term ‘‘ap23 propriate congressional committees’’ means— 


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1 (A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and 

2 the Committee on Natural Resources of the 

3 House of Representatives; and 

4 (B) the Committee on Foreign Relations 

5 and the Committee on Energy and Natural Re6 sources of the Senate. 

7 (h) RESEARCH AND TREATMENT OF

8 POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER.—It is the sense of 

9 Congress that the Secretary of Veterans Affairs should 

10 seek to explore collaboration between the Mental Illness 

11 Research, Education and Clinical Centers and Centers of 

12 Excellence and Israeli institutions with expertise in re13 searching and treating posttraumatic stress disorder. 

14 (i) DEVELOPMENT OF HEALTH TECHNOLOGIES.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be 

16 appropriated to the Secretary of Health and Human 

17 Services $2,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2020, 

18 2021, and 2022 to establish a bilateral cooperative 

19 program with Israel for the development of health 

20 technologies, including health technologies described 

21 in paragraph (2), with an emphasis on collabo22 ratively advancing the use of technology, personal23 ized medicine, and data in relation to aging. 

24 (2) TYPES OF HEALTH TECHNOLOGIES.—The 

25 health technologies described in this paragraph may 


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1 include technologies such as artificial intelligence, 

2 biofeedback, sensors, monitoring devices, and kidney 

3 care. 

4 (j) OFFICE OF INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMS OF THE

5 FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—It is the sense of Congress 

7 that the Commissioner of the Food and Drug Ad8 ministration should seek to explore collaboration 

9 with Israel through the Office of International Pro10 grams. 

11 (2) REPORT.— 

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year 

13 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

14 Commissioner, acting through the head of the 

15 Office of International Programs, shall submit 

16 to the appropriate congressional committees a 

17 report on the benefits to the United States and 

18 to Israel of opening an office in Israel for the 

19 Office of International Programs. 

20 (B) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COM21 MITTEES DEFINED.—In this paragraph, the 

22 term ‘‘appropriate congressional committees’’ 

23 means— 

24 (i) the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

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1 merce of the House of Representatives; 

2 and 

3 (ii) the Committee on Foreign Rela4 tions and the Committee on Health, Edu5 cation, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate. 

6 (k) SENSE OF CONGRESS ON UNITED STATES7 ISRAEL ECONOMIC COOPERATION.—It is the sense of 

8 Congress that— 

9 (1) the United States-Israel economic partner10 ship has achieved great tangible and intangible bene11 fits to both countries and is a foundational compo12 nent of the strong alliance; 

13 (2) science and technology innovations present 

14 promising new frontiers for United States-Israel eco15 nomic cooperation, particularly in light of wide16 spread drought, cybersecurity attacks, and other 

17 major challenges impacting the United States; and 

18 (3) the President should regularize and expand 

19 existing forums of economic dialogue with Israel and 

20 foster both public and private sector participation. 

21 TITLE II—SECURITY 

22 ASSISTANCE FOR ISRAEL 

23 SEC. 201. FINDINGS. 

24 Congress makes the following findings: 


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1 (1) On September 14, 2016, the United States 

2 and Israel signed a 10-year Memorandum of Under3 standing reaffirming the importance of continuing 

4 annual United States military assistance to Israel 

5 and cooperative missile defense programs in a way 

6 that enhances Israel’s security and strengthens the 

7 bilateral relationship between the two countries. 

8 (2) The 2016 Memorandum of Understanding 

9 reflected United States support of Foreign Military 

10 Financing (FMF) grant assistance to Israel over the 

11 10-year period beginning in fiscal year 2019 and 

12 ending in fiscal year 2028. Such FMF grant assist13 ance would equal $3.3 billion annually, totaling $33 

14 billion. 

15 (3) The 2016 Memorandum of Understanding 

16 also reflected United States support for funding for 

17 cooperative programs to develop, produce, and pro18 cure missile, rocket and projectile defense capabili19 ties over a 10-year period beginning in fiscal year 

20 2019 and ending in fiscal year 2028 at a level of 

21 $500 million annually, totaling $5 billion. 

22 SEC. 202. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

23 It is the policy of the United States to provide assist24 ance to the Government of Israel in order to help enable 

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1 pacity, primarily through the acquisition of advanced ca2 pabilities that are available from the United States. 

3 SEC. 203. CONTINGENCY PLANS TO PROVIDE ISRAEL WITH 

4 NECESSARY DEFENSE ARTICLES AND SERV5 ICES. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The President, acting through the 

7 Secretary of Defense and in consultation with the Sec8 retary of State, shall establish and update as appropriate 

9 contingency plans to provide Israel with defense articles 

10 and services that are determined by the Secretary of De11 fense to be necessary for the defense of Israel. 

12 (b) CONGRESSIONAL BRIEFING.—Not later than one 

13 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annu14 ally thereafter, the Secretary of Defense, in consultation 

15 with the Secretary of State, shall brief the appropriate 

16 congressional committees on the status of the contingency 

17 plans required under subsection (a). 

18 SEC. 204. WAIVER FOR EXISTING OR IMMINENT MILITARY 

19 THREAT TO ISRAEL. 

20 Section 38 of the Arms Export Control Act is amend21 ed by adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(l) WAIVER FOR EXISTING OR IMMINENT MILITARY

23 THREAT TO ISRAEL.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Upon receiving information 

25 that Israel is under an existing or imminent threat 


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1 of military attack, the President may waive the re2 quirements of this Act and direct the immediate 

3 transfer to Israel of such defense articles or services 

4 the President determines to be necessary to assist 

5 Israel in its defense against such threat. Amounts 

6 obligated or expended to carry out this paragraph 

7 shall not be subject to any limitation in law, or pro8 vision of any bilateral agreement, relating to the 

9 amount of United States assistance authorized to be 

10 made available to Israel. 

11 ‘‘(2) NOTIFICATION REQUIRED.—As soon as 

12 practicable after a transfer of defense articles or 

13 services pursuant to the authority provided by para14 graph (1), the President shall provide a notification 

15 in writing to Congress of the details of such trans16 fer, consistent with the requirements of section 36 of 

17 this Act.’’. 

18 SEC. 205. SECURITY ASSISTANCE FOR ISRAEL. 

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

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

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

22 2003’’ and inserting ‘‘2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 

23 2024’’; 


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1 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘equal to—’’ 

2 and all that follows and inserting ‘‘not less than 

3 $3,300,000,000.’’; and 

4 (3) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘Funds au5 thorized’’ and all that follows through ‘‘later.’’ and 

6 inserting ‘‘Funds authorized to be available for 

7 Israel under subsection (b)(1) and paragraph (1) of 

8 this subsection for fiscal years 2020, 2021, 2022, 

9 2023, and 2024 shall be disbursed not later than 30 

10 days after the date of the enactment of an Act mak11 ing appropriations for the Department of State, for12 eign operations, and related programs for the re13 spective fiscal year, or October 31 of the respective 

14 fiscal year, whichever is later.’’. 

15 SEC. 206. JOINT ASSESSMENT OF QUANTITY OF PRECISION 

16 GUIDED MUNITIONS FOR USE BY ISRAEL. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—The President, acting through the 

18 Secretary of Defense and in consultation with the Sec19 retary of State, is authorized to conduct a joint assess20 ment with the Government of Israel with respect to the 

21 matters described in subsection (b). 

22 (b) MATTERS DESCRIBED.—The matters described 

23 in this subsection are the following: 

24 (1) The quantity and type of precision guided 

25 munitions that are necessary for Israel to combat 


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1 Hezbollah in the event of a sustained armed con2 frontation between Israel and Hezbollah. 

3 (2) The quantity and type of precision guided 

4 munitions that are necessary for Israel in the event 

5 of a sustained armed confrontation with other armed 

6 groups and terrorist organizations such as Hamas. 

7 (3) The resources the Government of Israel can 

8 plan to dedicate to acquire such precision guided 

9 munitions. 

10 (4) United States planning to assist Israel to 

11 prepare for the sustained armed confrontations de12 scribed in paragraphs (1) and (2) as well as the abil13 ity of the United States to resupply Israel in the 

14 event of such confrontations described in paragraphs 

15 (1) and (2), if any. 

16 (c) REPORT.— 

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

18 the date on which the joint assessment authorized 

19 under subsection (a) is completed, the Secretary of 

20 Defense shall submit to the appropriate congres21 sional committees a report that contains the joint 

22 assessment. 

23 (2) FORM.—The report required under para24 graph (1) shall be submitted in unclassified form, 

25 but may contain a classified annex. 


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1 SEC. 207. TRANSFER OF PRECISION GUIDED MUNITIONS TO 

2 ISRAEL. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding section 514 of 

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

5 the President is authorized to transfer to Israel precision 

6 guided munitions from reserve stocks for Israel in such 

7 quantities as necessary for legitimate self-defense of Israel 

8 and is otherwise consistent with the purposes and condi9 tions for such transfers under the Arms Export Control 

10 Act (22 U.S.C. 2751 et seq.). 

11 (b) CERTIFICATION.—Except in the case of an emer12 gency as determined by the President, not later than 5 

13 days before making a transfer under subsection (a), the 

14 President shall certify to the appropriate congressional 

15 committees that the transfer of the precision guided muni16 tions— 

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

18 States to maintain a sufficient supply of precision 

19 guided munitions; 

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

21 United States or the ability of the United States to 

22 meet its commitment to allies for the transfer of 

23 such munitions; 

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

25 of rockets in a timely fashion; and 


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

2 United States. 

3 SEC. 208. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON RAPID ACQUISITION 

4 AND DEPLOYMENT PROCEDURES. 

5 It is the sense of Congress that the President should 

6 prescribe procedures for the rapid acquisition and deploy7 ment of precision guided munitions for United States 

8 counterterrorism missions, or to assist an ally of the 

9 United States, including Israel, that is subject to direct 

10 missile threat. 

11 SEC. 209. EXTENSION OF WAR RESERVES STOCKPILE AU12 THORITY. 

13 (a) DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE APPROPRIATIONS

14 ACT, 2005.—Subsection (d) of section 12001 of the De15 partment of Defense Appropriations Act, 2005 (Public 

16 Law 108–287; 118 Stat. 1011) is amended by striking 

17 ‘‘after September 30, 2020’’ and inserting ‘‘after Sep18 tember 30, 2025’’. 

19 (b) FOREIGN ASSISTANCE ACT OF 1961.—Section 

20 514(b)(2)(A) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 

21 U.S.C. 2321h(b)(2)(A)) is amended by striking ‘‘2013, 

22 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020’’ and in23 serting ‘‘2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025’’. 


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1 SEC. 210. ELIGIBILITY OF ISRAEL FOR THE STRATEGIC 

2 TRADE AUTHORIZATION EXCEPTION TO CER3 TAIN EXPORT CONTROL LICENSING RE4 QUIREMENTS. 

5 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

6 (1) Israel has adopted high standards in the 

7 field of export controls. 

8 (2) Israel has declared its unilateral adherence 

9 to the Missile Technology Control Regime, the Aus10 tralia Group, and the Nuclear Suppliers Group. 

11 (3) Israel is a party to— 

12 (A) the Protocol for the Prohibition of the 

13 Use in War of Asphyxiating, Poisonous or 

14 Other Gases, and of Bacteriological Methods of 

15 Warfare, signed at Geneva June 17, 1925; and 

16 (B) the Convention on the Physical Protec17 tion of Nuclear Material, adopted at Vienna on 

18 October 26, 1979. 

19 (4) Section 6(b) of the United States-Israel 

20 Strategic Partnership Act of 2014 (22 U.S.C. 8603 

21 note) directs the President, consistent with the com22 mitments of the United States under international 

23 agreements, to take steps so that Israel may be in24 cluded in the list of countries eligible for the stra25 tegic trade authorization exception under section 

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1 tions, to the requirement for a license for the export, 

2 re-export, or in-country transfer of an item subject 

3 to controls under the Export Administration Regula4 tions. 

5 (b) REPORT ON ELIGIBILITY FOR STRATEGIC TRADE

6 AUTHORIZATION EXCEPTION.— 

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

8 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

9 President shall submit to the appropriate congres10 sional committees a report that describes the steps 

11 taken to include Israel in the list of countries eligible 

12 for the strategic trade authorization exception under 

13 section 740.20 (c) (1) of title 15, Code of Federal 

14 Regulations section, as required under 6(b) of the 

15 United States-Israel Strategic Partnership Act of 

16 2014 (22 U.S.C. 8603 note). 

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

19 but may contain a classified annex. 

20 SEC. 211. EXTENSION OF LOAN GUARANTEES TO ISRAEL. 

21 Chapter 5 of title I of the Emergency Wartime Sup22 plemental Appropriations Act, 2003 (Public Law 108–11; 

23 117 Stat. 576) is amended under the heading ‘‘Loan 

24 Guarantees to Israel’’— 


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

2 striking ‘‘September 30, 2020’’ and inserting ‘‘Sep3 tember 30, 2025’’; and 

4 (2) in the second proviso, by striking ‘‘Sep5 tember 30, 2020’’ and inserting ‘‘September 30, 

6 2025’’. 

7 SEC. 212. DEFINITION. 

8 In this title, the term ‘‘appropriate congressional 

9 committees’’ means— 

10 (1) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the 

11 Committee on Armed Services of the House of Rep12 resentatives; and 

13 (2) the Committee on Foreign Relations and 

14 the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate. 

15 TITLE III—JUSTICE FOR UNITED 

16 STATES VICTIMS OF PALES17 TINIAN TERRORISM 

18 SEC. 301. SHORT TITLE. 

19 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Justice for United 

20 States Victims of Palestinian Terrorism Act’’. 

21 SEC. 302. FACILITATION OF THE SETTLEMENT OF TER22 RORISM-RELATED CLAIMS OF NATIONALS OF 

23 THE UNITED STATES. 

24 (a) COMPREHENSIVE PROCESS TO FACILITATE THE

25 RESOLUTION OF ANTI-TERRORISM ACT CLAIMS.—The 


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1 Secretary of State, in consultation with the Attorney Gen2 eral, shall, not later than 30 days after the date of enact3 ment of this Act, develop and initiate a comprehensive 

4 process for the Department of State to facilitate the reso5 lution and settlement of covered claims. 

6 (b) ELEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE PROCESS.—The 

7 comprehensive process developed under subsection (a) 

8 shall include, at a minimum, the following: 

9 (1) Not later than 45 days after the date of en10 actment of this Act, the Department of State shall 

11 publish a notice in the Federal Register identifying 

12 the method by which a national of the United 

13 States, or a representative of a national of the 

14 United States, who has a covered claim, may contact 

15 the Department of State to give notice of the cov16 ered claim. 

17 (2) Not later than 120 days after the date of 

18 enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, or a 

19 designee of the Secretary, shall meet (and make 

20 every effort to continue to meet on a regular basis 

21 thereafter) with any national of the United States, 

22 or a representative of a national of the United 

23 States, who has a covered claim and has informed 

24 the Department of State of the covered claim using 

25 the method established pursuant to paragraph (1) to 


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1 discuss the status of the covered claim, including the 

2 status of any settlement discussions with the Pales3 tinian Authority or the Palestine Liberation Organi4 zation. 

5 (3) Not later than 180 days after the date of 

6 enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, or a 

7 designee of the Secretary, shall make every effort to 

8 meet (and make every effort to continue to meet on 

9 a regular basis thereafter) with representatives of 

10 the Palestinian Authority and the Palestine Libera11 tion Organization to discuss the covered claims iden12 tified pursuant to paragraph (1) and potential settle13 ment of the covered claims. 

14 (c) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Secretary of State 

15 shall, not later than 240 days after the date of enactment 

16 of this Act, and annually thereafter for 5 years, submit 

17 to the Committee on the Judiciary and the Committee on 

18 Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on 

19 the Judiciary and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 

20 the House of Representatives a report describing activities 

21 that the Department of State has undertaken to comply 

22 with this section, including specific updates regarding 

23 paragraphs (2) and (3) of subsection (b). 

24 (d) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con25 gress that— 


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1 (1) covered claims should be resolved in a man2 ner that provides just compensation to the victims; 

3 (2) any final judgment awarded to any national 

4 of the United States under section 2333 of title 18, 

5 United States Code, against the Palestinian Author6 ity or the Palestine Liberation Organization should 

7 be resolved and settled in favor of the victim to the 

8 fullest extent possible; 

9 (3) the United States Government should take 

10 all practicable steps to facilitate the resolution and 

11 settlement of all covered claims, including engaging 

12 directly with the victims or their representatives and 

13 the Palestinian Authority and the Palestine Libera14 tion Organization; and 

15 (4) the United States Government should 

16 strongly urge the Palestinian Authority and the Pal17 estine Liberation Organization to commit to good18 faith negotiations to resolve and settle all covered 

19 claims. 

20 (e) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘covered 

21 claim’’ means any pending action by, or final judgment 

22 in favor of, a national of the United States, or any action 

23 by a national of the United States dismissed for lack of 

24 personal jurisdiction, under section 2333 of title 18, 


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1 United States Code, against the Palestinian Authority or 

2 the Palestine Liberation Organization. 

3 SEC. 303. MODIFICATION TO CONSENT OF CERTAIN PAR4 TIES TO PERSONAL JURISDICTION. 

5 Section 2334 of title 18, United States Code, is 

6 amended by striking subparagraph (A) of subsection 

7 (e)(1) and inserting the following: 

8 ‘‘(A) in the case of a defendant benefitting 

9 from a waiver or suspension of section 1003 of 

10 the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1987 (22 U.S.C. 

11 5202) after the date that is 120 days after the 

12 date of enactment of this subparagraph, makes 

13 any new application in order to obtain the same 

14 standing as member states or full membership 

15 as a state in the United Nations or any special16 ized agency thereof outside an agreement nego17 tiated between Israel and the Palestinians; or’’. 

Æ 


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