II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1727 

To establish the Partnership Fund for Peace to promote joint economic 

development and finance ventures between Palestinian entrepreneurs and 

companies and those in the United States and Israel to improve economic 

cooperation and people-to-people peacebuilding programs, and to further 

shared community building, peaceful coexistence, dialogue, and reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 5, 2019 

Mr. COONS (for himself, Mr. GRAHAM, Mr. KAINE, and Mr. GARDNER) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

To establish the Partnership Fund for Peace to promote 

joint economic development and finance ventures between 

Palestinian entrepreneurs and companies and those in 

the United States and Israel to improve economic cooperation and people-to-people peacebuilding programs, 

and to further shared community building, peaceful coexistence, dialogue, and reconciliation between Israelis and 

Palestinians. 

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


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 1727 IS

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Partnership Fund for 

3 Peace Act of 2019’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 Congress finds the following: 

6 (1) Economic development in conflict settings 

7 has been shown to support stabilization by empow8 ering entrepreneurs, growing the middle class, and 

9 mitigating unemployment. 

10 (2) In 2018, unemployment in the Palestinian 

11 territories was 32.4 percent, reaching 53.7 percent 

12 in Gaza and 18 percent in the West Bank. GDP 

13 growth in the Palestinian territories declined from 

14 2.7 percent in 2017 to 2 percent in 2018, and it is 

15 projected to further decline to between 1.7 and 1.9 

16 percent in 2019 and 2020. 

17 (3) Increased economic activity and projects to 

18 improve the quality and conditions of life for the 

19 Palestinians will help create a viable Palestinian 

20 economy. 

21 (4) Although economic development is an im22 portant tool for stabilizing conflict-prone settings 

23 and establishing connections between communities, 

24 economic development by itself will not lead to last25 ing peace. People-to-people peacebuilding programs 

26 further advance reconciliation efforts by promoting 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 1727 IS

1 greater understanding, mutual trust, and coopera2 tion between communities. 

3 (5) While the United States and its inter4 national allies continue to support diplomatic and 

5 political negotiations between the representatives of 

6 the parties to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, such 

7 efforts require broad popular support among the 

8 people on the ground to succeed. 

9 (6) Achieving sustainable, high-level agreements 

10 for lasting peace in the Middle East must come 

11 through, and with the support of, the people who 

12 live there. 

13 (7) Economic initiatives and people-to-people 

14 peacebuilding programs can help millions of ordinary 

15 Israelis and Palestinians affected by the ongoing 

16 conflict in the Middle East. 

17 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

18 It is the sense of Congress that— 

19 (1) building a viable Palestinian economy is 

20 central to the effort to preserve the possibility of a 

21 2-state solution; 

22 (2) strengthening engagement between the Pal23 estinian territories, the United States and Israel in 

24 the areas of economic development and people-to25 people peacebuilding programs will— 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 1727 IS

1 (A) increase the bonds of friendship and 

2 understanding between the people living in the 

3 Palestinian territories and the people of the 

4 United States and Israel; and 

5 (B) advance the state of research and de6 velopment in multiple sectors to the benefit of 

7 all parties; 

8 (3) cooperation between the business sectors of 

9 the Palestinian territories, the United States and 

10 Israel will benefit the Palestinian, American, and 

11 Israeli people and should be encouraged; and 

12 (4) United States and international support for 

13 grassroots, people-to-people efforts aimed at shared 

14 reconciliation and fostering tolerance can help 

15 counter extremist propaganda and the growing issue 

16 of incitement. 

17 SEC. 4. PARTNERSHIP FUND FOR PEACE. 

18 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the 

20 United States Agency for International Develop21 ment, in consultation with the Secretary of State 

22 and the Secretary of the Treasury, shall establish 

23 the Partnership Fund for Peace (referred to in this 

24 section as the ‘‘Fund’’), which— 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
5 

•S 1727 IS

1 (A) shall be funded with amounts appro2 priated pursuant to section 5; and 

3 (B) managed by the Administrator of the 

4 United States Agency for International Devel5 opment. 

6 (2) CONTRIBUTIONS.—The Administrator of 

7 the United States Agency for International Develop8 ment, in consultation with the Secretary of State 

9 and the Secretary of the Treasury, shall seek addi10 tional contributions for the Fund from the inter11 national community, including countries in the Mid12 dle East and Europe. 

13 (b) GOVERNANCE.— 

14 (1) BOARD OF GOVERNORS.— 

15 (A) APPOINTMENT.—Except as provided in 

16 subparagraph (D), the Fund shall be governed 

17 by a Board of Governors, which shall be com18 posed of 5 private, United States citizens or 

19 legal permanent residents, who shall be ap20 pointed by the Administrator of the United 

21 States Agency for International Development, 

22 in consultation with the Secretary of State, the 

23 Speaker of the House of Representatives, the 

24 minority leader of the House of RepresentaVerDate Sep 11 2014 17:06 Jun 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1727.IS S1727

pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
6 

•S 1727 IS

1 tives, the majority leader of the Senate, and the 

2 minority leader of the Senate. 

3 (B) QUALIFICATIONS.— 

4 (i) GENERAL EXPERIENCE.—Members 

5 of the Board of Governors shall be selected 

6 from among people who have demonstrated 

7 experience and expertise in the affairs re8 lated to Israel and the Palestinian terri9 tories. 

10 (ii) BUSINESS EXPERIENCE.—Not 

11 fewer than 2 members of the Board of 

12 Governors shall have— 

13 (I) demonstrated experience and 

14 expertise in international and particu15 larly emerging markets investment ac16 tivities, such as private equity or ven17 ture capital investment, banking, fi18 nance, strategic business consulting, 

19 or entrepreneurial business creation; 

20 and 

21 (II) backgrounds in priority busi22 ness sectors of the Palestinian econ23 omy. 

24 (iii) CONFLICT MITIGATION EXPERI25 ENCE.—Not fewer than 2 members of the 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
7 

•S 1727 IS

1 Board of Governors shall have dem2 onstrated experience and expertise in con3 flict mitigation and people-to-people pro4 grams. 

5 (iv) USAID OFFICIAL.—The Adminis6 trator of the United States Agency for 

7 International Development (USAID) shall 

8 appoint 1 USAID official as a member of 

9 the Board of Governors. 

10 (C) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Board of 

11 Governors shall— 

12 (i) determine the amount annually al13 located from the Fund for each Technical 

14 Board; and 

15 (ii) approve the Technical Boards’ 

16 recommendations, as appropriate. 

17 (D) INTERNATIONAL DONOR SEATS.—With 

18 the approval of the existing Board of Gov19 ernors, the Administrator may appoint up to 2 

20 additional members to the Board who shall— 

21 (i) represent international organiza22 tions or foreign governments that have do23 nated to the Fund; and 

24 (ii) meet the qualifications set forth in 

25 subparagraph (B)(i). 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
8 

•S 1727 IS

1 (E) TECHNICAL BOARDS.— 

2 (i) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Board of 

3 Governors shall establish— 

4 (I) a Business and Economic De5 velopment Technical Board; and 

6 (II) a People-to-People Programs 

7 Technical Board. 

8 (ii) APPOINTMENTS.—Members of the 

9 technical boards established pursuant to 

10 clause (i) shall be appointed by the Admin11 istrator of the United States Agency for 

12 International Development. 

13 (iii) INVESTMENT APPROVAL AND

14 RECOMMENDATIONS.—The technical boards 

15 established pursuant to clause (i)— 

16 (I) may approve investments of 

17 Fund assets up to $250,000; and 

18 (II) may recommend investments 

19 of Fund assets greater than 

20 $250,000, which shall be subject to 

21 the approval of the Board of Gov22 ernors. 

23 (iv) STAFF.—Each technical board es24 tablished pursuant to clause (i) shall con25 sist of a Secretariat, which shall be staffed 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
9 

•S 1727 IS

1 by individuals with demonstrated experi2 ence and expertise relevant to the technical 

3 board on which they sit. 

4 (c) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the Fund are— 

5 (1) to promote the private sector in the Pales6 tinian territories through facilitating and financing 

7 between small- and medium-sized Palestinian entre8 preneurs and companies and those in the United 

9 States, Israel, and other countries to improve the 

10 Palestinian private sector through economic coopera11 tion in research and development; 

12 (2) to improve the quality of life, stimulate the 

13 economy, and advance security by creating private 

14 sector jobs for Palestinians in the Palestinian terri15 tories and furthering the development of a Pales16 tinian middle class; and 

17 (3) to further shared community building, 

18 peaceful coexistence, dialogue, and reconciliation be19 tween Israelis and Palestinians by financing people20 to-people peacebuilding programs. 

21 (d) USES OF FUNDS.—Amounts deposited into the 

22 Fund may be used— 

23 (1) to carry out the purposes set forth in sub24 section (c); and 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
10 

•S 1727 IS

1 (2) to pay for the administrative expenses of 

2 operating the Fund. 

3 (e) ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIPS.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—All economic partnerships 

5 requesting support from the Fund shall include a 

6 Palestinian entrepreneur or company in the Pales7 tinian territories and an entrepreneur or company 

8 from the United States or Israel. 

9 (2) TRIPARTITE AGREEMENTS.—If an entre10 preneur or company outside of the United States or 

11 Israel desires to partner with a Palestinian entre12 preneur or company, a tripartite agreement shall be 

13 established that includes an entrepreneur or com14 pany from the United States or Israel. 

15 (3) PRIORITY.—The Board of Governors and 

16 the technical boards established pursuant to sub17 section (b)(1)(E)(i) should prioritize partnerships 

18 between Israeli and Palestinian entrepreneurs and 

19 companies. 

20 (4) FUNDING REQUIREMENT.—During each fis21 cal year, not less than 25 percent of the funding al22 located from the Fund for economic partnerships 

23 shall be awarded to partnerships that include— 

24 (A) Palestinian entrepreneurs or compa25 nies based in the Palestinian territories; and 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
11 

•S 1727 IS

1 (B) Israeli entrepreneurs or companies 

2 based in Israel. 

3 (f) PEOPLE-TO-PEOPLE PARTNERSHIPS.—All people4 to-people partnerships requesting support from the Fund 

5 shall include— 

6 (1) a Palestinian nonprofit organization, an 

7 Israeli nonprofit organization, or an international 

8 nonprofit organization that brings Palestinians and 

9 Israelis together for shared community building, 

10 peaceful coexistence, dialogue, and reconciliation; or 

11 (2) nonprofit organizations that further shared 

12 community building, peaceful coexistence, dialogue, 

13 and reconciliation between Arab and Jewish citizens 

14 of Israel. 

15 (g) ALTERNATIVE FUNDING STREAMS.—The Board 

16 of Governors should explore initiatives to promote long17 term financial sustainability of the Fund through revenue 

18 accrued by successful ventures. 

19 (h) LIMITATIONS, VETTING, AND OVERSIGHT.— 

20 (1) LIMITATIONS.—None of the funds made 

21 available under this Act may be made available for— 

22 (A) financial assistance to national govern23 ments; 

24 (B) assistance for any individual or group 

25 that the Administrator of the United States 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
12 

•S 1727 IS

1 Agency for International Development, in con2 sultation with the heads of other relevant Fed3 eral agencies, determines to be— 

4 (i) involved in, or advocating, terrorist 

5 activity; or 

6 (ii) a member of a foreign terrorist or7 ganization (as designated pursuant to sec8 tion 219 of the Immigration and Nation9 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1189)); or 

10 (C) assistance for the Palestinian Author11 ity, Hamas, or the Palestine Liberation Organi12 zation. 

13 (2) APPLICABLE LAWS.—Assistance from the 

14 Fund shall be subject to all relevant laws relating to 

15 United States Government assistance, including to 

16 the Palestinians. 

17 (3) COMPLIANCE WITH MISSION DIRECTIVES.— 

18 All expenditures from the Fund shall follow the mis19 sion directives applicable to the West Bank and 

20 Gaza that have been issued by United States Agency 

21 for International Development Mission Director or 

22 Contracting Officer. 

23 (4) USAID INSPECTOR GENERAL.—All oper24 ations and expenditures of the Fund shall be subject 

25 to audits, investigations, and inspections conducted 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
13 

•S 1727 IS

1 by the Office of the Inspector General at the United 

2 States Agency for International Development. 

3 (5) GAO.—All operations and expenditures of 

4 the Fund shall be subject to assessment by the Gov5 ernment Accountability Office. 

6 (i) ANNUAL REPORT.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 

8 the end of the fiscal year during which the Fund is 

9 established and annually thereafter, the Adminis10 trator of the United States Agency for International 

11 Development shall submit a written report to the 

12 Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate, the 

13 Committee on Appropriations of the Senate, the 

14 Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Rep15 resentatives, and the Committee on Appropriations 

16 of the House of Representatives that describes the 

17 extent to which the Fund, and United States con18 tributions to the Fund, have contributed— 

19 (A) to promoting and supporting joint eco20 nomic development; 

21 (B) to integrating the Palestinian economy 

22 into the international business system; and 

23 (C) to furthering contact, cooperation, dia24 logue, and reconciliation between Israelis and 

25 Palestinians. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
14 

•S 1727 IS

1 (2) MATTERS TO BE INCLUDED.—Each report 

2 under paragraph (1) shall include— 

3 (A) information regarding— 

4 (i) contributions pledged to, contribu5 tions (including donations from the private 

6 sector) received by, and projects funded by 

7 the Fund; and 

8 (ii) the mechanisms established for 

9 transparency and accountability in the 

10 grant making and investment process; 

11 (B) a description of the Fund’s operations, 

12 activities, budget, receipts, and expenditures for 

13 the preceding 12-month period, including an 

14 audited report of the Fund’s finances, including 

15 statements of financial position, operations, and 

16 cash flows, in accordance with generally accept17 ed government auditing standards prescribed by 

18 the Comptroller General of the United States; 

19 (C) insights gleaned from improvements to 

20 the efficacy of people-to-people relationships; 

21 (D) a description of potential strategies for 

22 achieving sustainability for civic institutions 

23 that the Fund creates or supports, including 

24 novel financing mechanisms; and 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
15 

•S 1727 IS

1 (E) a description of the process for vetting 

2 and oversight of entities eligible for support 

3 from the Fund to ensure compliance with sub4 section (h). 

5 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro7 priated $50,000,000 for each of the first 5 fiscal years 

8 beginning after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

9 (b) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts appropriated pursuant 

10 to subsection (a) shall be used for United States contribu11 tions to the Partnership Fund for Peace established pur12 suant to section 4(a). 

Æ 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS