II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4300 

To express the sense of Congress on security cooperation with Bahrain and 

to require a report on capabilities upgrades for the Fifth Fleet, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 24, 2022 

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

the Committee on Armed Services 

A BILL 

To express the sense of Congress on security cooperation 

with Bahrain and to require a report on capabilities 

upgrades for the Fifth Fleet, 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. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Bahrain Security Co5 operation Improvement Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON SECURITY COOPERATION 

7 WITH BAHRAIN. 

8 It is the sense of Congress that— 


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1 (1) it is in the national security interests of the 

2 United States to maintain a strong relationship with 

3 Bahrain and to support the military efforts of Bah4 rain; 

5 (2) Bahrain has a critical role as the host of 

6 the United States Navy’s Fifth Fleet (referred to in 

7 this Act as the ‘‘Fifth Fleet’’) and the United States 

8 Naval Forces Central Command; 

9 (3) Bahrain is a major defense and security co10 operation partner of the United States, as recog11 nized in 2002 by the designation of Bahrain as a 

12 major non-NATO ally of the United States; 

13 (4) the number of exchanges between defense 

14 and law enforcement officials of the United States 

15 and Bahrain at the strategic, policy, and tactical lev16 els should be increased for purposes of— 

17 (A) enhancing cooperation on defense plan18 ning; 

19 (B) improving intelligence sharing to com20 bat terrorism; and 

21 (C) improving interoperability between the 

22 Ministry of Interior of Bahrain and the Fifth 

23 Fleet; 

24 (5) the United States should ensure Bahrain 

25 has appropriate capabilities with respect to its air, 


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1 missile, and unmanned aerial systems defense assets 

2 to support peace efforts in the area of responsibility 

3 of the Fifth Fleet; 

4 (6) it is important for the United States to be 

5 a source of consistent and reliable defense assets for 

6 Bahrain; 

7 (7) the United States should deepen interoper8 ability with Bahrain with respect to defense capabili9 ties, including— 

10 (A) maritime and air domain awareness; 

11 (B) integrated air and missile defense sys12 tems; and 

13 (C) counter-unmanned aircraft system 

14 measures; 

15 (8) to the extent practicable, the Secretary of 

16 Defense should prioritize the inclusion of Bahrain in 

17 military exercises so as to increase security coopera18 tion between, and the readiness of, Bahrain and the 

19 United States; and 

20 (9) it is in the best interests of the United 

21 States and Bahrain to work together to oppose ter22 rorism and radical extremism in the Middle East. 


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1 SEC. 3. REPORT ON FIFTH FLEET CAPABILITIES UP2 GRADES. 

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

4 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense 

5 shall submit to the congressional defense committees (as 

6 defined in section 101(a) of title 10, United States Code) 

7 a report on— 

8 (1) capabilities upgrades necessary to enable 

9 the Fifth Fleet to address emerging threats in its 

10 area of responsibility; and 

11 (2) any costs associated with such upgrades. 

12 (b) ELEMENT.—The report required by subsection 

13 (a) shall include an assessment of Department of Defense 

14 efforts— 

15 (1) to increase the number of exchanges be16 tween defense and law enforcement officials of the 

17 United States and Bahrain at the strategic, policy, 

18 and tactical levels for purposes of— 

19 (A) enhancing cooperation on defense plan20 ning; 

21 (B) improving intelligence sharing to com22 bat terrorism; and 

23 (C) improving interoperability between the 

24 public security forces of Bahrain and the Fifth 

25 Fleet; 


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1 (2) to ensure that Bahrain has appropriate ca2 pabilities with respect to its air, missile, and un3 manned aerial systems defense assets to support 

4 peace efforts in the area of responsibility of the 

5 Fifth Fleet; and 

6 (3) to deepen interoperability with Bahrain with 

7 respect to defense capabilities, including— 

8 (A) maritime and air domain awareness; 

9 (B) integrated air and missile defense sys10 tems; and 

11 (C) counter-unmanned aircraft system 

12 measures. 

Æ 


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