113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2673 

AN ACT 

To enhance the strategic partnership 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, 
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘United States-Israel 

3 Strategic Partnership Act of 2014’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 Congress makes the following findings: 

6 (1) The people and the Governments of the 

7 United States and of Israel share a deep and un8 breakable bond, forged by over 60 years of shared 

9 interests and shared values. 

10 (2) Today, the people and Governments of the 

11 United States and of Israel are facing a dynamic 

12 and rapidly changing security environment in the 

13 Middle East and North Africa, necessitating deeper 

14 cooperation on a range of defense, security, and in15 telligence matters. 

16 (3) From Gaza, Hamas continues to deny 

17 Israel’s right to exist and persists in firing rockets 

18 indiscriminately at population centers in Israel. 

19 (4) Hezbollah—with support from Iran—con20 tinues to stockpile rockets and may be seeking to ex21 ploit the tragic and volatile security situation within 

22 Syria. 

23 (5) The Government of Iran continues to pose 

24 a grave threat to the region and the world at large 

25 with its reckless pursuit of nuclear weapons. 
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1 (6) Given these challenges, it is imperative that 

2 the United States continues to deepen cooperation 

3 with allies like Israel in pursuit of shared policy ob4 jectives. 

5 SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

6 It is the policy of the United States— 

7 (1) to reaffirm the unwavering support of the 

8 people and the Government of the United States for 

9 the security of Israel as a Jewish state; 

10 (2) to reaffirm the principles and objectives en11 shrined in the United States-Israel Enhanced Secu12 rity Cooperation Act of 2012 (Public Law 112–150) 

13 and ensure its implementation to the fullest extent; 

14 (3) to reaffirm the importance of the 2007 

15 United States-Israel Memorandum of Understanding 

16 on United States assistance to Israel and the semi17 annual Strategic Dialogue between the United 

18 States and Israel; 

19 (4) to pursue every opportunity to deepen co20 operation with Israel on a range of critical issues in21 cluding defense, homeland security, energy, and cy22 bersecurity; 

23 (5) to continue to provide Israel with robust se24 curity assistance, including for the procurement of 

25 the Iron Dome Missile Defense System; and 
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1 (6) to support the Government of Israel in its 

2 ongoing efforts to reach a negotiated political settle3 ment with the Palestinian people that results in two 

4 states living side-by-side in peace and security. 

5 SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON ISRAEL AS A MAJOR STRA6 TEGIC PARTNER. 

7 It is the sense of Congress that Israel is a major stra8 tegic partner of the United States. 

9 SEC. 5. EXTENSION OF WAR RESERVES STOCKPILE AU10 THORITY. 

11 (a) DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE APPROPRIATIONS

12 ACT, 2005.—Section 12001(d) of the Department of De13 fense Appropriations Act, 2005 (Public Law 108–287; 

14 118 Stat. 1011) is amended by striking ‘‘more than 10 

15 years after’’ and inserting ‘‘more than 11 years after’’. 

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

17 514(b)(2)(A) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 

18 U.S.C. 2321h(b)(2)(A)) is amended by striking ‘‘and 

19 2014’’ and inserting ‘‘, 2014, and 2015’’. 

20 SEC. 6. ELIGIBILITY OF ISRAEL FOR THE STRATEGIC 

21 TRADE AUTHORIZATION EXCEPTION TO CER22 TAIN EXPORT CONTROL LICENSING RE23 QUIREMENTS. 

24 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that Israel— 
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1 (1) has adopted high standards in the field of 

2 export controls; 

3 (2) has declared its unilateral adherence to the 

4 Missile Technology Control Regime, the Australia 

5 Group, and the Nuclear Suppliers Group; and 

6 (3) is a party to— 

7 (A) the Convention on Prohibitions or Re8 strictions on the Use of Certain Conventional 

9 Weapons which may be Deemed to be Exces10 sively Injurious or to Have Indiscriminate Ef11 fects, signed at Geneva October 10, 1980; 

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

18 October 26, 1979. 

19 (b) ELIGIBILITY FOR STRATEGIC TRADE AUTHOR20 IZATION EXCEPTION.—The President, consistent with the 

21 commitments of the United States under international ar22 rangements, shall take steps so that Israel may be in23 cluded in the list of countries eligible for the strategic 

24 trade authorization exception under section 740.20(c)(1) 

25 of title 15, Code of Federal Regulations, to the require-
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1 ment for a license for the export, reexport, or in-country 

2 transfer of an item subject to controls under the Export 

3 Administration Regulations. 

4 SEC. 7. UNITED STATES-ISRAEL COOPERATION ON ENERGY, 

5 WATER, HOMELAND SECURITY, AGRI6 CULTURE, AND ALTERNATIVE FUEL TECH7 NOLOGIES. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The President is authorized, sub9 ject to existing law— 

10 (1) to undertake activities in cooperation with 

11 Israel; and 

12 (2) to provide assistance promoting cooperation 

13 in the fields of energy, water, agriculture, and alter14 native fuel technologies. 

15 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out subsection (a), 

16 the President is authorized, subject to existing require17 ments of law and any applicable agreements or under18 standings between the United States and Israel— 

19 (1) to share and exchange with Israel research, 

20 technology, intelligence, information, equipment, and 

21 personnel, including through sales, leases, or ex22 changes in kind, that the President determines will 

23 advance the national security interests of the United 

24 States and are consistent with the Strategic Dia25 logue and pertinent provisions of law; and 
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1 (2) to enhance scientific cooperation between 

2 Israel and the United States. 

3 (c) COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PILOT PROGRAMS.— 

4 The Secretary of Homeland Security, acting through the 

5 Director of the Homeland Security Advanced Research 

6 Projects Agency and with the concurrence of the Secretary 

7 of State, is authorized, subject to existing law, to enter 

8 into cooperative research pilot programs with Israel to en9 hance Israel’s capabilities in— 

10 (1) border, maritime, and aviation security; 

11 (2) explosives detection; and 

12 (3) emergency services. 

13 SEC. 8. REPORT ON INCREASED UNITED STATES-ISRAEL 

14 COOPERATION ON CYBERSECURITY. 

15 Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact16 ment of this Act, the President shall submit to Congress 

17 a report, in a classified format or including a classified 

18 annex, as appropriate, on the feasibility and advisability 

19 of expanding United States-Israeli cooperation on cyber 

20 issues, including sharing and advancing technologies re21 lated to the prevention of cybercrimes. 

22 SEC. 9. STATEMENT OF POLICY REGARDING THE VISA 

23 WAIVER PROGRAM. 

24 It shall be the policy of the United States to include 

25 Israel in the list of countries that participate in the visa 
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1 waiver program under section 217 of the Immigration and 

2 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1187) when Israel satisfies, and 

3 as long as Israel continues to satisfy, the requirements for 

4 inclusion in such program specified in such section. 

5 SEC. 10. STATUS OF IMPLEMENTATION OF SECTION 4 OF 

6 THE UNITED STATES-ISRAEL ENHANCED SE7 CURITY COOPERATION ACT OF 2012. 

8 Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact9 ment of this Act, the President shall, to the extent prac10 ticable and in an appropriate manner, provide an update 

11 to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate, the 

12 Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representa13 tives, the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate, and 

14 the Committee on Armed Services of the House of Rep15 resentatives on current and future efforts undertaken by 

16 the President to fulfill the objectives of section 4 of the 

17 United States-Israel Enhanced Security Cooperation Act 

18 (22 U.S.C. 8603). 

19 SEC. 11. IMPROVED REPORTING ON ENHANCING ISRAEL’S 

20 QUALITATIVE MILITARY EDGE AND SECU21 RITY POSTURE. 

22 (a) BIENNIAL ASSESSMENT REEVALUATIONS.—Sec23 tion 201(c) of the Naval Vessel Transfer Act of 2008 (22 

24 U.S.C. 2776 note) is amended by adding at the end the 

25 following: 
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1 ‘‘(3) BIENNIAL UPDATES.—Two years after the 

2 date on which each quadrennial report is trans3 mitted to Congress, the President shall— 

4 ‘‘(A) reevaluate the assessment required 

5 under subsection (a); and 

6 ‘‘(B) inform and consult with the appro7 priate congressional committees on the results 

8 of the reevaluation conducted pursuant to sub9 paragraph (A).’’. 

10 (b) CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS FOR MAJOR DE11 FENSE EQUIPMENT.—Section 36(h) of the Arms Export 

12 Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2776(h)) is amended— 

13 (1) by redesignating paragraph (2) as para14 graph (3); and 

15 (2) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol16 lowing: 

17 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS WITH RESPECT TO DE18 TERMINATION FOR MAJOR DEFENSE EQUIPMENT.— 

19 A determination under paragraph (1) relating to the 

20 sale or export of major defense equipment shall in21 clude— 

22 ‘‘(A) a detailed explanation of Israel’s ca23 pacity to address the improved capabilities pro24 vided by such sale or export; 

25 ‘‘(B) a detailed evaluation of— 
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1 ‘‘(i) how such sale or export alters the 

2 strategic and tactical balance in the region, 

3 including relative capabilities; and 

4 ‘‘(ii) Israel’s capacity to respond to 

5 the improved regional capabilities provided 

6 by such sale or export; 

7 ‘‘(C) an identification of any specific new 

8 capacity, capabilities, or training that Israel 

9 may require to address the regional or country10 specific capabilities provided by such sale or ex11 port; and 

12 ‘‘(D) a description of any additional 

13 United States security assurances to Israel 

14 made, or requested to be made, in connection 

15 with, or as a result of, such sale or export.’’. 

16 SEC. 12. UNITED STATES-ISRAEL ENERGY COOPERATION. 

17 (a) FINDINGS.—Section 917(a) of the Energy Inde18 pendence and Security Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17337(a)) 

19 is amended— 

20 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘renewable’’ 

21 and inserting ‘‘covered’’; 

22 (2) in paragraph (4)— 

23 (A) by striking ‘‘possible many’’ and in24 serting ‘‘possible— 

25 ‘‘(A) many’’; and 
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1 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

2 ‘‘and 

3 ‘‘(B) significant contributions to the devel4 opment of renewable energy and energy effi5 ciency through the established programs of the 

6 United States-Israel Binational Industrial Re7 search and Development Foundation and the 

8 United States-Israel Binational Science Foun9 dation;’’; 

10 (3) in paragraph (6)— 

11 (A) by striking ‘‘renewable’’ and inserting 

12 ‘‘covered’’; and 

13 (B) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

14 (4) in paragraph (7)— 

15 (A) by striking ‘‘renewable’’ and inserting 

16 ‘‘covered’’; and 

17 (B) by striking the period at the end and 

18 inserting a semicolon; and 

19 (5) by adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(8) United States-Israel energy cooperation 

21 and the development of natural resources by Israel 

22 are in the strategic interest of the United States; 

23 ‘‘(9) Israel is a strategic partner of the United 

24 States in water technology; 
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1 ‘‘(10) the United States can play a role in as2 sisting Israel with regional safety and security 

3 issues; 

4 ‘‘(11) the National Science Foundation of the 

5 United States, to the extent consistent with the Na6 tional Science Foundation’s mission, should collabo7 rate with the Israel Science Foundation and the 

8 United States-Israel Binational Science Foundation; 

9 ‘‘(12) the United States and Israel should strive 

10 to develop more robust academic cooperation in— 

11 ‘‘(A) energy innovation technology and en12 gineering; 

13 ‘‘(B) water science; 

14 ‘‘(C) technology transfer; and 

15 ‘‘(D) analysis of emerging geopolitical im16 plications, crises and threats from foreign nat17 ural resource and energy acquisitions, and the 

18 development of domestic resources as a re19 sponse; 

20 ‘‘(13) the United States supports the goals of 

21 the Alternative Fuels Administration of Israel with 

22 respect to expanding the use of alternative fuels; 

23 ‘‘(14) the United States strongly urges open 

24 dialogue and continued mechanisms for regular en25 gagement and encourages further cooperation be-
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1 tween applicable departments, agencies, ministries, 

2 institutions of higher education, and the private sec3 tor of the United States and Israel on energy secu4 rity issues, including— 

5 ‘‘(A) identifying policy priorities associated 

6 with the development of natural resources of 

7 Israel; 

8 ‘‘(B) discussing and sharing best practices 

9 to secure cyber energy infrastructure and other 

10 energy security matters; 

11 ‘‘(C) leveraging natural gas to positively 

12 impact regional stability; 

13 ‘‘(D) issues relating to the energy-water 

14 nexus, including improving energy efficiency 

15 and the overall performance of water tech16 nologies through research and development in 

17 water desalination, wastewater treatment and 

18 reclamation, water treatment in gas and oil pro19 duction processes, and other water treatment 

20 refiners; 

21 ‘‘(E) technical and environmental manage22 ment of deep-water exploration and production; 

23 ‘‘(F) emergency response and coastal pro24 tection and restoration; 

25 ‘‘(G) academic outreach and engagement; 
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1 ‘‘(H) private sector and business develop2 ment engagement; 

3 ‘‘(I) regulatory consultations; 

4 ‘‘(J) leveraging alternative transportation 

5 fuels and technologies; and 

6 ‘‘(K) any other areas determined appro7 priate by the United States and Israel; 

8 ‘‘(15) the United States— 

9 ‘‘(A) acknowledges the achievements and 

10 importance of the Binational Industrial Re11 search and Development Foundation and the 

12 United States-Israel Binational Science Foun13 dation; and 

14 ‘‘(B) supports continued multiyear funding 

15 to ensure the continuity of the programs of the 

16 foundations specified in subparagraph (A); and 

17 ‘‘(16) the United States and Israel have a 

18 shared interest in addressing immediate, near-term, 

19 and long-term energy, energy poverty, energy inde20 pendence, and environmental challenges facing the 

21 United States and Israel, respectively.’’. 

22 (b) GRANT PROGRAM.—Section 917(b) of the Energy 

23 Independence and Security Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 

24 17337(b)(1)) is amended— 
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1 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘renewable en2 ergy or energy efficiency’’ and inserting ‘‘covered en3 ergy’’; 

4 (2) in paragraph (2)— 

5 (A) in subparagraph (F), by striking 

6 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

7 (B) in subparagraph (G), by striking the 

8 period at the end and inserting a semicolon; 

9 and 

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

11 ‘‘(H) natural gas energy, including conven12 tional and unconventional natural gas tech13 nologies and other associated technologies, and 

14 natural gas projects conducted by or in con15 junction with the United States-Israel Bina16 tional Science Foundation and the United 

17 States-Israel Binational Industrial Research 

18 and Development Foundation; and 

19 ‘‘(I) improvement of energy efficiency and 

20 the overall performance of water technologies 

21 through research and development in water de22 salination, wastewater treatment and reclama23 tion, and other water treatment refiners.’’; and 

24 (3) in paragraph (3)(A), by striking ‘‘energy ef25 ficiency or renewable’’ and inserting ‘‘covered’’. 
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1 (c) INTERNATIONAL PARTNERSHIPS; REGIONAL EN2 ERGY COOPERATION.— 

3 (1) INTERNATIONAL PARTNERSHIPS.—Section 

4 917 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 

5 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17337) is amended— 

6 (A) by striking subsection (d); 

7 (B) by redesignating subsection (c) as sub8 section (e); 

9 (C) by inserting after subsection (b) the 

10 following: 

11 ‘‘(c) INTERNATIONAL PARTNERSHIPS.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, subject to 

13 the availability of appropriations, may enter into co14 operative agreements supporting and enhancing dia15 logue and planning involving international partner16 ships between the Department, including National 

17 Laboratories of the Department, and the Govern18 ment of Israel and its ministries, offices, and institu19 tions. 

20 ‘‘(2) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Secretary may not 

21 pay more than 50 percent of Federal share of the 

22 costs of implementing cooperative agreements en23 tered into pursuant to paragraph (1). 

24 ‘‘(3) ANNUAL REPORTS.—If the Secretary en25 ters into agreements authorized by paragraph (1), 
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1 the Secretary shall submit an annual report to the 

2 Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the 

3 Senate, the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 

4 Senate, the Committee on Appropriations of the 

5 Senate, the Committee on Energy and Commerce of 

6 the House of Representatives, the Committee on 

7 Science, Space, and Technology of the House of 

8 Representatives, the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

9 of the House of Representatives, and the Committee 

10 on Appropriations of the House of Representatives 

11 that describes— 

12 ‘‘(A) actions taken to implement such 

13 agreements; and 

14 ‘‘(B) any projects undertaken pursuant to 

15 such agreements. 

16 ‘‘(d) UNITED STATES-ISRAEL ENERGY CENTER.— 

17 The Secretary may establish a joint United States-Israel 

18 Energy Center in the United States leveraging the experi19 ence, knowledge, and expertise of institutions of higher 

20 education and entities in the private sector, among others, 

21 in offshore energy development to further dialogue and 

22 collaboration to develop more robust academic cooperation 

23 in energy innovation technology and engineering, water 

24 science, technology transfer, and analysis of emerging geo25 political implications, crises and threats from foreign nat-
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1 ural resource and energy acquisitions, and the develop2 ment of domestic resources as a response.’’; and 

3 (D) in subsection (e), as redesignated, by 

4 striking ‘‘the date that is 7 years after the date 

5 of enactment of this Act’’ and inserting ‘‘Sep6 tember 30, 2024’’. 

7 (2) CONSTRUCTIVE REGIONAL ENERGY CO8 OPERATION.—The Secretary of State shall continue 

9 the ongoing diplomacy efforts of the Secretary of 

10 State in— 

11 (A) engaging and supporting the energy 

12 security of Israel; and 

13 (B) promoting constructive regional energy 

14 cooperation in the Eastern Mediterranean. 

Passed the Senate September 18, 2014. 

Attest: 

Secretary. 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2673 

AN ACT 

To enhance the strategic partnership between the 

United States and Israel.