Special Envoy for the Abraham Accords Act

Subjects: International Affairs


<html><body><pre>[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1268 Introduced in House (IH)]

&lt;DOC&gt;






118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1268

    To amend the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 to 
 establish the position of Special Envoy for the Abraham Accords, and 
                          for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 28, 2023

  Mr. Torres of New York (for himself and Mr. Lawler) introduced the 
 following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To amend the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 to 
 establish the position of Special Envoy for the Abraham Accords, and 
                          for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Special Envoy for the Abraham 
Accords Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that the policy of the United States, as enacted in 
section 104 of the Israel Relations Normalization Act of 2022 (division 
Z of Public Law 117-103), with respect to the Abraham Accords remains 
unchanged.

SEC. 3. SPECIAL ENVOY FOR THE ABRAHAM ACCORDS.

    Title I of the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 (22 
U.S.C. 2651a et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
section:

``SEC. 64. SPECIAL ENVOY FOR THE ABRAHAM ACCORDS.

    ``(a) Special Envoy for the Abraham Accords.--There is in the 
Department of State a Special Envoy for the Abraham Accords (in this 
section referred to as the `Special Envoy').
    ``(b) Nomination.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Special Envoy shall be appointed by 
        the President, by and with the advice and consent of the 
        Senate. The Special Envoy shall report directly to the 
        Secretary.
            ``(2) Determination.--If the President determines that such 
        is appropriate, the President may nominate the Special Envoy 
        from among officers and employees of the Department. Such 
        officer or employee may not retain the position (or the 
        responsibilities associated with such position) held by such 
        officer or employee prior to the nomination of such officer or 
        employee to the position of Special Envoy under this paragraph.
    ``(c) Qualifications.--The Special Envoy should be a person of 
recognized distinction in the field high-level diplomatic experience, 
and or knowledge of the Islamic and Jewish worlds, knowledge of 
economics, security, and human rights.
    ``(d) Rank and Status of Ambassador.--The Special Envoy who shall 
have the rank of ambassador and shall hold the office at the pleasure 
of the President.
    ``(e) Duties.--The Special Envoy shall seek to expand and 
strengthen the Abraham Accords, in coordination with regional 
ambassadors, nongovernmental organizations, and other stakeholders 
determined appropriate by the Special Envoy.
    ``(f) Responsibilities.--The Special Envoy shall--
            ``(1) serve as the primary advisor to, and coordinate 
        efforts across, the United States Government relating to 
        expanding and strengthening the Abraham Accords;
            ``(2) engage in discussions with nation-state officials 
        lacking official diplomatic relations with Israel regarding the 
        Abraham Accords; and
            ``(3) consult with representatives of nongovernmental 
        organizations that have attempted to expand and strengthen the 
        Abraham Accords.''.
                                 &lt;all&gt;
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