I 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1649 
To authorize the Secretary of Defense to enter into partnerships with Israel 
and other allies of the United States to develop technology to detect 
tunnels, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 26, 2015 
Mr. LAMBORN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Armed Services, and in addition to the Committees on Foreign 
Affairs and Select Intelligence (Permanent Select), for a period to be sub-
sequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of 
such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To authorize the Secretary of Defense to enter into partner-
ships with Israel and other allies of the United States 
to develop technology to detect tunnels, and for other 
purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Partnering to Detect 
and Defeat Tunnels Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND SENSE OF CONGRESS. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 
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(1) Tunnels have been used for centuries 
around the world as a means of avoiding detection 
or circumventing defenses. 
(2) Tunnels can be used for criminal purposes, 
such as smuggling drugs, weapons, or humans, or 
for terrorist or military purposes, such as launching 
surprise attacks or detonating explosives underneath 
infrastructure. 
(3) Tunnels have been a growing threat on the 
southern border of the United States for many 
years, and the Department of Homeland Security 
has been working to address this threat. 
(4) The conflict in Gaza in 2014 showed that 
terrorists are now actively using tunnels as a means 
of attack, and news reports indicate that tunnels are 
being used in Syria as well. 
(5) Terrorist organizations are quick to adopt 
successful tactics, and it is only a matter of time be-
fore other terrorist organizations begin using tun-
nels. 
(6) The facilities of the United States, and 
those of the allies of the United States, could be 
under threat very quickly if tunnel threats continue 
to proliferate. 
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(b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con-
gress that— 
(1) it is in the best interests of the United 
States to develop technology to detect and counter 
tunnels, and the best way to do this is to partner 
with other affected countries; and 
(2) Israel is facing serious threats posed by 
tunnels and should be the first partner of the United 
States in addressing this significant challenge. 
SEC. 3. DEVELOPMENT OF TUNNEL DETECTION TECH-
NOLOGY. 
(a) PARTNERSHIPS.— 
(1) ISRAEL.—The Secretary of Defense, in co-
ordination with the Secretary of State and the Sec-
retary of Homeland Security, shall seek to enter into 
an agreement with Israel to partner and coordinate 
in developing and deploying technologies to detect 
and counter tunnels, including by— 
(A) carrying out research, development, 
testing, and evaluation activities with respect to 
tunnel detection technologies; and 
(B) carrying out operational testing of 
such technologies in both the United States and 
Israel. 
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(2) OTHER ALLIES.—In addition to the agree-
ment described in paragraph (1), the Secretary of 
Defense, in coordination with the Secretary of State 
and the Secretary of Homeland Security, may seek 
to enter into similar agreements with allies of the 
United States to develop technologies to detect and 
counter tunnels. 
(b) LEAD DEVELOPMENT AGENCY.—The Secretary 
of Defense, in coordination with the Secretary of Home-
land Security, shall designate a military department or 
other element of the Department of Defense to carry out 
subsection (a) as the lead agency of the Federal Govern-
ment for developing technology to detect and counter tun-
nels. 
(c) LEAD INTELLIGENCE OFFICER.—The Director of 
National Intelligence shall designate a senior intelligence 
officer to manage the collection and analysis of intelligence 
regarding the tactical use of tunnels by state and non- 
state actors. 
(d) ANNUAL REPORTS.—Not later than 180 days 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, and each year 
thereafter through 2020, the Secretary of Defense shall 
submit to Congress a report containing, with respect to 
the period covered by each such report, the following: 
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(1) Instances of tunnels being used to attack 
installations of the United States or allies of the 
United States. 
(2) Trends or developments in tunnel attacks 
throughout the world. 
(3) Key technologies used and challenges faced 
by potential adversaries of the United States with 
respect to using tunnels. 
(4) The capabilities of the Department of De-
fense for defending fixed or forward locations from 
tunnel attacks. 
(5) Partnerships entered into with allies of the 
United States under this section, and potential op-
portunities for increased partnerships with other al-
lies with respect to researching tunnel detection 
technologies. 
(6) The plans, including with respect to fund-
ing, of the Secretary for countering threats posed by 
tunnels. 
(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—In addi-
tion to amounts otherwise authorized to be appropriated 
for fiscal year 2016, to carry out this section there is au-
thorized to be appropriated for fiscal year 2016— 
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(1) for research, development, test, and evalua-
tion, Army, for sensors and electronic survivability, 
$5,000,000; 
(2) for research, development, test, and evalua-
tion, Defense-wide, for the physical security program 
of the Combating Terrorism Technical Support Of-
fice, $8,000,000; and 
(3) for the Joint Improvised Explosive Device 
Defeat Fund, $10,000,000. 
Æ 
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