for the use of Lajes Air Force Base on the Island 
of Terceira in the Azores. 
(2) Seven hundred United States Air Force per-
sonnel and their families are stationed at Lajes Air 
Force Base. 
(3) In exchange for United States access to 
Lajes Air Force Base, the United States agreed to 
undertake ‘‘cooperation programs with the Azores’’, 
including in the areas of agriculture, education, 
tourism, and health. 
(4) However, the Department of Defense ceased 
funding ACIP because its activities have not been 
explicitly authorized by law. 
(5) The Government of Portugal and the Azor-
ean people have allowed the United States Air Force 
presence on the Island, which is an important stra-
tegic location for United States security interests. 
(6) There are many vibrant Azorean commu-
nities in the United States, including in California, 
Hawaii, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Rhode Is-
land, and as a result the relationship between the 
United States and the Azores remains strong and 
important, for strategic, diplomatic, and cultural 
reasons. 
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(7) ACIP is a non-defense initiative, and is 
critically important to the United States relationship 
with Portugal and the Azores. 
(8) The 65th Air Base Wing is a United States 
military unit stationed at Lajes Air Force Base, 
Azores, Portugal, and is currently the only United 
States military organization in the Azores. 
(9) Lajes Air Force Base supported transiting 
aircraft during the course of Operations Joint 
Guard, Deny Flight, Provide Comfort, and Southern 
Watch. 
(10) Beginning in 1997, large fighter aircraft 
movements called Air Expeditionary Forces filled the 
Lajes Air Force Base flightline. Lajes has also 
hosted B–52 and B–1 bomber aircraft en route from 
global air missions. 
(11) Lajes Air Force Base has supported many 
routine North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) 
exercises, such as the biennial Northern Viking exer-
cise. 
(12) For Operations Enduring Freedom, Iraq 
Freedom, New Dawn, and Odyssey Dawn, airmen 
have been deployed in support of these operations 
and Lajes Air Force Base hosted aircraft transiting 
the Azores in support of these missions. 
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(13) Lajes Air Force Base is an important stra-
tegic location for the United States Armed Forces 
and NATO, and ACIP helps to support United 
States strategic interests in the region. 
SEC. 3. AUTHORITY TO ESTABLISH AZORES COOPERATIVE 
INITIATIVE PROGRAM. 
(a) AUTHORITY.—The Secretary of State is author-
ized to establish a program, to be known as the ‘‘Azores 
Cooperative Initiative Program’’, to provide bilateral co-
operation, expertise, and resources to design and imple-
ment solutions to the provisions of the 1995 United 
States-Portugal Agreement on Cooperation and Defense, 
in areas of science, technology, education, environment 
and agriculture in order to further Luso-American rela-
tions. 
(b) ACTIVITIES SUPPORTED.—The program shall in-
clude the following activities: 
(1) Integrated pest management program for 
horticultural crops in the Azores, Portugal. 
(2) Establishment of aquacultural research in 
the Azores. 
(3) Sustainable fisheries in the Azores. 
(4) Improvements to the Azores health care sys-
tem, including epidemiology and control of Lepto-
spirosis in the Azores. 
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(5) Geological risk monitoring. 
(6) Tourism promotion. 
(7) Assistance in economic policy analysis. 
(8) Technical cooperation for rural develop-
ment. 
(9) Export promotion of Azorean products. 
(10) Training exchanges with regard to the ac-
tivities described in paragraphs (1) through (9). 
Æ 
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