I 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1614 
To modify and extend the National Guard State Partnership Program. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 25, 2015 
Ms. BORDALLO
(for herself, Mr. WALZ, Mr. LAMBORN, and Mr. 
BRIDENSTINE) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Armed Services 
A BILL 
To modify and extend the National Guard State Partnership 
Program. 
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 ‘‘State Partnership Pro-
gram Enhancement Act of 2015’’. 
SEC. 2. MODIFICATION AND EXTENSION OF NATIONAL 
GUARD STATE PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM. 
(a) AUTHORITY.—Subsection (a)(1) of section 1205 
of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 
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2014 (Public Law 113–66; 127 Stat. 897; 32 U.S.C. 107 
note) is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘whose primary functions in-
clude disaster response or emergency response,’’; 
and 
(2) by adding at the end before the period the 
following: ‘‘to support the national interests and se-
curity cooperation goals and objectives of the United 
States as defined by the current and evolving na-
tional global strategic policies of the United States’’. 
(b) LIMITATION.—Subsection (b) of such section is 
amended by striking ‘‘whose primary functions include 
disaster response or emergency response’’. 
(c) REGULATIONS.—Such section, as so amended, is 
further amended by striking subsection (c) and inserting 
the following: 
‘‘(c) REGULATIONS.— 
‘‘(1) REGULATIONS.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of De-
fense, with the concurrence of the Secretary of 
State, shall prescribe regulations to carry out 
this section. Such regulations shall establish 
procedures relating to planning, programming, 
budgeting, accounting procedures, and perform-
ance metrics to ensure— 
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tional Guard and additional information needed 
to make use of such core competencies; and 
‘‘(B) designate a director for each State 
and territory who shall be responsible for the 
conduct of activities under a program estab-
lished under subsection (a) for such State or 
territory and reporting on activities under the 
program. 
‘‘(3) ROLE OF SECRETARY OF DEFENSE.—The 
Secretary of Defense shall ensure that regulations to 
carry out this section include planning, coordinating, 
and execution requirements with the relevant com-
batant commanders and that activities under a pro-
gram established under subsection (a) meet the rel-
evant theater security cooperation objectives. 
‘‘(4) ROLE
OF
SECRETARY
OF
STATE.—The 
Secretary of State shall ensure that the regulations 
to carry out this section include planning, coordi-
nating, and execution requirements with the relevant 
chiefs of mission and that activities under a program 
established under subsection (a) meet the diplomatic 
objectives of the Department of State.’’. 
(d) NATIONAL GUARD STATE PARTNERSHIP PRO-
GRAM FUND.—Subsection (d) of such section is amended 
to read as follows: 
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‘‘(d) NATIONAL GUARD STATE PARTNERSHIP PRO-
GRAM FUND.— 
‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is hereby estab-
lished on the books of the Treasury the National 
Guard State Partnership Program Fund (in this 
subsection referred to as the ‘Fund’). 
‘‘(2) CREDITS TO FUND.—There shall be cred-
ited to the Fund the following: 
‘‘(A) Amounts authorized for and appro-
priated to the Fund. 
‘‘(B) Amounts that the Secretary of De-
fense transfers, in such amounts as provided in 
appropriations Acts, to the Fund from amounts 
authorized and appropriated to the Department 
of Defense, including amounts authorized to be 
appropriated for the Army National Guard and 
the Air National Guard. 
‘‘(3) USE
OF
AMOUNTS
IN
FUND.—In such 
amounts as provided in appropriations Acts, the Sec-
retary of Defense may use amounts in the Fund 
to— 
‘‘(A) for payment of costs incurred by the 
National Guard of a State or territory to con-
duct activities under a program established 
under subsection (a), including costs for per-
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sonnel, training, operations, and equipment; 
and 
‘‘(B) for payment of incremental expenses 
of a foreign country to conduct activities under 
a program established under subsection (a). 
‘‘(4) LIMITATIONS.— 
‘‘(A) 
ACTIVE
DUTY
REQUIREMENT.— 
Amounts shall not be available under paragraph 
(3) for the participation of a member of the 
National Guard of a State or territory in activi-
ties in a foreign country unless the member is 
on active duty in the Armed Forces at the time 
of such participation. 
‘‘(B) INCREMENTAL EXPENSES.—The total 
amount of payments for incremental expenses 
of foreign countries as authorized under para-
graph (3)(B) for activities under programs es-
tablished under subsection (a) in any fiscal year 
may not exceed $10,000,000.’’. 
(e) ANNUAL REPORT.—Subsection (e) of such section 
is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘(e) REPORTS AND NOTIFICA-
TIONS.—’’ and all that follows through ‘‘(B) MAT-
TERS TO BE INCLUDED.—’’ and inserting the fol-
lowing: 
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‘‘(e) ANNUAL REPORT.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than January 31 
of each year following a fiscal year in which activi-
ties under a program established under subsection 
(a) are carried out, the Secretary of Defense, in co-
ordination with the Secretary of State, shall submit 
to the appropriate congressional committees a report 
on such activities under the program. 
‘‘(2) MATTERS TO BE INCLUDED.—’’; 
(2) by redesignating clauses (i) through (v) as 
subparagraphs (A) through (E), respectively; and 
(3) in paragraph (2) (as redesignated)— 
(A) in subparagraph (C) (as redesignated), 
by inserting ‘‘or other government organiza-
tions’’ after ‘‘and security forces’’; 
(B) in subparagraph (D) (as redesignated), 
by adding at the end before the period the fol-
lowing: ‘‘or chiefs of mission’’; 
(C) in subparagraph (E) (as redesignated), 
by adding at the end before the period the fol-
lowing: ‘‘or how the activities support the chief 
of mission with responsibilities for the country 
in which the activities occurred’’; and 
(D) by adding at the end the following: 
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‘‘(F) A performance review of activities 
conducted during the previous year using 
metrics developed by the Chief of the National 
Guard Bureau.’’. 
(f) DEFINITIONS.—Subsection (g) of such section is 
amended— 
(1) by redesignating paragraph (2) as para-
graph (3); 
(2) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(2) CORE
COMPETENCIES.—The term ‘core 
competencies of the National Guard’ or ‘core com-
petencies’ means military-to-military and military-to- 
civilian skills and capabilities of the National Guard 
that would contribute the purpose of the program 
established under subsection (a).’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(4) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means each of 
the several States, the District of Columbia, the 
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Vir-
gin Islands.’’. 
(g) TERMINATION.—Such section is further amended 
by striking subsection (i). 
Æ 
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