United States-Israel PTSD Collaborative Research Act
Bill: H.R.852 | Sponsor: Rep. Waltz, Michael (R-FL)
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security

Summary:
United States-Israel PTSD Collaborative Research Act
This bill establishes a grant program for collaborative efforts between the United States and Israel to advance research on post-traumatic stress disorders.
The Department of Defense, in coordination with the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of State, shall award grants to eligible academic institutions or nonprofit entities in the United States.
Work shall be conducted by the eligible entity and an entity in Israel under a joint research agreement.

To direct the Secretary of Defense to carry out a grant program to 
increase cooperation on post-traumatic stress disorder research between 
                     the United States and Israel.

    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 ``United States-Israel PTSD 
Collaborative Research Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) The Department of Veterans Affairs reports that between 
        11 and 20 percent of veterans who served in Operation Iraqi 
        Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom have post-traumatic 
        stress disorder (PTSD) in a given year. In addition, that 
        figure amounts to about 12 percent of Gulf War veterans and up 
        to 30 percent of Vietnam veterans.
            (2) The Department of Veterans Affairs reports that among 
        women veterans of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, almost 
        20 percent have been diagnosed with PTSD.
            (3) In the United States, it is thought that 70 percent of 
        Americans have experienced at least one traumatic event in 
        their lifetime, and approximately 20 percent of those persons 
        have struggled or continue to struggle with symptoms of PTSD.
            (4) Studies show that PTSD has links to homelessness and 
        substance abuse in the United States. The Department of 
        Veterans Affairs estimates that approximately 11 percent of the 
        homeless population are veterans and the Substance Abuse and 
        Mental Health Services Administration estimates that about 7 
        percent of veterans have a substance abuse disorder.
            (5) Our ally Israel, under constant attack from terrorist 
        groups, experiences similar issues with Israeli veterans facing 
        PTSD symptoms. Tel Aviv University's National Center for 
        Traumatic Stress and Resilience found that 5 to 8 percent of 
        combat soldiers experience some form of PTSD, and during 
        wartime, that figure rises to 15 to 20 percent.
            (6) Current treatment options in the United States focus on 
        cognitive therapy, exposure therapy, or eye movement 
        desensitization and reprocessing, but the United States must 
        continue to look for more effective treatments. Several leading 
        Israeli hospitals, academic institutions, and nonprofits 
        dedicate research and services to treating PTSD.

SEC. 3. GRANT PROGRAM FOR INCREASED COOPERATION ON POST-TRAUMATIC 
              STRESS DISORDER RESEARCH BETWEEN UNITED STATES AND 
              ISRAEL.

    (a) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that the 
Secretary of Defense, acting through the Psychological Health and 
Traumatic Brain Injury Research Program, should seek to explore 
scientific collaboration between American academic institutions and 
nonprofit research entities, and Israeli institutions with expertise in 
researching, diagnosing, and treating post-traumatic stress disorder.
    (b) Grant Program.--The Secretary of Defense, in coordination with 
the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and the Secretary of State, shall 
award grants to eligible entities to carry out collaborative research 
between the United States and Israel with respect to post-traumatic 
stress disorders. The Secretary of Defense shall carry out the grant 
program under this section in accordance with the agreement titled 
``Agreement Between the Government of the United States of America and 
the Government of Israel on the United States-Israel Binational Science 
Foundation'', dated September 27, 1972.
    (c) Eligible Entities.--To be eligible to receive a grant under 
this section, an entity shall be an academic institution or a nonprofit 
entity located in the United States.
    (d) Award.--The Secretary shall award grants under this section to 
eligible entities that--
            (1) carry out a research project that--
                    (A) addresses a requirement in the area of post-
                traumatic stress disorders that the Secretary 
                determines appropriate to research using such grant; 
                and
                    (B) is conducted by the eligible entity and an 
                entity in Israel under a joint research agreement; and
            (2) meet such other criteria that the Secretary may 
        establish.
    (e) Application.--To be eligible to receive a grant under this 
section, an eligible entity shall submit an application to the 
Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing such commitments 
and information as the Secretary may require.
    (f) Gift Authority.--The Secretary may accept, hold, and 
administer, any gift of money made on the condition that the gift be 
used for the purpose of the grant program under this section. Such 
gifts of money accepted under this subsection shall be deposited in the 
Treasury in the Department of Defense General Gift Fund and shall be 
available, subject to appropriation, without fiscal year limitation.
    (g) Reports.--Not later than 180 days after the date on which an 
eligible entity completes a research project using a grant under this 
section, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report that 
contains--
            (1) a description of how the eligible entity used the 
        grant; and
            (2) an evaluation of the level of success of the research 
        project.
    (h) Termination.--The authority to award grants under this section 
shall terminate on the date that is 7 years after the date on which the 
first such grant is awarded.
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