Naval Vessel Transfer Act of 2008
PL 110-429 (H.R.7177), enacted 10/15/2008

122 STAT. 4842 
PUBLIC LAW 110–429—OCT. 15, 2008 
Public Law 110–429 
110th Congress 
An Act 
To authorize the transfer of naval vessels to certain foreign recipients, and for 
other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
TITLE I—NAVAL VESSEL TRANSFER 
SECTION 101. SHORT TITLE. 
This title may be cited as the ‘‘Naval Vessel Transfer Act 
of 2008’’. 
SEC. 102. TRANSFER OF NAVAL VESSELS TO CERTAIN FOREIGN RECIPI-
ENTS. 
(a) TRANSFERS
BY GRANT.—The President is authorized to 
transfer the vessels specified in paragraphs (1), (3), and (4) of 
section 501(a) of H.R. 5916 of the 110th Congress, as passed the 
House of Representatives on May 15, 2008, to the foreign recipients 
specified in paragraphs (1), (3), and (4) of such section, respectively, 
on a grant basis under section 516 of the Foreign Assistance Act 
of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2321j). 
(b) GRANTS NOT COUNTED IN ANNUAL TOTAL OF TRANSFERRED 
EXCESS DEFENSE ARTICLES.—The value of a vessel transferred to 
a recipient on a grant basis pursuant to authority provided by 
subsection (a) shall not be counted against the aggregate value 
of excess defense articles transferred in any fiscal year under section 
516 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2321j). 
(c) COSTS OF TRANSFERS.—Any expense incurred by the United 
States in connection with a transfer authorized by this section 
shall be charged to the recipient (notwithstanding section 516(e) 
of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2321j(e))). 
(d) REPAIR
AND REFURBISHMENT
IN UNITED STATES SHIP-
YARDS.—To the maximum extent practicable, the President shall 
require, as a condition of the transfer of a vessel under this section, 
that the recipient to which the vessel is transferred have such 
repair or refurbishment of the vessel as is needed, before the 
vessel joins the naval forces of the recipient, performed at a shipyard 
located in the United States, including a United States Navy ship-
yard. 
(e) EXPIRATION OF AUTHORITY.—The authority to transfer a 
vessel under this section shall expire at the end of the 2-year 
period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act. 
President. 
President. 
Naval Vessel 
Transfer Act of 
2008. 
Oct. 15, 2008 
[H.R. 7177] 
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122 STAT. 4843 
PUBLIC LAW 110–429—OCT. 15, 2008 
TITLE II—UNITED STATES ARMS 
EXPORTS 
SEC. 201. ASSESSMENT OF ISRAEL’S QUALITATIVE MILITARY EDGE 
OVER MILITARY THREATS. 
(a) ASSESSMENT REQUIRED.—The President shall carry out an 
empirical and qualitative assessment on an ongoing basis of the 
extent to which Israel possesses a qualitative military edge over 
military threats to Israel. The assessment required under this sub-
section shall be sufficiently robust so as to facilitate comparability 
of data over concurrent years. 
(b) USE OF ASSESSMENT.—The President shall ensure that the 
assessment required under subsection (a) is used to inform the 
review by the United States of applications to sell defense articles 
and defense services under the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 
2751 et seq.) to countries in the Middle East. 
(c) REPORTS.— 
(1) INITIAL REPORT.—Not later than June 30, 2009, the 
President shall transmit to the appropriate congressional 
committees a report on the initial assessment required under 
subsection (a). 
(2) QUADRENNIAL REPORT.—Not later than four years after 
the date on which the President transmits the initial report 
under paragraph (1), and every four years thereafter, the Presi-
dent shall transmit to the appropriate congressional committees 
a report on the most recent assessment required under sub-
section (a). 
(d) CERTIFICATION.—Section 36 of the Arms Export Control 
Act (22 U.S.C. 2776) is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(h) CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENT RELATING TO ISRAEL’S QUALI-
TATIVE MILITARY EDGE.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any certification relating to a proposed 
sale or export of defense articles or defense services under 
this section to any country in the Middle East other than 
Israel shall include a determination that the sale or export 
of the defense articles or defense services will not adversely 
affect Israel’s qualitative military edge over military threats 
to Israel. 
‘‘(2) QUALITATIVE MILITARY EDGE DEFINED.—In this sub-
section, the term ‘qualitative military edge’ means the ability 
to counter and defeat any credible conventional military threat 
from any individual state or possible coalition of states or 
from non-state actors, while sustaining minimal damages and 
casualties, through the use of superior military means, pos-
sessed in sufficient quantity, including weapons, command, con-
trol, communication, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnais-
sance capabilities that in their technical characteristics are 
superior in capability to those of such other individual or pos-
sible coalition of states or non-state actors.’’. 
(e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES.—The term 
‘‘appropriate congressional committees’’ means the Committee 
on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives and the 
Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate. 
(2) QUALITATIVE
MILITARY
EDGE.—The term ‘‘qualitative 
military edge’’ has the meaning given the term in section 36(h) 
President. 
22 USC 2776 
note. 
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122 STAT. 4844 
PUBLIC LAW 110–429—OCT. 15, 2008 
of the Arms Export Control Act, as added by subsection (d) 
of this section. 
SEC. 202. IMPLEMENTATION OF MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING 
WITH ISRAEL. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Of the amount made available for fiscal year 
2009 for assistance under the program authorized by section 23 
of the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2763) (commonly referred 
to as the ‘‘Foreign Military Financing Program’’), the amount speci-
fied in subsection (b) is authorized to be made available on a 
grant basis for Israel. 
(b) COMPUTATION OF AMOUNT.—The amount referred to in sub-
section (a) is the amount equal to— 
(1) the amount specified under the heading ‘‘Foreign Mili-
tary Financing Program’’ for Israel for fiscal year 2008; plus 
(2) $150,000,000. 
(c) OTHER AUTHORITIES.— 
(1) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS FOR ADVANCED WEAPONS SYS-
TEMS.—To the extent the Government of Israel requests the 
United States to provide assistance for fiscal year 2009 for 
the procurement of advanced weapons systems, amounts 
authorized to be made available for Israel under this section 
shall, as agreed to by Israel and the United States, be available 
for such purposes, of which not less than $670,650,000 shall 
be available for the procurement in Israel of defense articles 
and defense services, including research and development. 
(2) DISBURSEMENT OF FUNDS.—Amounts authorized to be 
made available for Israel under this section shall be disbursed 
not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of 
an Act making appropriations for the Department of State, 
foreign operations, and related programs for fiscal year 2009, 
or October 31, 2008, whichever occurs later. 
SEC. 203. SECURITY COOPERATION WITH THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following findings: 
(1) Close and continuing defense cooperation between the 
United States and the Republic of Korea continues to be in 
the national security interest of the United States. 
(2) The Republic of Korea was designated a major non- 
NATO ally in 1987, the first such designation. 
(3) The Republic of Korea has been a major purchaser 
of United States defense articles and services through the For-
eign Military Sales (FMS) program, totaling $6,900,000,000 
in deliveries over the last 10 years. 
(4) Purchases of United States defense articles, services, 
and major defense equipment facilitate and increase the inter-
operability of Republic of Korea military forces with the United 
States Armed Forces. 
(5) Congress has previously enacted important, special 
defense cooperation arrangements for the Republic of Korea, 
as in the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to authorize the transfer of 
items in the War Reserves Stockpile for Allies, Korea’’, approved 
December 30, 2005 (Public Law 109–159; 119 Stat. 2955), which 
authorized the President, notwithstanding section 514 of the 
Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2321h), to transfer 
to the Republic of Korea certain defense items to be included 
in a war reserve stockpile for that country. 
22 USC 2753 
note. 
Deadline. 
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122 STAT. 4845 
PUBLIC LAW 110–429—OCT. 15, 2008 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY—H.R. 7177: 
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 154 (2008): 
Sept. 27, considered and passed House. 
Oct. 1, considered and passed Senate. 
(6) Enhanced support for defense cooperation with the 
Republic of Korea is important to the national security of 
the United States, including through creation of a status in 
law for the Republic of Korea similar to the countries in the 
North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Japan, Australia, and New 
Zealand, with respect to consideration by Congress of foreign 
military sales to the Republic of Korea. 
(b) SPECIAL FOREIGN MILITARY SALES STATUS FOR REPUBLIC 
OF KOREA.—The Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2751 et seq.) 
is amended— 
(1) in sections 3(d)(2)(B), 3(d)(3)(A)(i), 3(d)(5), 21(e)(2)(A), 
36(b), 36(c), 36(d)(2)(A), 62(c)(1), and 63(a)(2), by inserting ‘‘the 
Republic of Korea,’’ before ‘‘or New Zealand’’ each place it 
appears; 
(2) in section 3(b)(2), by inserting ‘‘the Government of the 
Republic of Korea,’’ before ‘‘or the Government of New Zealand’’; 
(3) in section 21(h)(1)(A), by inserting ‘‘the Republic of 
Korea,’’ before ‘‘or Israel’’; and 
(4) in section 21(h)(2), by striking ‘‘or to any member 
government of that Organization if that Organization or 
member government’’ and inserting ‘‘, to any member govern-
ment of that Organization, or to the Governments of the 
Republic of Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, or Israel 
if that Organization, member government, or the Governments 
of the Republic of Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, or 
Israel’’. 
Approved October 15, 2008. 
22 USC 2753, 
2761, 2776, 
2796a, 2796b. 
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