Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that amends US policy in the Middle East.

Highlights:

• Requires the United States to provide assistance to the government of Israel in order to support funding for cooperative programs to develop, produce, and procure missiles, rockets, projectiles, and other defense capabilities to help Israel meet its security needs (Title 1, Subtitle A, Sec. 112).

• Amends the Emergency Wartime Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2003, by extending the dates to September 30, 2023 (Title I, Subtitle A, Sec. 115).

• Authorizes the President to transfer such quantities of precision guided munitions from reserve stocks to Israel as necessary for legitimate self-defense and otherwise consistent with the purposes and conditions for such transfers under the Arms Export Control Act (Title I, Subtitle A, Sec. 116).

• Requires the President to certify in an unclassified notification for the appropriate congressional committees that the transfer of the precision guided munitions, that (Title I, Subtitles A, Sec. 116):

• Doesn’t affect the ability of the United States to maintain a sufficient supply of precision guided munitions;

• Doesn’t harm the combat readiness of the United States or the ability of the United States to meet its commitment to allies for the transfer of such munitions;

• Is necessary for Israel to counter the threat of rockets in a timely fashion; and

• Is in the national security interest of the United States.

• Specifies that it should be the policy of the United States to partner with Israel in order to advance common goals across a wide variety of sectors, including (Title I, Subtitle B, Sec. 122):

• Energy, agriculture and food;

• Security, democracy, human rights and governance;

• Economic growth and trade;

• Education and environment; and

• Global health and water and Sanitation.

• Authorizes the President to enter into a cooperative project agreement with Israel to carry out research on, and development, testing, evaluation, and joint production of, defense articles and defense services, such as the use of directed energy or high powered microwave technology, to detect, track, and destroy unmanned aerial vehicles that threaten the United States or Israel (Title I, Subtitle B, Sec. 123).

• Requires the President to submit to the appropriate congressional committees a detailed report assessing the costs and benefits of the United States Development Finance Corporation establishing a Jordan Enterprise Fund (Title II, Sec. 205).

• Defines “appropriate congressional committee” as  (Title II, Sec. 205):

• The Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate;

• The Committee on Appropriations of the Senate;

• The Committee on Foreign Affairs in the House; or

• The Committee on Appropriations of the House.

• Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to determine within 180 days of the enactment of this act, whether there is reasonable ground for concluding that the Central Bank of Syria is a financial institution of primary money laundering concern (Title III, Subtitle A, Sec. 311).

• Requires the President to impose sanctions on foreign individuals if the President determines that the foreign individual knowingly engages in any of the following activities (Title III, Subtitle A, Sec. 312):

• Knowingly provides significant financial, material, or technological support to, or knowingly engages in a significant transaction with the Government of Syria;

• Knowingly provides significant financial, material, or technological support to, or knowingly engages in a significant transaction with a foreign person that is a military contractor, mercenary, or a paramilitary force knowingly operating in a military capacity inside Syria for or on behalf of the Government of Syria, the Government of the Russian Federation, or the Government of Iran;

• Knowingly provides significant financial, material, or technological support to, or knowingly engages in a significant transaction with foreign person subject to sanctions pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act;

• Knowingly sells or provides significant goods, services, technology, information, or other support that significantly facilitates the maintenance or expansion of the Government of Syria’s domestic production of natural gas, petroleum, or petroleum products;

• Knowingly sells or provides aircraft or spare aircraft parts that are used for military purposes in Syria for or on behalf of the Government of Syria to any foreign person operating in the aria directly or indirectly controlled by the Government of Syria or its allies;

• Knowingly provides significant goods or services associated with the operation of aircraft services associated with the operation of aircraft that are used for military purposes in Syria for or on behalf of the Government of Syria to any foreign person;

• Knowingly, directly or indirectly, provides significant construction or engineering services to the Government of Syria.

• Requires the President to exercise all of the powers granted to the President under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to the extent necessary to block and prohibit all transactions in property and interests in property of the foreign person if such property and interests in property are in the United States (Title III, Subtitle A, Sec. 312).

• Specifies that a foreign individual that the the Secretary of State or the Secretary of Homeland Security knows, or has reason to believe, has knowingly engaged in any activity previously described in this subtitle, is (Title III, Subtitle A, Sec. 312);

• Inadmissible to the the United States;

• Ineligible to receive a visa or other documentation to enter the United States; and

• Otherwise ineligible to be admitted or paroled into the United States or to receive any other benefit under the Immigration and Nationality Act.

• Authorizes a State or local government to adopt and enforce measures that meet the requirements to divest the assets of the State or local government from, prohibit investment of the assets of the State or local government in, or restrict contracting by the State or local government for goods and services with (Title IV, Sec. 402):

• An entity that the state or local government determines, using credible information available to the public;

• A successor entity or subunit of an entity described in the former point; or

• An entity that owns or controls or is owned by an entity.

• Specifies that activities in this title refer to a commerce-related or investment-related boycott, divestment, or sanctions activity (BDS) in the course of interstate or international commerce that is intended to penalize, inflict economic harm on, or otherwise limit commercial relations with Israel or individuals doing business with Israel (Title IV, Sec. 402).

Full Bill Text

Full Bill Text