[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5648 Introduced in House (IH)]
113th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 5648
To improve defense cooperation between the United States and the
Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 18, 2014
Ms. Ros-Lehtinen introduced the following bill; which was referred to
the Committee on Foreign Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To improve defense cooperation between the United States and the
Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.
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-Jordan Defense
Cooperation Act of 2014''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) From the $2,400,000,000 in total United States
multilateral funding for the Syrian humanitarian crisis, the
United States Government has provided $268,000,000 to the
Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.
(2) As of August 2014, the United Nations High Commissioner
for Refugees estimates there are more than 600,000 registered
Syrian refugees in Jordan.
(3) Jordan estimates that more than 800,000 unregistered
refugees are in Jordan living outside of refugee camps,
assimilated into local communities, which would bring the total
to approximately 1,400,000 Syrian refugees in Jordan.
(4) In February 2014, President Obama announced that the
United States and Jordan will renew the non-binding memorandum
of understanding that was signed in 2008 to provide assistance
to Jordan over a 5-year period that reinforces the commitment
to broaden cooperation and dialogue between the two countries
in a variety of areas.
(5) In 2000, the United States and Jordan signed a free-
trade agreement that went into force in 2001.
(6) In 1996, the United States granted Jordan major non-
NATO ally status.
(7) Jordan is suffering from the Syrian refugee crisis and
the threat of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
(8) The Government of Jordan was elected as a non-permanent
member of the United Nations Security Council beginning in
January 2014 and terminating in December 2015.
(9) Enhanced support for defense cooperation with Jordan is
important to the national security of the United States,
including through creation of a status in law for Jordan
similar to the countries in the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization, Japan, Australia, the Republic of Korea, Israel,
and New Zealand, with respect to consideration by Congress of
foreign military sales to Jordan.
SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY.
It should be the policy of the United States to support the
Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in its response to the Syrian refugee
crisis, provide necessary assistance to alleviate the domestic burden
to provide basic needs for the assimilated Syrian refugees, cooperate
with Jordan to combat the terrorist threat from the Islamic State of
Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) or other terrorist organizations, and help
secure the border between Jordan and its neighbors Syria and Iraq.
SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that expeditious consideration of
certifications of letters of offer to sell defense articles, defense
services, design and construction services, and major defense equipment
to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan under section 36(b) of the Arms
Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2776(b)) is fully consistent with United
States security and foreign policy interests and the objectives of
world peace and security.
SEC. 5. AMENDMENTS TO ARMS EXPORT CONTROL ACT.
The Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2751 et seq.) is amended--
(1) in section 3 (22 U.S.C. 2753)--
(A) in subsection (b)(2), by inserting ``the
Government of Jordan,'' before ``or the Government of
New Zealand''; and
(B) in subsection (d)--
(i) in paragraph (2)(B), by inserting ``
Jordan,'' before ``or New Zealand'';
(ii) in paragraph (3)(A)(i), by inserting
`` Jordan,'' before ``or New Zealand''; and
(iii) in paragraph (5), by inserting ``
Jordan,'' before ``or New Zealand'';
(2) in section 21 (22 U.S.C. 2761)--
(A) in subsection (e)(2)(A), by inserting ``
Jordan,'' before ``or New Zealand''; and
(B) in subsection (h)--
(i) in paragraph (1)(A), by inserting ``
Jordan,'' before ``or Israel''; and
(ii) in paragraph (2), by inserting ``
Jordan,'' before ``or Israel'' both places it
appears;
(3) in section 36 (22 U.S.C. 2776)--
(A) in subsection (b)--
(i) in paragraph (1), by inserting ``
Jordan,'' before `` or New Zealand'';
(ii) in paragraph (2), by inserting ``
Jordan,'' before ``or New Zealand''; and
(iii) in paragraph (6), by inserting ``
Jordan,'' before ``or New Zealand'';
(B) in subsection (c), by inserting `` Jordan,''
before ``or New Zealand'' both places it appears; and
(C) in subsection (d)(2)(A), by inserting ``
Jordan,'' before ``or New Zealand'';
(4) in section 62(c)(1) (22 U.S.C. 2796a(c)(1)), by
inserting `` Jordan,'' before ``or New Zealand''; and
(5) in section 63(a)(2) (22 U.S.C. 2796b(a)(2)), by
inserting `` Jordan,'' before ``or New Zealand''.
SEC. 6. AMENDMENT TO FOREIGN ASSISTANCE ACT OF 1961.
Section 656(a)(2) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C.
2416(a)(2)) by inserting ``Jordan,'' before ``or New Zealand''.
SEC. 7. MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of State is authorized, subject to
the availability of appropriations, to enter into a Memorandum of
Understanding with Jordan to increase military cooperation, including
joint military exercises, personnel exchanges, support for
international peacekeeping missions, and enhanced strategic dialogue.
(b) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated to carry out subsection (a) not less than $1,000,000,000
for each of the fiscal years 2015 through 2019.
SEC. 8. FOREIGN MILITARY FINANCING PROGRAM.
Amounts made available under the Foreign Military Financing (FMF)
program estimated to be outlayed for Jordan during each of the fiscal
years 2015 through 2019 shall be disbursed to an interest-bearing
account for Jordan in the Federal Reserve Bank of New York not later
than 30 days of the date of the enactment of this Act provided that--
(1) withdrawal of funds from such account shall be made
only on authenticated instructions from the Defense Finance and
Accounting Service of the Department of Defense;
(2) in the event such account is closed, the balance of the
account shall be transferred promptly to the appropriations
account for the Foreign Military Financing Program; and
(3) none of the interest accrued by such account should be
obligated unless the Committee on Appropriations and the
Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives
and the Committee on Appropriations and the Committee on
Foreign Relations of the Senate are notified.
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