[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8707 Introduced in House (IH)]
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116th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8707
To require certifications for transfers of certain United States
defense articles and defense services, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
October 30, 2020
Mr. Engel (for himself, Mr. Deutch, Ms. Spanberger, Mr. Malinowski, Mr.
Gottheimer, Mr. Schneider, Ms. Wasserman Schultz, Mrs. Murphy of
Florida, Mr. Trone, Mr. Sherman, and Mr. Connolly) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require certifications for transfers of certain United States
defense articles and defense services, and for other purposes.
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 ``Middle East Advanced Military
Technology Protection Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) In June 2017, the Assistant Secretary of State for
Political-Military Affairs testified to Congress, ``Arms
transfers are foreign policy. When we transfer a system or a
capability to a foreign partner, we are affecting regional--or
foreign internal--balances of power; we are sending a signal of
support; and we are establishing or sustaining relationships
that may last for generations and provide benefits for an
extended period of time.''.
(2) For more than 50 years, the United States has worked to
ensure Israel's qualitative military edge when considering the
sale or export of defense articles and defense services to
Israel or to others in the Middle East region.
(3) Maintaining a substantial qualitative military edge is
critical to preserving Israel's safety and security and has
been a vital consideration in all previous sales of weapons to
the region.
(4) Congress codified United States support for Israel's
qualitative military edge as United States policy in 2008 in
section 201 of Public Law 110-429 (22 U.S.C. 2776 note), which
requires that any proposed U.S. arms sale to ``any country in
the Middle East other than Israel'' must include a notification
to Congress with a ``determination that the sale or export of
such would not adversely affect Israel's qualitative military
edge over military threats to Israel''.
(5) In 2016, the United States and Israel signed a 10-year
Memorandum of Understanding, in which the United States
committed that ``the acquisition of additional U.S.-produced
capabilities and technology provide the best means to ensure
Israel preserves its Qualitative Military Edge (QME)''.
(6) In 2015, Vice President Joe Biden announced United
States intention to transfer the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter to
Israel: ``What you may not know is that next year, we will
deliver to Israel the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter--our finest--
making Israel the only country in the Middle East with a fifth-
generation aircraft. No other.''.
(7) In 2016, Israel received its first shipment of F-35
Joint Strike Fighter aircraft and on the occasion, the Israeli
Defense Forces stated, ``As the Middle East grows more and more
unstable, and as groups that threaten to destroy us race to
stockpile weapons, we need to stay a step ahead of the game.
The F-35 gives us the edge we need to take on groups and armies
with even the most advanced technology.''.
SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY.
It shall be the policy of the United States that a proposed sale or
export of defense articles or defense services must be determined not
to adversely affect Israel's 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
possessed in sufficient quantity, including weapons, command, control,
communication, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance
capabilities that in their technical characteristics are superior in
capability to those of such other individual state or possible
coalition states or non-state actors, consistent with section 36(h) of
the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2776(h)).
SEC. 4. CERTIFICATION ON CRITERIA FOR TRANSFER OF COVERED DEFENSE
ARTICLES AND DEFENSE SERVICES.
(a) In General.--Subject to subsections (c) and (d), and
notwithstanding any other provision of law, the President may not
transfer covered defense articles or defense services to any country in
the Middle East other than Israel until at least 60 days after the date
on which the President transmits to the appropriate congressional
committees a certification described in subsection (b) with respect to
the proposed transfer.
(b) Certification Described.--A certification described in this
subsection is a certification in writing of the following:
(1) The recipient country has signed an agreement of peace
or normalization with Israel.
(2) The transfer of the covered defense articles or defense
services includes a determination pursuant to section 36(h) of
the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2776(h)).
(3) The transfer of the covered defense articles or defense
services does not present a significant danger of compromising
the critical military and technological military advantage such
articles or services provide to the United States Armed Forces.
(4) The transfer of the covered defense articles or defense
services will not negatively affect Israel's qualitative
military edge.
(5) The covered defense articles have been modified to
ensure that Israel is able to identify, locate, and continually
track such articles while in flight at a distance that is
satisfactory to Israel, and that the recipient country will not
alter such modifications.
(6) The recipient country has provided specific, reliable,
and verifiable assurances to the United States that it will
protect the covered defense articles and defense services from
theft or diversion of sensitive defense technology to any other
country or non-state actor.
(7) The recipient country has provided specific, reliable,
and verifiable assurances to the United States that it will not
use the covered defense articles or defense services to commit,
or enable the commission of, a violation of international
humanitarian law or internationally recognized human rights.
(8) The recipient country has provided specific, reliable,
and verifiable assurances to the United States that it will not
make transfers of the covered defense articles or defense
services to another country or non-state actor without specific
authorization from the United States.
(9) Except as provided in subsection (e), the recipient
country has provided specific, reliable, and verifiable
assurances to the United States that it will employ the covered
defense articles and defense services when armed only after
consultation with the United States relating to the mission,
flight plan, and purpose of use of the articles and services.
(10) The President has established procedures to
continually monitor and verify the compliance of the recipient
country with the requirements described in paragraphs (1)
through (8).
(c) Emergency Circumstances.--If the President determines that an
emergency exists which requires the proposed transfer of covered
defense articles or defense services to any country in the Middle East
other than Israel, the President shall provide the certification
described in subsection (a) with respect to the proposed transfer not
later than 10 days before the proposed transfer.
(d) Failure To Provide Certification.--If the President is unable
to make the certification described in subsection (a) with respect to a
proposed transfer of covered defense articles or defense services to
any country in the Middle East other than Israel, the President may not
transfer the articles or services to such country.
(e) Exception.--The requirements of subsection (b)(9) shall not
apply with respect to the use of the covered defense articles and
defense services in the airspace of the recipient country.
SEC. 5. ANNUAL CERTIFICATION.
(a) In General.--Not later than February 1 of each calendar year
following a calendar year in which covered defense articles or defense
services have been transferred to any country in the Middle East other
than Israel, the President shall provide a certification to the
appropriate congressional committees that the country continues to
comply with the requirements described in paragraphs (1) through (8) of
section 4(b).
(b) Failure To Provide Certification.--If the President is unable
to make the certification described in subsection (a) with respect to a
calendar year, the President may not provide logistic support,
maintenance, or supply replacement parts to the recipient country for
the remainder of such calendar year.
SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(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) Covered defense articles and defense services.--The
term ``covered defense articles and defense services'' means--
(A) the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter aircraft and
associated services;
(B) any electronic warfare aircraft and associated
services; and
(C) any armed unmanned aerial systems and
associated services.
(3) Qualitative military edge.--The term ``qualitative
military edge'' has the meaning given that term in section
36(h)(3) of the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2776(h)(3)).
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