[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1385 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1385

 To require the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary 
    of Defense, to develop a strategy to increase membership in the 
 Comprehensive Security Integration and Prosperity Agreement, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 14, 2025

 Mrs. Miller of West Virginia (for herself and Mr. Panetta) introduced 
  the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 
                                Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To require the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary 
    of Defense, to develop a strategy to increase membership in the 
 Comprehensive Security Integration and Prosperity Agreement, 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 ``Strengthening Cooperation and 
Security in the Middle East Act''.

SEC. 2. REPORT AND STRATEGY ON INCREASING MEMBERSHIP IN THE 
              COMPREHENSIVE SECURITY INTEGRATION AND PROSPERITY 
              AGREEMENT.

    (a) Report.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in 
        consultation with the Secretary of Defense, shall develop and 
        submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report 
        that includes a strategy to increase membership in the 
        Comprehensive Security Integration and Prosperity Agreement 
        (CSIPA), done at Washington, DC on September 9-13, 2023.
            (2) Elements.--The report required by paragraph (1) shall 
        also include--
                    (A) an analysis of--
                            (i) the comprehensive strategic benefits of 
                        CSIPA, including improving joint military 
                        readiness in the Middle East, enhancing shared 
                        economic interests, collaborating on advanced 
                        technological and scientific pursuits, and 
                        building stronger regional alliances to improve 
                        stability and counter mutual threats;
                            (ii) the role of CSIPA in supporting rapid 
                        and effective responses following the Houthi 
                        attacks on merchant vessels the Red Sea that 
                        occurred since October 7, 2023;
                            (iii) how the CSIPA framework can leverage 
                        the United States Navy's Fifth Fleet 
                        headquartered in Bahrain for projecting 
                        strength in the region and supporting immediate 
                        responses to imminent threats posed by the 
                        Islamic Republic of Iran or other adversaries 
                        of the United States;
                            (iv) the long-term benefits of widened 
                        membership in CSIPA;
                            (v) how the framework of CSIPA can be 
                        altered to foster broader regional security 
                        integration, bolster mutual deterrence against 
                        external threats, and expand cooperation in the 
                        fields of commerce, science, and technology;
                            (vi) requirements for resources and 
                        capabilities that can be provided to expand 
                        CSIPA membership; and
                            (vii) domestic and regional factors or 
                        barriers among allied countries of the United 
                        States and Bahrain that may be limiting the 
                        expansion of CSIPA; and
                    (B) recommendations for areas of further 
                collaboration between the United States and other CSIPA 
                members.
    (b) Strategy.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the 
        submission of the report required by subsection (a), the 
        Secretary of State shall develop and submit to the appropriate 
        congressional committees a strategy on how to best engage 
        allied countries in the Middle East and outside of the Middle 
        East to join CSIPA and affirmative steps the Administration can 
        take to increase membership in that agreement.
            (2) Briefing required.--Not later than 60 days after the 
        date on which the Secretary develops the strategy required by 
        this subsection, the Secretary shall submit to the appropriate 
        congressional committees a briefing on a plan for implementing 
        the strategy.
    (c) Form.--The report required by subsection (a) and the strategy 
required by subsection (b) shall be submitted in unclassified form, but 
may contain a classified annex.
    (d) Appropriate Congressional Committees Defined.--In this section, 
the term ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
            (1) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on 
        Armed Services of the House of Representatives; and
            (2) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on 
        Armed Services of the Senate.
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