,i  #aaeth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #biad  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,june #ae1 #bjag,mr4 
,schneider 7for himself and ,mr4        
,donovan7 introduced the following bill2
 which was referred to the ,committee on
 ,armed ,services1 and in addition to   
the ,committee on ,foreign ,affairs1 for
 a period to be subsequently determined 
by the ,speaker1 in each case for       
consideration of such provisions as fall
 within the jurisdiction of the         
committee concerned  ,a ,,bill  ,to     
authorize assistance for anti-tunnel    
defense capabilities for ,israel4  #a4  
,short title ,this ,act may be cited as 
the ,united ,states-,israel             
,anti-,tunnel ,defense ,cooperation     
,act4  #b4 ,findings ,congress finds the
 following3  7#a7 ,hamas1 ,hizballah1   
and the ,palestinian ,islamic ,jihad are
 ,united ,states-designated foreign     
terrorist organizations4  7#b7          
,designated ,palestinian terrorist      
organizations have killed hundreds of   

,israelis and dozens of ,americans in   
rocket attacks and suicide bombings4    
7#c7 ,hamas has used underground tunnels
 to ,israel and ,egypt to smuggle       
weapons1 money1 and supplies into ,gaza 
and to send members of ,hamas out of    
,gaza for training and to bring trainers
 into ,gaza to teach ,hamas how to      
manufacture rockets and improve         
construction of tunnels4  7#d7 ,tunnels 
in ,gaza have also been used as         
underground rocket launching sites1     
weapons caches1 bunkers1 transportation 
networks1 and command and control       
centers4  7#e7 ,in #bjjf1 ,hamas        
kidnapped ,israeli soldier ,gilad       
,shalit through a tunnel and held him   
for five years4  7#f7 ,the ,israel      
,defense ,forces discovered and         
destroyed #cb tunnels during the        
conflict with ,hamas in the summer of   
#bjad1 #ad of which crossed into        
,israel4  7#g7 ,since #bjad1 ,hamas has 
spent considerable resources to rebuild 
its tunnel network4  7#h7 ,hamas        

intentionally uses civilians as human   
shields by placing its underground      
tunnel network in densely populated     
areas and schools1 hospitals1 and       
mosques4  7#i7 ,hizballah has used      
underground tunnels in southern ,lebanon
 to move ,hizballah fighters and to     
launch attacks4  7#aj7 ,the ,palestinian
 ,islamic ,jihad has also dug tunnels   
from ,gaza that penetrate ,israel4      
7#aa7 ,israel has a right to defend     
itself from the violence of ,palestinian
 terrorist groups1 including the        
violence that is facilitated through    
terrorist tunnel networks4  7#ab7 ,the  
,united ,states is working cooperatively
 with the ,government of ,israel to     
develop technologies to detect and      
destroy tunnels penetrating the         
territory of ,israel4  7#ac7 ,this joint
 ,united ,states-,israel cooperation    
will not only benefit ,israel1 but will 
also help the ,united ,states and allies
 across the globe that face similar     
challenges from subterranean tunnels4   

#c4 ,authorization of assistance for    
anti-tunnel defense capabilities for    
,israel  7a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary
 of ,defense1 upon request of the       
,ministry of ,defense of ,israel and in 
consultation with the ,secretary of     
,state and the ,director of ,national   
,intelligence1 is authorized to carry   
out research1 development1 test1 and    
evaluation1 on a joint basis with       
,israel1 to establish anti-tunnel       
capabilities to detect1 map1 and        
neutralize underground tunnels that     
threaten the ,united ,states or ,israel4
  7b7 ,authorization of appropriations  
,there is authorized to be appropriated 
to the ,president to carry out this     
section #dg1ejj1jjj for fiscal year     
#bjah4