,i #aafth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,r4 #gadh ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,june #aa1 #bjbj,mr4 ,wilson of ,south ,carolina 7for himself and ,ms4 ,houlahan7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,armed ,services1 and in addition to the ,committees on ,foreign ,affairs1 and ,intelligence 7,permanent ,select71 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 establish a ,united ,states-,israel ,operations-,technology ,working ,group1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,united ,states-,israel ,military ,capability ,act of #bjbj4 #b4 ,findings ,congress makes the following findings3 7#a7 ,the ,united ,states confronts an intense military technology competition with the ,people's ,republic of ,china and the ,russian ,federation that may determine whether the ,united ,states can effectively deter and defeat adversaries in the future4 7#b7 ,on ,july #aa1 #bjai1 ,chairman of the ,joint ,chiefs of ,staff ,general ,mark ,milley said1 ,china is improving their military very1 very rapidly in space1 air1 cyber1 maritime1 land domains1 et cetera44 ,noting the rapid technology development by the ,people's ,republic of ,china1 ,general ,milley warned that the ,united ,states must ensure that we do not lose our advantages that we have relative to other countries1 specifically relative to ,china44 7#c7 ,the ,people's ,republic of ,china and the ,russian ,federation have already developed or fielded some capabilities in areas such as hypersonics and artificial intelligence that are superior to those of the ,united ,states4 7#d7 ,a closer and more systematic early cooperative research and development effort with select allies may help the ,united ,states more quickly and inexpensively restore and sustain military supremacy in critical military capabilities4 7#e7 ,the innovative and agile defense technology sector of ,israel and the status of ,israel as one of the closest and most reliable allies of the ,united ,states make ,israel an ideal candidate for a more systematic and institutionalized partnership with the ,united ,states focused on early cooperative research and development4 7#f7 ,the defense innovation sector of ,israel is a global leader in many of the technologies important to ,department of ,defense modernization efforts4 7#g7 ,despite many laudable ongoing defense partnership efforts between the ,united ,states and ,israel1 dangerous ,united ,states military capability gaps continue to emerge that a more systematic and institutionalized ,united ,states-,israel early cooperative research and development program could have prevented4 7#h7 ,such a program would allow the ,united ,states to benefit from the innovation agility and sense of urgency of ,israel1 and ,israel would benefit from the economy of scale of the ,united ,states4 ,such a program could be carefully designed to reduce the time and cost associated with research and development1 assiduously avoiding anything that would slow down or constrain the research and development of either country4 7#i7 ,belatedly acquiring already produced equipment or weapons from ,israel to fill a ,united ,states capability gap is not a substitute for a systematic program that prevents the capability gap from emerging in the first place4 7#aj7 ,on ,march #d1 #bjbj1 ,secretary of ,defense ,mark ,esper said1 ,we have a very good innovative base1 the ,israelis have a very good innovative base4 ,and ,i think the more we can cooperate together as allies and partners to come up with common solutions1 the better44 ,secretary ,esper continued1 so ,i think if there are ways to improve that1 we should pursue it44 #c4 ,sense of ,congress ,it is the sense of ,congress that-- 7#a7 the ,united ,states ,government has a responsibility to undertake all reasonable measures to ensure that members of the ,armed ,forces never confront a more technologically advanced foe2 and 7#b7 building on positive ongoing efforts1 the ,united ,states and ,israel should further institutionalize and strengthen their defense innovation partnership by establishing a ,united ,states-,israel ,operations-,technology ,working ,group to identify and expeditiously field capabilities that the military forces of both countries need to deter and defeat respective adversaries4 #d4 ,united ,states-,israel ,operations-,technology ,working ,group 7a7 ,in general ,not later than #fj days after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary of ,defense1 with the concurrence of the ,minister of ,defense of ,israel and in consultation with the ,secretary of ,state and the ,director of ,national ,intelligence1 shall establish a ,united ,states-,israel ,operations-,technology ,working ,group 7in this ,act referred to as the ,working ,group7 for the following purposes3 7#a7 ,to provide a standing forum for the ,united ,states and ,israel to systematically share intelligence-informed military capability requirements4 7#b7 ,to identify military capability requirements common to both the ,department of ,defense and the ,ministry of ,defense of ,israel4 7#c7 ,to assist defense suppliers in the ,united ,states and ,israel with efforts to expeditiously gain government approval to conduct joint science1 technology1 research1 development1 test1 evaluation1 and production efforts4 7#d7 ,to develop1 as feasible and advisable1 combined ,united ,states-,israel plans to research1 develop1 procure1 and field weapons systems and military capabilities as quickly and economically as possible to meet common capability requirements of the ,department of ,defense and the ,ministry of ,defense of ,israel4 7b7 ,working ,group leadership 7#a7 ,united ,states leadership ,with respect to the ,united ,states1 the ,working ,group shall be headed by the ,under ,secretary of ,defense for ,research and ,engineering and the ,director of the ,joint ,staff1 with the active support of the ,director of the ,bureau of ,political ,military ,affairs of the ,department of ,state and the ,director of ,national ,intelligence4 7#b7 ,israel leadership ,the ,secretary of ,defense shall invite the ,government of ,israel to designate the head of the appropriate office or offices to head the ,working ,group with respect to ,israel4 7c7 ,working ,group membership 7#a7 ,united ,states membership ,the ,secretary of ,defense1 the ,secretary of ,state1 and the ,director of ,national ,intelligence shall each designate one or more individuals to serve as members of the ,working ,group4 7,a7 ,mandatory ,united ,states members ,the membership of the ,working ,group shall consist of1 at a minimum1 representatives from-- 7i7 the ,office of the ,secretary of ,defense2 7ii7 the ,joint ,staff2 7iii7 each of the military departments 7including1 as appropriate1 subordinate entities such as ,army ,futures ,command and research laboratories72 7iv7 the defense agencies 7including the ,defense ,advanced ,research ,projects ,agency1 the ,defense ,intelligence ,agency1 and the ,defense ,security ,cooperation ,agency72 7v7 ,united ,states ,central ,command2 7vi7 ,united ,states ,european ,command2 7vii7 ,united ,states ,indo-,pacific ,command2 7viii7 the ,department of ,state2 and 7ix7 the intelligence community4 7,b7 ,rule of construction ,nothing in this paragraph shall be construed as limiting the ability of the ,secretary of ,defense1 the ,secretary of ,state1 or the ,director of ,national ,intelligence to add members to the ,working ,group as considered appropriate4 7#b7 ,israel membership ,the ,secretary of ,defense1 the ,secretary of ,state1 and the ,director of ,national ,intelligence shall invite their counterparts in the ,government of ,israel to designate individuals from the ,government of ,israel to serve as members of the ,working ,group4 7#c7 ,representation of defense industry 7,a7 ,in general ,the ,working ,group may incorporate recommendations from the defense industries of the ,united ,states and ,israel with respect to combined science and technology efforts and combined research1 development1 test1 and evaluation efforts4 7,b7 ,inclusion in ,working ,group ,the membership of the ,working ,group may include1 as appropriate1 members of the defense industries of the ,united ,states and ,israel4 7d7 ,existing efforts 7#a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary of ,defense1 the ,secretary of ,state1 and the ,director of ,national ,intelligence shall jointly determine the most efficient and effective means to integrate the ,working ,group into existing ,united ,states science and technology efforts and research1 development1 test1 and evaluation efforts with ,israel4 7#b7 ,rule of construction ,nothing in this ,act shall be construed as requiring the termination of any existing ,united ,states defense activity1 group1 program1 or partnership with ,israel4 7e7 ,memorandum of understanding 7#a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary of ,defense shall1 with the concurrence of the ,minister of ,defense of ,israel1 establish a memorandum of understanding between the ,united ,states and ,israel establishing the ,united ,states-,israel ,operations ,technology ,working ,group4 7#b7 ,matters to be included ,the memorandum of understanding under paragraph 7#a7 shall set forth-- 7,a7 the purposes of the ,working ,group1 consistent with subsection 7a72 7,b7 the membership of the ,working ,group1 consistent with subsection 7c72 and 7,c7 any other matter considered appropriate4 7f7 ,reports 7#a7 ,initial report 7,a7 ,in general ,not later than #ij days after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary of ,defense1 in coordination with the ,secretary of ,state and the ,director of ,national ,intelligence1 shall submit to the appropriate committees of ,congress an initial report on the ,working ,group4 7,b7 ,elements ,the report required by subparagraph 7,a7 shall include the following3 7i7 ,the finalized memorandum of understanding under subsection 7e74 7ii7 ,the name of each individual of the ,government of the ,united ,states and of the ,government of ,israel designated to lead the ,working ,group4 7iii7 ,the name of each member of the ,working ,group designated under paragraph 7#a7 or 7#b7 of subsection 7c74 7iv7 ,a description of the manner in which the ,working ,group is anticipated to complement and augment existing science and technology efforts and research1 development1 test1 and evaluation efforts with ,israel4 7v7 ,a schedule for ,working ,group meetings4 7vi7 ,a description of key metrics and milestones for the ,working ,group4 7vii7 ,a description of any authority or authorization of appropriations required for the ,working ,group to carry out the purposes described in subsection 7a74 7,c7 ,form ,the report required by subparagraph 7,a7 shall be submitted in unclassified form1 but may include a classified annex4 7#b7 ,annual report 7,a7 ,in general ,not later than ,march #ae of each year following the submittal of the report required by paragraph 7#a71 the ,secretary of ,defense1 in coordination with the ,secretary of ,state and the ,director of ,national ,intelligence1 shall submit to the appropriate committees of ,congress a report on the activities of the ,working ,group during the preceding calendar year4 7,b7 ,elements ,the report required by subparagraph 7,a7 shall include the following3 7i7 ,a summary of the performance of the ,working ,group relative to-- 7,i7 with respect to the first annual report under this paragraph1 the metrics and milestones described in the initial report in accordance with in paragraph 7#a77;,b77vi72 or 7,,ii7 with respect to each subsequent annual report under this paragraph1 the metrics and milestones described in the preceding annual report under clause 7viii74 7ii7 ,a description of military capabilities needed by both the ,united ,states and ,israel4 7iii7 ,a description of any ,united ,states1 or any ,united ,states-,israel1 science and technology efforts1 or research1 development1 test1 and evaluation efforts1 associated with the military capabilities described under clause 7ii7 carried out during the reporting period4 7iv7 ,a description of any obstacle or challenge associated with an effort described in clause 7iii7 and the plan of the ,working ,group to address such obstacle or challenge4 7v7 ,a description of any request to the ,working ,group made by a ,united ,states or ,israel defense supplier for combined science and technology efforts or combined research1 development1 test1 and evaluation efforts1 including-- 7,i7 the date on which the request was received2 7,,ii7 the efforts made by the ,working ,group to expeditiously address the request2 and 7,,iii7 the status of any decision associated with the request4 7vi7 ,a description of the efforts of the ,working ,group to prevent the ,people's ,republic of ,china or the ,russian ,federation from obtaining intellectual property or military technology associated with combined ,united ,states and ,israel science and technology efforts and research1 development1 test1 and evaluation efforts4 7vii7 ,a description of any science and technology effort1 or research1 development1 test1 or evaluation effort1 facilitated by the ,working ,group1 including efforts that result in a ,united ,states or ,israel program of record4 7viii7 ,a description of metrics and milestones for the ,working ,group for the following calendar year4 7,c7 ,form ,the report required by subparagraph 7,a7 shall be submitted in unclassified form and shall include a classified annex in which the elements required under clauses 7ii7 and 7vi7 of subparagraph 7,b7 shall be addressed4 7#c7 ,appropriate committees of ,congress defined ,in this subsection1 the term appropriate committees of ,congress means-- 7,a7 the ,committee on ,armed ,services1 the ,committee on ,foreign ,relations1 and the ,select ,committee on ,intelligence of the ,senate2 and 7,b7 the ,committee on ,armed ,services1 the ,committee on ,foreign ,affairs1 and the ,permanent ,select ,committee on ,intelligence of the ,house of ,representatives4