,,ii  #aafth ,,congress  #b;d ,session  
,s4 #dhch  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,october #ba   
7legislative day1 ,october #ai71        
#bjbj,mr4 ,moran 7for himself1 ,mr4     
,menendez1 ,ms4 ,ernst1 and ,mr4        
,cardin7 introduced the following bill2 
which was read twice and referred to the
 ,committee on ,foreign ,relations  ,a  
,,bill  ,to direct the ,secretary of    
,defense to carry out a grant program to
 increase cooperation on post-traumatic 
stress disorder research between the    
,united ,states and ,israel4  #a4 ,short
 title ,this ,act may be cited as the   
,united ,states-,israel ,,ptsd          
,collaborative ,research ,act4  #b4     
,findings ,congress makes the following 
findings3 7#a7 ,the ,department of      
,veterans ,affairs reports that between 
#aa and #bj percent of veterans who     
served in ,operation ,iraqi ,freedom and
 ,operation ,enduring ,freedom have     
post-traumatic stress disorder 7,,ptsd7 
in a given year4 ,in addition1 that     

figure amounts to about #ab percent of  
,gulf ,war veterans and up to #cj       
percent of ,vietnam veterans4  7#b7 ,the
 ,department of ,veterans ,affairs      
reports that among women veterans of the
 conflicts in ,iraq and ,afghanistan1   
almost #bj percent have been diagnosed  
with ,,ptsd4  7#c7 ,in the ,united      
,states1 it is thought that #gj percent 
of ,americans have experienced at least 
one traumatic event in their lifetime1  
and approximately #bj percent of those  
persons have struggled or continue to   
struggle with symptoms of ,,ptsd4  7#d7 
,studies show that ,,ptsd has links to  
homelessness and substance abuse in the 
,united ,states4 ,the ,department of    
,veterans ,affairs estimates that       
approximately #aa percent of the        
homeless population are veterans and the
 ,substance ,abuse and ,mental ,health  
,services ,administration estimates that
 about #g percent of veterans have a    
substance abuse disorder4  7#e7 ,our    
ally ,israel1 under constant attack from

 terrorist groups1 experiences similar  
issues with ,israeli veterans facing    
,,ptsd symptoms4 ,tel ,aviv             
,university's ,national ,center for     
,traumatic ,stress and ,resilience found
 that #e to #h percent of combat        
soldiers experience some form of ,,ptsd1
 and during wartime1 that figure rises  
to #ae to #bj percent4  7#f7 ,current   
treatment options in the ,united ,states
 focus on cognitive therapy1 exposure   
therapy1 or eye movement desensitization
 and reprocessing1 but the ,united      
,states must continue to look for more  
effective treatments4 ,several leading  
,israeli hospitals1 academic            
institutions1 and nonprofits dedicate   
research and services to treating       
,,ptsd4  #c4 ,grant program for         
increased cooperation on post-traumatic 
stress disorder research between ,united
 ,states and ,israel  7a7 ,sense of     
,congress ,it is the sense of ,congress 
that the ,secretary of ,defense1 acting 
through the ,psychological ,health and  

,traumatic ,brain ,injury ,research     
,program1 should seek to explore        
scientific collaboration between        
,american academic institutions and     
nonprofit research entities1 and        
,israeli institutions with expertise in 
researching1 diagnosing1 and treating   
post-traumatic stress disorder4  7b7    
,grant program ,the ,secretary of       
,defense1 in coordination with the      
,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs and the
 ,secretary of ,state1 shall award      
grants to eligible entities to carry out
 collaborative research between the     
,united ,states and ,israel with respect
 to post-traumatic stress disorders4    
,the ,secretary of ,defense shall carry 
out the grant program under this section
 in accordance with the agreement titled
 ,agreement ,between the ,government of 
the ,united ,states of ,america and the 
,government of ,israel on the ,united   
,states-,israel ,binational ,science    
,foundation1 dated ,september #bg1      
#aigb4  7c7 ,eligible entities ,to be   

eligible to receive a grant under this  
section1 an entity shall be an academic 
institution or a nonprofit entity       
located in the ,united ,states4  7d7    
,award ,the ,secretary shall award      
grants under this section to eligible   
entities that-- 7#a7 carry out a        
research project that-- 7,a7 addresses a
 requirement in the area of             
post-traumatic stress disorders that the
 ,secretary determines appropriate to   
research using such grant2 and  7,b7 is 
conducted by the eligible entity and an 
entity in ,israel under a joint research
 agreement2 and  7#b7 meet such other   
criteria that the ,secretary may        
establish4  7e7 ,application ,to be     
eligible to receive a grant under this  
section1 an eligible entity shall submit
 an application to the ,secretary at    
such time1 in such manner1 and          
containing such commitments and         
information as the ,secretary may       
require4  7f7 ,gift authority ,the      
,secretary may accept1 hold1 and        

administer1 any gift of money made on   
the condition that the gift be used for 
the purpose of the grant program under  
this section4 ,such gifts of money      
accepted under this subsection shall be 
deposited in the ,treasury in the       
,department of ,defense ,general ,gift  
,fund and shall be available1 subject to
 appropriation1 without fiscal year     
limitation4  7g7 ,reports ,not later    
than #ahj days after the date on which  
an eligible entity completes a research 
project using a grant under this        
section1 the ,secretary shall submit to 
,congress a report that contains-- 7#a7 
a description of how the eligible entity
 used the grant2 and  7#b7 an evaluation
 of the level of success of the research
 project4  7h7 ,termination ,the        
authority to award grants under this    
section shall terminate on the date that
 is #g years after the date on which the
 first such grant is awarded4