S. 2725 — Introduced in Senate

II 118th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 2725 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES September 5, 2023Mr. Van Hollen (for himself and Mr. Romney) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations A BILL To authorize the establishment of the US-ASEAN Center to support United States economic and cultural engagement with Southeast Asia. 1. US-ASEAN Center (a) Defined term In this Act, the term ASEAN means the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. (b) Establishment The Secretary of State is authorized to enter into a public-private partnership for the purposes of establishing a US-ASEAN Center in the United States to support United States economic and cultural engagement with Southeast Asia. (c) Functions Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the US-ASEAN Center established pursuant to subsection (b) may— (1) provide grants for research to support and elevate the importance of the US-ASEAN partnership; (2) facilitate activities to strengthen US-ASEAN trade and investment; (3) expand economic and technological relationships between ASEAN countries and the United States into new areas of cooperation; (4) provide training to United States citizens and citizens of ASEAN countries that improve people-to-people ties; (5) develop educational programs to increase awareness for the United States and ASEAN countries on the importance of relations between the United States and ASEAN countries; and (6) carry out other activities the Secretary of State considers necessary to strengthen ties between the United States and ASEAN countries and achieve the objectives of the US-ASEAN Center.