S.Amdt. 1628

SA 1628. Ms. AYOTTE (for herself, Mr. Peters, Mr. Graham, and Mr.
Rubio) submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to amendment SA
1463 proposed by Mr. McCain to the bill H.R. 1735, to authorize
appropriations for fiscal year 2016 for military activities of the
Department of Defense and for military construction, to prescribe
military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other
purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

Strike section 1272, and insert the following:

SEC. 1272. UNITED STATES-ISRAEL ANTI-TUNNEL COOPERATION.

(a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
(1) Tunnels can be used for criminal purposes, such as
smuggling drugs, weapons, or humans, or for terrorist or
military purposes, such as launching surprise attacks or
detonating explosives underneath civilian or military
infrastructure.
(2) Tunnels have been a growing threat on the southern
border of the United States for years.
(3) In the conflict in Gaza in 2014, terrorists used
tunnels to conduct attacks against Israel.
(b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) it is in the national security interests of the United
States to develop technology to detect and counter tunnels,
and the best way to do this is to partner with other affected
countries;
(2) the Administration should, on a joint basis with
Israel, carry out research, development, test, and evaluation
of anti-tunnel capabilities to detect, map, and neutralize
underground tunnels into and directed at the territory of
Israel; and
(3) the Administration should use developed anti-tunnel
capabilities to better protect the United States and deployed
United States military personnel.
(c) Assistance to Israel To Establish Anti-tunnel
Capabilities.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary of Defense, upon request of
the Ministry of Defense of Israel, is authorized to carry out
research, development, test, and evaluation, on a joint basis
with Israel, to establish anti-tunnel capabilities to detect,
map, and neutralize underground tunnels into and directed at
the territory of Israel. Such authority includes authority to
construct facilities and install equipment necessary to carry
out research, development, test, and evaluation so
authorized.
(2) Certification.--The activities described in paragraphs
(1) and (3) may be carried out after the Secretary of Defense
certifies to Congress the following:
(A) The Secretary has finalized a memorandum of
understanding or other formal agreement between the United
States and Israel regarding sharing of research and
development costs for the capabilities described in paragraph
(1).
(B) The understanding or agreement--
(i) requires sharing of costs of projects, including in-
kind support, between the United States and Israel;
(ii) establishes a framework to negotiate the rights to any
intellectual property developed under the cooperative
research and development projects; and
(iii) requires the United States Government to receive
quarterly reports on expenditure of funds, if any, by the
Government of Israel, including a description of what the
funds have been used for, when funds were expended, and an
identification of entities that expended the funds.
(3) Assistance.--The Secretary of Defense, upon request of
the Government of Israel, is authorized to provide
procurement, maintenance, and sustainment assistance to
Israel in support of the anti-tunnel capabilities research,
development, test, and evaluation activities authorized in
paragraph (1).
(d) Reports.--
(1) Initial report.--The Secretary of Defense shall submit
to the appropriate committees of Congress a report that
contains a copy of the memorandum of understanding and other
documents between the United States and Israel as described
in subsection (c)(2).
(2) Quarterly reports.--The Secretary shall submit to the
appropriate committees of Congress on a quarterly basis a
report that contains a copy of the most recent quarterly
report provided by the Government of Israel to the Department
of Defense pursuant to subsection (c)(2)(B)(iii).
(e) Appropriate Committees of Congress Defined.--In this
section, the term ``appropriate committees of Congress''
means--
(1) the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on
Foreign Relations, the Committee on Homeland Security, and
the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate; and
(2) the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on
Foreign Affairs, the Committee on Homeland Security, and the
Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives.
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