S.Amdt. 490

SA 490. Mr. WARNER (for himself, Mr. Sullivan, and Mr. Cornyn)
submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill H.R.
2810, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2018 for military
activities of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and
for defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe
military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other
purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

At the end of subtitle E of title XII, add the following:

SEC. 1270E. ADVANCEMENTS IN DEFENSE COOPERATION BETWEEN THE
UNITED STATES AND INDIA.

(a) Strategy to Further Cooperation.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall, in
consultation with the Secretary of State, develop a strategy
for advancing defense cooperation between the United States
and India.
(2) Elements.--The strategy shall address the following:
(A) Common security challenges.
(B) The role of United States partners and allies in the
United States-India defense relationship.
(C) The role of the Defense Technology and Trade
Initiative.
(D) How to advance the Communications Interoperability and
Security Memorandum of Agreement and the Basic Exchange and
Cooperation Agreement for Geospatial Cooperation.
(E) The role of joint exercises, operations, patrols and
mutual defense planning.
(F) Any other matters the Secretary of Defense or the
Secretary of State considers appropriate.
(b) India as Major Defense Partner.--
(1) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
(A) Subsection (a)(1)(A) of section 1292 of the National
Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 (Public Law
114-328; 130 Stat. 2559; 22 U.S.C. 2751 note) requires the
recognition of India as a major defense partner.
(B) The President and the Prime Minister of India, in a
joint statement, noted that India is a Major Defense Partner
of the United States.
(C) The designation of ``Major Defense Partner'' is unique
to India, and institutionalizes the progress made to
facilitate defense trade and technology sharing between the
United States and India.
(D) The designation elevates defense trade and technology
cooperation between the United States and India to a level
commensurate with the closest allies and partners of the
United States.
(E) The designation is intended to facilitate technology
sharing between the United States and India, including
license-free access to a wide range of dual-use technologies.
(F) The designation facilitates joint exercises,
coordination on defense strategy and policy, military
exchanges, and port calls in support of defense cooperation
between the United States and India.
(2) Interagency definition.--The Secretary of Defense, the
Secretary of State, and the Secretary of Commerce shall
jointly produce a common definition of the term ``Major
Defense Partner'' as it relates to India for joint use by the
Department of Defense, the Department of State, and the
Department of Commerce.
(c) Responsibility for Enhanced Cooperation.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 90 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense and the
Secretary of State shall make the designation required by
subsection (a)(1)(B) of section 1292 of the National Defense
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017.
(2) Additional duties.--In addition to the duties specified
in clauses (i) and (ii) of subsection (a)(1)(B) of such
section 1292, the individual designated pursuant to paragraph
(1) shall promote United States defense trade with India for
the benefit of job creation and commercial competitiveness in
the United States.
(3) Briefings.--Not later than 90 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, and every 90 days thereafter,
appropriate officials of the Office of the Secretary of
Defense and appropriate officials of the Department of State
shall brief the appropriate committees of Congress on the
actions of the Department of Defense and the Department of
State, respectively, to promote the competitiveness of United
States defense exports to India. The requirement for
briefings under this paragraph shall cease on the date of the
designation of an individual pursuant to paragraph (1).
(4) Appropriate committees of congress defined.--In this
subsection, the term ``appropriate committees of Congress''
means--
(A) the Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on
Foreign Relations of the Senate; and
(B) the Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on
Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives.
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