S.Amdt. 794

SA 794. Mr. WARNER (for himself, Mr. Cornyn, and Mr. Sullivan)
submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to amendment SA 764
submitted by Mr. Inhofe and intended to be proposed to the bill S.
1790, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2020 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. 1262. SENSE OF SENATE ON DEFENSE COOPERATION WITH INDIA.

(a) Findings.--The Senate makes the following findings:
(1) The United States-India Defense Technology and Trade
Initiative launched in 2012 to create opportunities for co-
production and co-development.
(2) In June 2016, the United States designated India as a
``Major Defense Partner''. Section 1292 of the National
Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 (Public Law
114-328; 22 U.S.C. 2751 note), relating to enhancing defense
and security cooperation with India, requests that the
Secretary of Defense and Secretary of State jointly take such
actions as may be necessary to recognize India's status as a
major defense partner of the United States, consistent with
the June 7, 2016, India-United States Joint Statement.
(3) On August 3, 2018, the Department of Commerce issued a
rule, which enabled India to be moved to the Department of
Commerce's Strategic Trade Authorization Tier 1 license
designation list, which enables greater availability for
exports and re-exports to, and transfers within, India for
articles under the Export Administration Regulations.
(4) The Asia Reassurance Initiative Act of 2018 (Public Law
115-409) recognizes the ``vital role of the strategic
partnership between the United States and India'' and finds
that the designation of India as a major defense partner
``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''.
(5) In September 2018, the United States and India signed
the Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement
(COMCASA) to facilitate interoperability and real-time secure
information sharing.
(6) The United States and India are collaborating on
maritime security, counterpiracy, counterterrorism,
cybersecurity, and other shared security interests.
(7) United States-India bilateral defense trade and
technology cooperation have significantly expanded over the
past decade.
(b) Sense of the Senate.--It is the sense of the Senate
that--
(1) the strategic partnership between the United States and
India has been strengthened through enhanced defense
cooperation and continued diplomatic engagement based on
shared democratic values and strategic interests;
(2) the United States should continue to work with India to
reduce its dependence on Russian defense equipment and
conventional weapons and develop alternative opportunities to
procure strategic systems that are interoperable with United
States systems and consistent with United States national
security interests; and
(3) in order to advance the Major Defense Partnership
designation, Congress should consider amending the Arms
Export Control Act to enable India to undergo an expedited
review process for the purchase of defense equipment.
______