S.Amdt. 844

SA 844. Mr. HAGERTY submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by
him to the bill S. 2226, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year
2024 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 appropriate place in title XII, insert the
following:

SEC. __. STATEMENT OF POLICY AND ANNUAL REPORT RELATED TO
UNITED STATES-PACIFIC ISLAND PARTNERSHIP.

(a) Short Title.--This section may be cited as the ``United
States-Pacific Island Partnership Empowerment Act''.
(b) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
``appropriate congressional committees'' 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.
(2) Excess defense articles.--The term ``excess defense
articles'' has the meaning given that term in section 644 of
the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2403).
(3) United states-pacific island partnership.--The term
``United States-Pacific Island Partnership'' means the
partnership between the United States and the Cook Islands,
the Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, French Polynesia,
Nauru, New Caledonia, Palau, Papua New Guinea, the Republic
of the Marshall Islands, Samoa, the Solomon Islands, Tonga,
Tuvalu, Vanuatu, and such other states in the Pacific Islands
as the President may identify.
(c) Statement of Policy.--The United States supports
expanding and deepening cooperation within the United States-
Pacific Island Partnership to maintain free, open, and
peaceful waterways in the Pacific in which the rights to the
freedom of navigation and overflight are recognized and
respected, trade flows are unimpeded, and geopolitical
competition does not undermine the sovereignty and security
of the Pacific Islands.
(d) Annual Report on Transfer of Excess Defense Articles to
Members of the United States-Pacific Island Partnership.--
(1) Annual report requirement.--Not later than 180 days
after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually
thereafter for a period of 5 years, the President shall
submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report
on the transfer of excess defense articles to members of the
United States-Pacific Island Partnership.
(2) Contents of report.--Each report required by paragraph
(1) shall include the following:
(A) An overview of the transfer of excess defense articles
to members of the United States-Pacific Island Partnership
during the period covered by the report, including the
quantity and types of articles transferred.
(B) A description of the prioritization process used by the
Department of Defense to determine the allocation of
nonlethal excess defense articles transferred to foreign
countries.
(C) A description of--
(i) any challenges or constraints encountered in the
process for transferring excess defense articles to members
of the United States-Pacific Island Partnership; and
(ii) efforts undertaken to address those challenges or
constraints.
(D) An assessment of the impact of excess defense articles
transferred to members of the United States-Pacific Island
Partnership on the capacity-building efforts, security
cooperation, and interoperability of those members.
(E) A review of the effectiveness of the transfer of excess
defense articles to members of the United States-Pacific
Island Partnership in promoting regional stability, maritime
security, and the sovereignty and security of the Pacific
Islands.
(3) Formats; public availability.--Each report required by
paragraph (1) shall be submitted in both electronic and hard
copy formats and made available to the public, consistent
with applicable law.
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