HR 5916 EH
110th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 5916
AN ACT
To reform the administration of the Arms Export Control Act, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE AND TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) Short Title- This Act may be cited as the `Security Assistance and Arms Export Control Reform Act of 2008'.
(b) Table of Contents- The table of contents for this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents.
TITLE I--REFORM OF ARMS EXPORT CONTROL PROCEDURES
Subtitle A--Defense Trade Controls Performance Improvement Act of 2008
Sec. 103. Strategic review and assessment of the United States export controls system.
Sec. 104. Performance goals for processing of applications for licenses to export items on USML.
Sec. 105. Requirement to ensure adequate staff and resources for DDTC of the Department of State.
Sec. 106. Audit by Inspector General of the Department of State.
Sec. 107. Increased flexibility for use of defense trade controls registration fees.
Sec. 108. Review of ITAR and USML.
Sec. 109. Special licensing authorization for certain
exports to NATO member states, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Israel,
and South Korea.
Sec. 110. Availability of information on the status of license applications under chapter 3 of the Arms Export Control Act.
Sec. 111. Sense of Congress.
Sec. 113. Authorization of appropriations.
Subtitle B--Miscellaneous Provisions
Sec. 121. Report on self-financing options for export licensing functions of DDTC of the Department of State.
Sec. 122. Expediting congressional defense export review period for South Korea and Israel.
Sec. 123. Availability to Congress of Presidential
directives regarding United States arms export policies, practices, and
regulations.
Sec. 124. Increase in congressional notification thresholds and expediting congressional review for South Korea and Israel.
Sec. 125. Diplomatic efforts to strengthen national and international arms export controls.
Sec. 126. Reporting requirement for unlicensed exports.
Sec. 127. Report on value of major defense equipment and
defense articles exported under section 38 of the Arms Export Control
Act.
Sec. 128. Report on satellite export controls.
TITLE II--SECURITY ASSISTANCE AND RELATED SUPPORT FOR ISRAEL
Sec. 201. Assessment of Israel's qualitative military edge over military threats.
Sec. 202. Report on United States' commitments to the security of Israel.
Sec. 203. War Reserves Stockpile.
Sec. 204. Implementation of Memorandum of Understanding with Israel.
TITLE III--WAIVER OF CERTAIN SANCTIONS TO FACILITATE DENUCLEARIZATION ACTIVITIES IN NORTH KOREA
Sec. 301. Waiver authority and exceptions.
Sec. 302. Certification regarding waiver of certain sanctions.
Sec. 303. Congressional notification and report.
Sec. 304. Termination of waiver authority.
Sec. 305. Expiration of waiver authority.
Sec. 306. Continuation of restrictions against the Government of North Korea.
Sec. 307. Report on verification measures relating to North Korea's nuclear programs.
TITLE IV--MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
Sec. 401. Authority to build the capacity of foreign military forces.
Sec. 402. Maintenance of European Union arms embargo against China.
Sec. 403. Reimbursement of salaries of members of the reserve components in support of security cooperation missions.
Sec. 404. Foreign Military Sales Stockpile Fund.
Sec. 405. Sense of Congress.
TITLE V--AUTHORITY TO TRANSFER NAVAL VESSELS
Sec. 501. Authority to transfer naval vessels to certain foreign recipients.
TITLE I--REFORM OF ARMS EXPORT CONTROL PROCEDURES
Subtitle A--Defense Trade Controls Performance Improvement Act of 2008
SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE.
This subtitle may be cited as the `Defense Trade Controls Performance Improvement Act of 2008'.
SEC. 102. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) In a time of international terrorist threats and a
dynamic global economic and security environment, United States policy
with regard to export controls is in urgent need of a comprehensive
review in order to ensure such controls are protecting the national
security and foreign policy interests of the United States.
(2) In January 2007, the Government Accountability
Office designated the effective identification and protection of
critical technologies as a government-wide, high-risk area, warranting
a strategic reexamination of existing programs, including programs
relating to arms export controls.
(3) Federal Government agencies must review licenses
for export of munitions in a thorough and timely manner to ensure that
the United States is able to assist United States allies and to prevent
nuclear and conventional weapons from getting into the hands of enemies
of the United States.
(4) Both staffing and funding that relate to the
Department of State's arms export control responsibilities have not
kept pace with the increased workload relating to such
responsibilities, especially over the last five years.
(5) Outsourcing and off-shoring of defense production
and the policy of many United States trading partners to require
offsets for major sales of defense and aerospace articles present a
potential threat to United States national security and economic
well-being and serve to weaken the defense industrial base.
(6) Export control policies can have a negative impact
on United States employment, nonproliferation goals, and the health of
the defense industrial base, particularly when facilitating the
overseas transfer of technology or production and other forms of
outsourcing, such as offsets (direct and indirect), co-production,
subcontracts, overseas investment and joint ventures in defense and
commercial industries. Federal Government agencies must develop new and
effective procedures for ensuring that export control systems address
these problems and the threat they pose to national security.
(7) In the report to Congress required by the
Conference Report (Report 109-272) accompanying the bill, H.R. 2862
(the Science, State, Justice, Commerce and Related Agencies
Appropriations Act, 2006; Public Law 109-108), the Department of State
concluded that--
(A) defense trade licensing has become much more
complex in recent years as a consequence of the increasing
globalization of the defense industry;
(B) the most important challenge to the Department
of State's licensing process has been the sheer growth in volume of
applicants for licenses and agreements, without the corresponding
increase in licensing officers;
(C) fiscal year 2005 marked the third straight year of roughly 8 percent annual increases in licensing volume;
(D) although an 8 percent increase in workload
equates to a requirement for three additional licensing officers per
year, there has been no increase in licensing officers during this
period; and
(E) the increase in licensing volume without a
corresponding increase in trained and experienced personnel has
resulted in delays and increased processing times.
(8) In 2006, the Department of State processed over
three times as many licensing applications as the Department of
Commerce with about a fifth of the staff of the Department of Commerce.
(9) On July 27, 2007, in testimony delivered to the
Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Trade of the House
Committee on Foreign Affairs to examine the effectiveness of the United
States export control regime, the Government Accountability Office
found that--
(A) the United States Government needs to conduct
assessments to determine its overall effectiveness in the area of arms
export control; and
(B) the processing times of the Department of State doubled over the period from 2002 to 2006.
(10) Although the current number of unprocessed
applications for licenses to export defense items is less than 3,800
applications, due to the extraordinary efforts of the personnel and
management of the Department of State's Directorate of Defense Trade
Controls, at the end of 2006, the Department of State's backlog of such
unprocessed applications reached its highest level at more than 10,000
unprocessed applications. This resulted in major management and
personnel challenges for the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls.
(11)(A) Allowing a continuation of the status quo in
resources for defense trade licensing could ultimately harm the United
States defense industrial base. The 2007 Institute for Defense Analysis
report entitled `Export Controls and the U.S. Defense Industrial Base'
found that the large backlog and long processing times by the
Department of State for applications for licenses to export defense
items led to an impairment of United States firms in some sectors to
conduct global business relative to foreign competitors.
(B) Additionally, the report found that United States
commercial firms have been reluctant to engage in research and
development activities for the Department of Defense because this
raises the future prospects that the products based on this research
and development, even if intrinsically commercial, will be saddled by
Department of State munitions controls due to the link to that research.
(12) According to the Department of State's fiscal year
2008 budget justification to Congress, commercial exports licensed or
approved under the Arms Export Control Act exceeded $30,000,000,000,
with nearly eighty percent of these items exported to United States
NATO allies and other major non-NATO allies.
(13) A Government Accountability Office report of
October 9, 2001 (GAO-02-120), documented ambiguous export control
jurisdiction affecting 25 percent of the items that the United States
Government agreed to control as part of its commitments to the Missile
Technology Control Regime. The United States Government has not clearly
determined which department has jurisdiction over these items, which
increases the risk that these items will fall into the wrong hands.
During both the 108th and 109th Congresses, the House of
Representatives passed legislation mandating that the Administration
clarify this issue.
SEC. 103. STRATEGIC REVIEW AND ASSESSMENT OF THE UNITED STATES EXPORT CONTROLS SYSTEM.
(a) Review and Assessment-
(1) IN GENERAL- Not later than March 31, 2009, the
President shall conduct a comprehensive and systematic review and
assessment of the United States arms export controls system in the
context of the national security interests and strategic foreign policy
objectives of the United States.
(2) ELEMENTS- The review and assessment required under paragraph (1) shall--
(A) determine the overall effectiveness of the
United States arms export controls system in order to, where
appropriate, strengthen controls, improve efficiency, and reduce
unnecessary redundancies across Federal Government agencies, through
administrative actions, including regulations, and to formulate
legislative proposals for new authorities that are needed;
(B) develop processes to ensure better coordination
of arms export control activities of the Department of State with
activities of other departments and agencies of the United States that
are responsible for enforcing United States arms export control laws;
(C) ensure that weapons-related nuclear technology,
other technology related to weapons of mass destruction, and all items
on the Missile Technology Control Regime Annex are subject to stringent
control by the United States Government;
(D) determine the overall effect of arms export
controls on counterterrorism, law enforcement, and infrastructure
protection missions of the Department of Homeland Security;
(E) contain a detailed summary of known attempts by
unauthorized end-users (such as international arms traffickers, foreign
intelligence agencies, and foreign terrorist organizations) to acquire
items on the United States Munitions List and related technical data,
including--
(I) commodities sought, such as M-4 rifles, night vision devices, F-14 spare parts;
(II) parties involved, such as the intended end-users, brokers, consignees, and shippers;
(III) attempted acquisition of technology
and technical data critical to manufacture items on the United States
Munitions List;
(IV) destination countries and transit countries;
(VI) trafficking methods, such as use of false documentation and front companies registered under flags of convenience;
(VII) whether the attempted illicit transfer was successful; and
(VIII) any administrative or criminal
enforcement actions taken by the United States and any other government
in relation to the attempted illicit transfer;
(ii) a thorough evaluation of the Blue Lantern Program, including the adequacy of current staffing and funding levels;
(iii) a detailed analysis of licensing exemptions and their successful exploitation by unauthorized end-users; and
(iv) an examination of the extent to which the
increased tendency toward outsourcing and off-shoring of defense
production harm United States national security and weaken the defense
industrial base, including direct and indirect impact on employment,
and formulate policies to address these trends as well as the policy of
some United States trading partners to require offsets for major sales
of defense articles; and
(F) assess the extent to which export control
policies and practices under the Arms Export Control Act promote the
protection of basic human rights.
(b) Congressional Briefings- The President shall provide
periodic briefings to the appropriate congressional committees on the
progress of the review and assessment conducted under subsection (a).
The requirement to provide congressional briefings under this
subsection shall terminate on the date on which the President transmits
to the appropriate congressional committees the report required under
subsection (c).
(c) Report- Not later than 18 months after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the President shall transmit to the appropriate
congressional committees and the Committee on Armed Services of the
House of Representatives and the Committee on Armed Services of the
Senate a report that contains the results of the review and assessment
conducted under subsection (a). The report required by this subsection
shall contain a certification that the requirement of subsection
(a)(2)(C) has been met, or if the requirement has not been met, the
reasons therefor. The report required by this subsection shall be
submitted in unclassified form, but may contain a classified annex, if
necessary.
SEC. 104. PERFORMANCE GOALS FOR PROCESSING OF APPLICATIONS FOR LICENSES TO EXPORT ITEMS ON USML.
(a) In General- The Secretary of State, acting through the
head of the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls of the Department of
State, shall establish the following goals:
(1) The processing time for review of each application
for a license to export items on the United States Munitions List
(other than applications for approval of agreements under part 124 of
title 22, Code of Federal Regulations (or successor regulations)) shall
be not more than 60 days from the date of receipt of the application.
(2) The processing time for review of each application
for a commodity jurisdiction determination shall be not more than 60
days from the date of receipt of the application.
(3) The total number of applications described in
paragraph (1) that are unprocessed shall be not more than 7 percent of
the total number of such applications submitted in the preceding
calendar year.
(b) Additional Review- (1) If an application described in
paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (a) is not processed within the time
period described in the respective paragraph of such subsection, then
the Managing Director of the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls or
the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Defense Trade and Regional Security
of the Department of State, as appropriate, shall review the status of
the application to determine if further action is required to process
the application.
(2) If an application described in paragraph (1) or (2) of
subsection (a) is not processed within 90 days from the date of receipt
of the application, then the Assistant Secretary for Political-Military
Affairs of the Department of State shall--
(A) review the status of the application to determine if further action is required to process the application; and
(B) submit to the appropriate congressional committees
a notification of the review conducted under subparagraph (A),
including a description of the application, the reason for delay in
processing the application, and a proposal for further action to
process the application.
(3) For each calendar year, the Managing Director of the
Directorate of Defense Trade Controls shall review not less than 2
percent of the total number of applications described in paragraphs (1)
and (2) of subsection (a) to ensure that the processing of such
applications, including decisions to approve, deny, or return without
action, is consistent with both policy and regulatory requirements of
the Department of State.
(c) United States Allies- Congress states that--
(1) it shall be the policy of the Directorate of
Defense Trade Controls of the Department of State to ensure that, to
the maximum extent practicable, the processing time for review of
applications described in subsection (a)(1) to export items that are
not subject to the requirements of section 36(b) or (c) of the Arms
Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2776(b) or (c)) to United States allies
in direct support of combat operations or peacekeeping or humanitarian
operations with United States Armed Forces is not more than 7 days from
the date of receipt of the application; and
(2) it shall be the goal, as appropriate, of the
Directorate of Defense Trade Controls to ensure that, to the maximum
extent practicable, the processing time for review of applications
described in subsection (a)(1) to export items that are not subject to
the requirements of section 36(b) or (c) of the Arms Export Control Act
to government security agencies of United States NATO allies,
Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, Israel, and, as
appropriate, other major non-NATO allies for any purpose other than the
purpose described in paragraph (1) is not more than 30 days from the
date of receipt of the application.
(d) Report- Not later than December 31, 2010, and December
31, 2011, the Secretary of State shall submit to the appropriate
congressional committees a report that contains a detailed description
of--
(1)(A) the average processing time for and number of applications described in subsection (a)(1) to--
(i) United States NATO allies, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, and Israel;
(ii) other major non-NATO allies; and
(iii) all other countries; and
(B) to the extent practicable, the average processing
time for and number of applications described in subsection (b)(1) by
item category;
(2) the average processing time for and number of applications described in subsection (a)(2);
(3) the average processing time for and number of
applications for agreements described in part 124 of title 22, Code of
Federal Regulations (relating to the International Traffic in Arms
Regulations);
(4) any management decisions of the Directorate of
Defense Trade Controls of the Department of State that have been made
in response to data contained in paragraphs (1) through (3); and
(5) any advances in technology that will allow the time-frames described in subsection (a)(1) to be substantially reduced.
(e) Congressional Briefings- If, at the end of any month
beginning after the date of the enactment of this Act, the total number
of applications described in subsection (a)(1) that are unprocessed is
more than 7 percent of the total number of such applications submitted
in the preceding calendar year, then the Secretary of State, acting
through the Under Secretary for Arms Control and International
Security, the Assistant Secretary for Political-Military Affairs, or
the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Defense Trade and Regional Security
of the Department of State, as appropriate, shall brief the appropriate
congressional committees on such matters and the corrective measures
that the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls will take to comply with
the requirements of subsection (a).
(f) Transparency of Commodity Jurisdiction Determinations-
(1) DECLARATION OF POLICY- Congress declares that the
complete confidentiality surrounding several hundred commodity
jurisdiction determinations made each year by the Department of State
pursuant to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations is not
necessary to protect legitimate proprietary interests of persons or
their prices and customers, is not in the best security and foreign
policy interests of the United States, is inconsistent with the need to
ensure a level playing field for United States exporters, and detracts
from United States efforts to promote greater transparency and
responsibility by other countries in their export control systems.
(2) PUBLICATION ON INTERNET WEBSITE- The Secretary of State shall--
(A) upon making a commodity jurisdiction
determination referred to in paragraph (1) publish on the Internet
website of the Department of State not later than 30 days after the
date of the determination--
(i) the name of the manufacturer of the item;
(ii) a brief general description of the item;
(iii) the model or part number of the item; and
(iv) the United States Munitions List designation under which the item has been designated, except that--
(I) the name of the person or business
organization that sought the commodity jurisdiction determination shall
not be published if the person or business organization is not the
manufacturer of the item; and
(II) the names of the customers, the price
of the item, and any proprietary information relating to the item
indicated by the person or business organization that sought the
commodity jurisdiction determination shall not be published; and
(B) maintain on the Internet website of the
Department of State an archive, that is accessible to the general
public and other departments and agencies of the United States, of the
information published under subparagraph (A).
(g) Rule of Construction- Nothing in this section shall be
construed to prohibit the President or Congress from undertaking a
thorough review of the national security and foreign policy
implications of a proposed export of items on the United States
Munitions List.
SEC. 105. REQUIREMENT TO ENSURE ADEQUATE STAFF AND RESOURCES FOR DDTC OF THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE.
(a) Requirement- The Secretary of State shall ensure that
the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls of the Department of State
has the necessary staff and resources to carry out this subtitle and
the amendments made by this subtitle.
(b) Minimum Number of Licensing Officers- For fiscal year
2010 and each subsequent fiscal year, the Secretary of State shall
ensure that the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls has at least 1
licensing officer for every 1,250 applications for licenses and other
authorizations to export items on the United States Munitions List by
not later than the third quarter of such fiscal year, based on the
number of licenses and other authorizations expected to be received
during such fiscal year. The Secretary shall ensure that in meeting the
requirement of this subsection, the performance of other functions of
the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls is maintained and adequate
staff is provided for those functions.
(c) Minimum Number of Staff for Commodity Jurisdiction
Determinations- For each of the fiscal years 2009 through 2011, the
Secretary of State shall ensure that the Directorate of Defense Trade
Controls has, to the extent practicable, not less than three
individuals assigned to review applications for commodity jurisdiction
determinations.
(d) Enforcement Resources- In accordance with section 127.4
of title 22, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement is authorized to investigate violations of the
International Traffic in Arms Regulations on behalf of the Directorate
of Defense Trade Controls of the Department of State. The Secretary of
State shall ensure that the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls has
adequate staffing for enforcement of the International Traffic in Arms
Regulations.
SEC. 106. AUDIT BY INSPECTOR GENERAL OF THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE.
(a) Audit- Not later than the end of each of the fiscal
years 2010 and 2011, the Inspector General of the Department of State
shall conduct an independent audit to determine the extent to which the
Department of State is meeting the requirements of sections 104 and 105
of this Act.
(b) Report- The Inspector General shall submit to the
appropriate congressional committees a report that contains the result
of each audit conducted under subsection (a).
SEC. 107. INCREASED FLEXIBILITY FOR USE OF DEFENSE TRADE CONTROLS REGISTRATION FEES.
(a) In General- Section 45 of the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 (22 U.S.C. 2717) is amended--
(1) in the first sentence--
(A) by striking `For' and inserting `(a) In General- For'; and
(B) by striking `Office' and inserting `Directorate';
(2) by amending the second sentence to read as follows:
`(b) Availability of Fees- Fees credited to the account
referred to in subsection (a) shall be available only for payment of
expenses incurred for--
`(2) licensing (in order to meet the requirements of
section 105 of the Defense Trade Controls Performance Improvement Act
of 2008 (relating to adequate staff and resources of the Directorate of
Defense Trade Controls)),
`(4) policy activities, and
of defense trade controls functions.'; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
`(c) Allocation of Fees- In allocating fees for payment of
expenses described in subsection (b), the Secretary of State shall
accord the highest priority to payment of expenses incurred for
personnel and equipment of the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls,
including payment of expenses incurred to meet the requirements of
section 105 of the Defense Trade Controls Performance Improvement Act
of 2008.'.
(b) Conforming Amendment- Section 38(b)(3)(A) of the Arms
Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2778(b)(3)(A)) is amended to read as
follows:
`(3)(A) For each fiscal year, 100 percent of registration
fees collected pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be credited to a
Department of State account, to be available without fiscal year
limitation. Fees credited to that account shall be available only for
the payment of expenses incurred for--
`(ii) licensing (in order to meet the requirements of
section 105 of the Defense Trade Controls Performance Improvement Act
of 2008 (relating to adequate staff and resources of the Directorate of
Defense Trade Controls)),
`(iv) policy activities, and
of defense trade controls functions.'.
SEC. 108. REVIEW OF ITAR AND USML.
(a) In General- The Secretary of State, in coordination
with the heads of other relevant departments and agencies of the United
States Government, shall review, with the assistance of United States
manufacturers and other interested parties described in section 111(2)
of this Act, the International Traffic in Arms Regulations and the
United States Munitions List to determine those technologies and goods
that warrant different or additional controls.
(b) Conduct of Review- In carrying out the review required
under subsection (a), the Secretary of State shall review not less than
20 percent of the technologies and goods on the International Traffic
in Arms Regulations and the United States Munitions List in each
calendar year so that for the 5-year period beginning with calendar
year 2009, and for each subsequent 5-year period, the International
Traffic in Arms Regulations and the United States Munitions List will
be reviewed in their entirety.
(c) Report- The Secretary of State shall submit to the
appropriate congressional committees and the Committee on Armed
Services of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Armed
Services of the Senate an annual report on the results of the review
carried out under this section.
SEC. 109. SPECIAL LICENSING AUTHORIZATION FOR CERTAIN
EXPORTS TO NATO MEMBER STATES, AUSTRALIA, JAPAN, NEW ZEALAND, ISRAEL,
AND SOUTH KOREA.
(a) In General- Section 38 of the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2778) is amended by adding at the end the following:
`(k) Special Licensing Authorization for Certain Exports to
NATO Member States, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Israel, and South
Korea-
`(1) AUTHORIZATION- (A) The President may provide for
special licensing authorization for exports of United
States-manufactured spare and replacement parts or components listed in
an application for such special licensing authorization in connection
with defense items previously exported to NATO member states,
Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Israel, and South Korea. A special
licensing authorization issued pursuant to this clause shall be
effective for a period not to exceed 5 years.
`(B) An authorization may be issued under subparagraph
(A) only if the applicable government of the country described in
subparagraph (A), acting through the applicant for the authorization,
certifies that--
`(i) the export of spare and replacement parts or components supports a defense item previously lawfully exported;
`(ii) the spare and replacement parts or components
will be transferred to a defense agency of a country described in
subparagraph (A) that is a previously approved end-user of the defense
items and not to a distributor or a foreign consignee of such defense
items;
`(iii) the spare and replacement parts or
components will not to be used to materially enhance, optimize, or
otherwise modify or upgrade the capability of the defense items;
`(iv) the spare and replacement parts or components
relate to a defense item that is owned, operated, and in the inventory
of the armed forces a country described in subparagraph (A);
`(v) the export of spare and replacement parts or
components will be effected using the freight forwarder designated by
the purchasing country's diplomatic mission as responsible for handling
transfers under chapter 2 of this Act as required under regulations; and
`(vi) the spare and replacement parts or components
to be exported under the special licensing authorization are
specifically identified in the application.
`(C) An authorization may not be issued under
subparagraph (A) for purposes of establishing offshore procurement
arrangements or producing defense articles offshore.
`(D)(i) For purposes of this subsection, the term
`United States-manufactured spare and replacement parts or components'
means spare and replacement parts or components--
`(I) with respect to which--
`(aa) United States-origin content costs constitute at least 85 percent of the total content costs;
`(bb) United States manufacturing costs constitute at least 85 percent of the total manufacturing costs; and
`(cc) foreign content, if any, is limited to
content from countries eligible to receive exports of items on the
United States Munitions List under the International Traffic in Arms
Regulations (other than de minimis foreign content);
`(II) that were last substantially transformed in the United States; and
`(aa) classified as significant military equipment; or
`(bb) listed on the Missile Technology Control Regime Annex.
`(ii) For purposes of clause (i)(I)(aa) and (bb), the
costs of non-United States-origin content shall be determined using the
final price or final cost associated with the non-United States-origin
content.
`(2) INAPPLICABILITY PROVISIONS- (A) The provisions of
this subsection shall not apply with respect to re-exports or
re-transfers of spare and replacement parts or components and related
services of defense items described in paragraph (1).
`(B) The congressional notification requirements
contained in section 36(c) of this Act shall not apply with respect to
an authorization issued under paragraph (1).'.
(b) Effective Date- The President shall issue regulations
to implement amendments made by subsection (a) not later than 180 days
after the date of the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 110. AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION ON THE STATUS OF LICENSE APPLICATIONS UNDER CHAPTER 3 OF THE ARMS EXPORT CONTROL ACT.
Chapter 3 of the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2771 et
seq.) is amended by inserting after section 38 the following new
section:
`SEC. 38A. AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION ON THE STATUS OF LICENSE APPLICATIONS UNDER THIS CHAPTER.
`(a) Availability of Information- Not later than one year
after the date of the enactment of the Defense Trade Controls
Performance Improvement Act of 2008, the President shall make available
to persons who have pending license applications under this chapter and
the committees of jurisdiction the ability to access electronically
current information on the status of each license application required
to be submitted under this chapter.
`(b) Matters To Be Included- The information referred to in subsection (a) shall be limited to the following:
`(1) The case number of the license application.
`(2) The date on which the license application is received by the Department of State and becomes an `open application'.
`(3) The date on which the Directorate of Defense Trade
Controls makes a determination with respect to the license application
or transmits it for interagency review, if required.
`(4) The date on which the interagency review process
for the license application is completed, if such a review process is
required.
`(5) The date on which the Department of State begins
consultations with the congressional committees of jurisdiction with
respect to the license application.
`(6) The date on which the license application is sent to the congressional committees of jurisdiction.'.
SEC. 111. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that--
(1)(A) the advice provided to the Secretary of State by
the Defense Trade Advisory Group (DTAG) supports the regulation of
defense trade and helps ensure that United States national security and
foreign policy interests continue to be protected and advanced while
helping to reduce unnecessary impediments to legitimate exports in
order to support the defense requirements of United States friends and
allies; and
(B) therefore, the Secretary of State should share significant planned rules and policy shifts with DTAG for comment; and
(2) recognizing the constraints imposed on the
Department of State by the nature of a voluntary organization such as
DTAG, the Secretary of State is encouraged to ensure that members of
DTAG are drawn from a representative cross-section of subject matter
experts from the United States defense industry, relevant trade and
labor associations, academic, and foundation personnel.
SEC. 112. DEFINITIONS.
(1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES- The term
`appropriate congressional committees' means the Committee on Foreign
Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign
Relations of the Senate.
(2) INTERNATIONAL TRAFFIC IN ARMS REGULATIONS; ITAR-
The term `International Traffic in Arms Regulations' or `ITAR' means
those regulations contained in parts 120 through 130 of title 22, Code
of Federal Regulations (or successor regulations).
(3) MAJOR NON-NATO ALLY- The term `major non-NATO ally'
means a country that is designated in accordance with section 517 of
the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2321k) as a major
non-NATO ally for purposes of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22
U.S.C. 2151 et seq.) and the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2751 et
seq.).
(4) MISSILE TECHNOLOGY CONTROL REGIME; MTCR- The term
`Missile Technology Control Regime' or `MTCR' has the meaning given the
term in section 11B(c)(2) of the Export Administration Act of 1979 (50
U.S.C. App. 2401b(c)(2)).
(5) MISSILE TECHNOLOGY CONTROL REGIME ANNEX; MTCR
ANNEX- The term `Missile Technology Control Regime Annex' or `MTCR
Annex' has the meaning given the term in section 11B(c)(4) of the
Export Administration Act of 1979 (50 U.S.C. App. 2401b(c)(4)).
(6) OFFSETS- The term `offsets' includes compensation
practices required of purchase in either government-to-government or
commercial sales of defense articles or defense services under the Arms
Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2751 et seq.) and the International
Traffic in Arms Regulations.
(7) UNITED STATES MUNITIONS LIST; USML- The term
`United States Munitions List' or `USML' means the list referred to in
section 38(a)(1) of the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2778(a)(1)).
SEC. 113. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be
necessary for fiscal year 2009 and each subsequent fiscal year to carry
out this subtitle and the amendments made by this subtitle.
Subtitle B--Miscellaneous Provisions
SEC. 121. REPORT ON SELF-FINANCING OPTIONS FOR EXPORT LICENSING FUNCTIONS OF DDTC OF THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE.
Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of
this Act, the Secretary of State shall submit to the appropriate
congressional committees a report on possible mechanisms to place the
export licensing functions of the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls
of the Department of State on a 100 percent self-financing basis.
SEC. 122. EXPEDITING CONGRESSIONAL DEFENSE EXPORT REVIEW PERIOD FOR SOUTH KOREA AND ISRAEL.
The Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2751 et seq.) is amended--
(1) in sections 3(d)(2)(B), 3(d)(3)(A)(i), 3(d)(5),
21(e)(2)(A), 36(b)(2), 36(c)(2)(A), 36(d)(2)(A), 62(c)(1), and 63(a)(2)
by inserting `the Republic of Korea, Israel,' before `or New Zealand';
(2) in section 3(b)(2), by inserting `the Government of the Republic of Korea,' before `or the Government of New Zealand'; and
(3) in section 21(h)(1)(A), by inserting `the Republic of Korea,' before `or Israel'.
SEC. 123. AVAILABILITY TO CONGRESS OF PRESIDENTIAL
DIRECTIVES REGARDING UNITED STATES ARMS EXPORT POLICIES, PRACTICES, AND
REGULATIONS.
(a) In General- The President shall make available to the
appropriate congressional committees the text of each Presidential
directive regarding United States export policies, practices, and
regulations relating to the implementation of the Arms Export Control
Act (22 U.S.C. 2751 et seq.) not later than 15 days after the date on
which the directive has been signed or authorized by the President.
(b) Transition Provision- Any Presidential directive
described in subsection (a) that is signed or authorized by the
President on or after January 1, 2008, and before the date of the
enactment of this Act shall be made available to the appropriate
congressional committees not later than 90 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act.
(c) Form- To the maximum extent practicable, the
Presidential directives required to be made available to the
appropriate congressional committees under this section shall be made
available on an unclassified basis.
SEC. 124. INCREASE IN CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION THRESHOLDS AND EXPEDITING CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW FOR SOUTH KOREA AND ISRAEL.
(a) Foreign Military Sales-
(1) IN GENERAL- Subsection (b) of section 36 of the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2776) is amended--
(A) by redesignating paragraphs (2) through (6) as paragraphs (3) through (7), respectively; and
(B) by striking `The letter of offer shall not be
issued' and all that follows through `enacts a joint resolution' and
inserting the following:
`(2) The letter of offer shall not be issued--
`(A) with respect to a proposed sale of any defense
articles or defense services under this Act for $200,000,000 or more,
any design and construction services for $300,000,000 or more, or any
major defense equipment for $75,000,000 or more, to the North Atlantic
Treaty Organization (NATO), any member country of NATO, Japan,
Australia, the Republic of Korea, Israel, or New Zealand, if Congress,
within 15 calendar days after receiving such certification, or
`(B) with respect to a proposed sale of any defense
articles or services under this Act for $100,000,000 or more, any
design and construction services for $200,000,000 or more, or any major
defense equipment for $50,000,000 or more, to any other country or
organization, if Congress, within 30 calendar days after receiving such
certification,
enacts a joint resolution'.
(2) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS- Such section is further amended--
(i) in paragraph (6)(C), as redesignated, by striking `Subject to paragraph (6), if' and inserting `If'; and
(ii) by striking paragraph (7), as redesignated; and
(B) in subsection (c)(4), by striking `subsection (b)(5)' each place it appears and inserting `subsection (b)(6)'.
(b) Commercial Sales- Subsection (c) of such section is amended--
(A) in subparagraph (A)--
(i) by inserting after `for an export' the
following: `of any major defense equipment sold under a contract in the
amount of $75,000,000 or more or of defense articles or defense
services sold under a contract in the amount of $200,000,000 or more,
(or, in the case of a defense article that is a firearm controlled
under category I of the United States Munitions List, $1,000,000 or
more)'; and
(ii) by striking `Organization,' and inserting
`Organization (NATO),' and by further striking `that Organization' and
inserting `NATO'; and
(B) in subparagraph (C), by inserting after
`license' the following: `for an export of any major defense equipment
sold under a contract in the amount of $50,000,000 or more or of
defense articles or defense services sold under a contract in the
amount of $100,000,000 or more, (or, in the case of a defense article
that is a firearm controlled under category I of the United States
Munitions List, $1,000,000 or more)'; and
(2) by striking paragraph (5).
SEC. 125. DIPLOMATIC EFFORTS TO STRENGTHEN NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL ARMS EXPORT CONTROLS.
(a) Sense of Congress- It is the sense of Congress that the
President should redouble United States diplomatic efforts to
strengthen national and international arms export controls by
establishing a senior-level initiative to ensure that such arms export
controls are comparable to and supportive of United States arms export
controls, particularly with respect to countries of concern to the
United States.
(b) Report- No later than one year after the date of the
enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter for four years, the
President shall transmit to the appropriate committees of Congress a
report on United States diplomatic efforts described in subsection (a).
SEC. 126. REPORTING REQUIREMENT FOR UNLICENSED EXPORTS.
Section 655(b) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2415(b)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (2), by striking `or' at the end;
(2) in paragraph (3), by striking the period at the end and inserting `; or'; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
`(4) were exported without a license under section 38
of the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2778) pursuant to an
exemption established under the International Traffic in Arms
Regulations, other than defense articles exported in furtherance of a
letter of offer and acceptance under the Foreign Military Sales program
or a technical assistance or manufacturing license agreement, including
the specific exemption provision in the regulation under which the
export was made.'.
SEC. 127. REPORT ON VALUE OF MAJOR DEFENSE EQUIPMENT AND
DEFENSE ARTICLES EXPORTED UNDER SECTION 38 OF THE ARMS EXPORT CONTROL
ACT.
Section 38 of the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2778) is amended by adding at the end the following:
`(1) IN GENERAL- The President shall transmit to the
appropriate congressional committees a report that contains a detailed
listing, by country and by international organization, of the total
dollar value of major defense equipment and defense articles exported
pursuant to licenses authorized under this section for the previous
fiscal year.
`(2) INCLUSION IN ANNUAL BUDGET- The report required by
this subsection shall be included in the supporting information of the
annual budget of the United States Government required to be submitted
to Congress under section 1105 of title 31, United States Code.
`(3) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES DEFINED- In
this subsection, the term `appropriate congressional committees' means
the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives and
the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate.'.
SEC. 128. REPORT ON SATELLITE EXPORT CONTROLS.
(a) Report- Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the President shall transmit to the appropriate
congressional committees and the Committee on Armed Services of the
House of Representatives and the Committee on Armed Services of the
Senate a report regarding--
(1) the extent to which current United States export
controls on satellites and related items under the Arms Export Control
Act are successfully preventing the transfer of militarily-sensitive
technologies to countries of concern, especially the People's Republic
of China;
(2) the extent to which comparable satellites and
related items are available from foreign sources without comparable
export controls; and
(3) whether the current export controls on satellites
and related items should be altered and in what manner, including
whether other incentives or disincentives should also be employed to
discourage exports of satellites and related items to the People's
Republic of China by any country.
(b) Definitions- In this section, the terms `satellite' and
`related items' mean satellites and all specifically designed or
modified systems or subsystems, components, parts, accessories,
attachments, and associated equipment for satellites as covered under
category XV of the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (as in
effect on the date of the enactment of this Act).
SEC. 129. DEFINITION.
In this subtitle, the term `appropriate congressional
committees' means the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate.
TITLE II--SECURITY ASSISTANCE AND RELATED SUPPORT FOR ISRAEL
SEC. 201. ASSESSMENT OF ISRAEL'S QUALITATIVE MILITARY EDGE OVER MILITARY THREATS.
(a) Assessment Required- The President shall carry out an
empirical and qualitative assessment on an ongoing basis of the extent
to which Israel possesses a qualitative military edge over military
threats to Israel. The assessment required under this subsection shall
be sufficiently robust so as to facilitate comparability of data over
concurrent years.
(b) Use of Assessment- The President shall ensure that the
assessment required under subsection (a) is used to inform the review
by the United States of applications to sell defense articles and
defense services under the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2751 et
seq.) to countries in the Middle East.
(1) INITIAL REPORT- Not later than 180 days after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the President shall transmit to the
appropriate congressional committees a report on the initial assessment
required under subsection (a).
(2) QUADRENNIAL REPORT- Not later than four years after
the date on which the President transmits the initial report under
paragraph (1), and every four years thereafter, the President shall
transmit to the appropriate congressional committees a report on the
most recent assessment required under subsection (a).
(d) Certification- Section 36 of the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2776) is amended by adding at the end the following:
`(h) Certification Requirement Relating Israel's Qualitative Military Edge-
`(1) IN GENERAL- Any certification relating to a
proposed sale or export of defense articles or defense services under
this section to any country in the Middle East other than Israel shall
include a determination that the sale or export of the defense articles
or defense services will not adversely affect Israel's qualitative
military edge over military threats to Israel.
`(2) DEFINITION- In this subsection, the term
`qualitative military edge' has the meaning given the term in section
205 of the Security Assistance and Arms Export Control Reform Act of
2008.'.
SEC. 202. REPORT ON UNITED STATES' COMMITMENTS TO THE SECURITY OF ISRAEL.
(a) Initial Report- Not later than 30 days after the date
of the enactment of this Act, the President shall transmit to the
appropriate congressional committees a report that contains--
(1) a complete, unedited, and unredacted copy of each
assurance made by United States Government officials to officials of
the Government of Israel regarding Israel's security and maintenance of
Israel's qualitative military edge, as well as any other assurance
regarding Israel's security and maintenance of Israel's qualitative
military edge provided in conjunction with exports under the Arms
Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2751 et seq.), for the period beginning
on January 1, 1975, and ending on the date of the enactment of this
Act; and
(2) an analysis of the extent to which, and by what means, each such assurance has been and is continuing to be fulfilled.
(1) NEW ASSURANCES AND REVISIONS- The President shall
transmit to the appropriate congressional committees a report that
contains the information required under subsection (a) with respect to--
(A) each assurance described in subsection (a) made on or after the date of the enactment of this Act, or
(B) revisions to any assurance described in subsection (a) or subparagraph (A) of this paragraph,
within 15 days of the new assurance or revision being conveyed.
(2) 5-year REPORTS- Not later than 5 years after the
date of the enactment of this Act, and every 5 years thereafter, the
President shall transmit to the appropriate congressional committees a
report that contains the information required under subsection (a) with
respect to each assurance described in subsection (a) or paragraph
(1)(A) of this subsection and revisions to any assurance described in
subsection (a) or paragraph (1)(A) of this subsection during the
preceding 5-year period.
(c) Form- Each report required by this section shall be
transmitted in unclassified form, but may contain a classified annex,
if necessary.
SEC. 203. WAR RESERVES STOCKPILE.
(a) Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2005- Section
12001(d) of the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2005 (Public
Law 108-287; 118 Stat. 1011), is amended by striking `4' and inserting
`6'.
(b) Foreign Assistance Act of 1961- Section 514(b)(2)(A) of
the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2321h(b)(2)(A)) is
amended by striking `fiscal years 2007 and 2008' and inserting `fiscal
years 2009 and 2010'.
(c) Effective Date- The amendment made by subsection (a) takes effect on August 5, 2008.
SEC. 204. IMPLEMENTATION OF MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING WITH ISRAEL.
(a) In General- Of the amount made available for fiscal
year 2009 for assistance under the program authorized by section 23 of
the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2763) (commonly referred to as
the `Foreign Military Financing Program'), the amount specified in
subsection (b) is authorized to be made available on a grant basis for
Israel.
(b) Computation of Amount- The amount referred to in subsection (a) is the amount equal to--
(1) the amount specified under the heading `Foreign Military Financing Program' for Israel for fiscal year 2008; plus
(1) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS FOR ADVANCED WEAPONS SYSTEMS-
To the extent the Government of Israel requests the United States to
provide assistance for fiscal year 2009 for the procurement of advanced
weapons systems, amounts authorized to be made available for Israel
under this section shall, as agreed to by Israel and the United States,
be available for such purposes, of which not less than $670,650,000
shall be available for the procurement in Israel of defense articles
and defense services, including research and development.
(2) DISBURSEMENT OF FUNDS- Amounts authorized to be
made available for Israel under this section shall be disbursed not
later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of an Act making
appropriations for the Department of State, foreign operations, and
related programs for fiscal year 2009, or October 31, 2008, whichever
occurs later.
SEC. 205. DEFINITIONS.
(1) the term `appropriate congressional committees'
means the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives
and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate; and
(2) the term `qualitative military edge' means the
ability to counter and defeat any credible conventional military threat
from any individual state or possible coalition of states or from
non-state actors, while sustaining minimal damages and casualties,
through the use of superior military means, possessed in sufficient
quantity, including weapons, command, control, communication,
intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities that in
their technical characteristics are superior in capability to those of
such other individual or possible coalition of states or non-state
actors.
TITLE III--WAIVER OF CERTAIN SANCTIONS TO FACILITATE DENUCLEARIZATION ACTIVITIES IN NORTH KOREA
SEC. 301. WAIVER AUTHORITY AND EXCEPTIONS.
(a) Waiver Authority- Except as provided in subsection (b),
the President may waive, in whole or in part, the application of any
sanction contained in subparagraph (A), (B), (D), or (G) of section
102(b)(2) of the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2799aa-1(b)(2))
with respect to North Korea in order to provide material, direct, and
necessary assistance for disablement, dismantlement, verification, and
physical removal activities in the implementation of the commitment of
North Korea, undertaken in the Joint Statement of September 19, 2005,
`to abandoning all nuclear weapons and existing nuclear programs' as
part of the verifiable denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
(b) Exceptions- The waiver authority under subsection (a) may not be exercised with respect to the following:
(1) Any export of lethal defense articles that would be
prevented by the application of section 102(b)(2)(B) of the Arms Export
Control Act.
(2) Any sanction relating to credit or credit guarantees contained in section 102(b)(2)(D) of the Arms Export Control Act.
SEC. 302. CERTIFICATION REGARDING WAIVER OF CERTAIN SANCTIONS.
Assistance described in subparagraph (B) or (G) of section
102(b)(2) of the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2799aa-1(b)(2)) may
be provided with respect to North Korea by reason of the exercise of
the waiver authority under section 301 only if the President first
determines and certifies to the appropriate congressional committees
that--
(1) all necessary steps will be taken to ensure that
the assistance will not be used to improve the military capabilities of
the armed forces of North Korea; and
(2) the exercise of the waiver authority is in the national security interests of the United States.
SEC. 303. CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION AND REPORT.
(a) Notification- The President shall notify the
appropriate congressional committees in writing not later than 15 days
before exercising the waiver authority under section 301.
(b) Report- Not later than 60 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter for such time during
which the exercise of the waiver authority under section 301 remains in
effect, the President shall transmit to the appropriate congressional
committees a report that--
(1) describes in detail the progress that is being made
in the implementation of the commitment of North Korea described in
section 301, including all United States and international activities
to verify compliance with such commitment;
(2) describes in detail any failures, shortcomings, or
obstruction by North Korea with respect to the implementation of the
commitment of North Korea described in section 301;
(3) describes in detail the progress or lack thereof in
the preceding 12-month period of all other programs promoting the
elimination of North Korea's capability to develop, deploy, transfer,
or maintain weapons of mass destruction or their delivery systems;
(4) describes in detail all United States assistance,
regardless of the source, provided to North Korea by reason of the
exercise of the waiver authority under section 301 and any assistance
provided under any other authority if such assistance is provided for
the same or similar purposes; and
(5) beginning with the second report required by this
subsection, a justification for the continuation of the waiver
exercised under section 301 and, if applicable, section 302, for the
fiscal year in which the report is submitted.
SEC. 304. TERMINATION OF WAIVER AUTHORITY.
Any waiver in effect by reason of the exercise of the
waiver authority under section 301 shall terminate if the President
determines that North Korea--
(1)(A) on or after September 19, 2005, transferred to a non-nuclear-weapon state, or received, a nuclear explosive device; or
(B) on or after October 10, 2006, detonated a nuclear explosive device; or
(2) on or after September 19, 2005--
(A) transferred to a non-nuclear-weapon state any
design information or component which is determined by the President to
be important to, and known by North Korea to be intended by the
recipient state for use in, the development or manufacture of any
nuclear explosive device, or
(B) sought and received any design information or
component which is determined by the President to be important to, and
intended by North Korea for use in, the development or manufacture of
any nuclear explosive device,
unless the President determines and certifies to the
appropriate congressional committees that such waiver is vital to the
national security interests of the United States.
SEC. 305. EXPIRATION OF WAIVER AUTHORITY.
Any waiver in effect by reason of the exercise of the
waiver authority under section 301 shall terminate on the date that is
4 years after the date of the enactment of this Act. The waiver
authority under section 301 may not be exercised beginning on the date
that is 3 years after the date of the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 306. CONTINUATION OF RESTRICTIONS AGAINST THE GOVERNMENT OF NORTH KOREA.
(a) In General- Except as provided in section 301(a),
restrictions against the Government of North Korea that were imposed by
reason of a determination of the Secretary of State that North Korea is
a state sponsor of terrorism shall remain in effect, and shall not be
lifted pursuant to the provisions of law under which the determination
was made, unless the President certifies to the appropriate
congressional committees that--
(1) the Government of North Korea is no longer engaged
in the transfer of technology related to the acquisition or development
of nuclear weapons, particularly to the Governments of Iran, Syria, or
any other country that is a state sponsor of terrorism;
(2) in accordance with the Six-Party Talks Agreement of
February 13, 2007, the Government of North Korea has `provided a
complete and correct declaration of all its nuclear programs,' and
there are measures to effectively verify this declaration by the United
States which, `[a]t the request of the other Parties,' is leading
`disablement activities' and `provid[ing] the funding for those
activities'; and
(3) the Government of North Korea has agreed to the
participation of the International Atomic Energy Agency in the
monitoring and verification of the shutdown and sealing of the Yongbyon
nuclear facility.
(b) State Sponsor of Terrorism Defined- In this section,
the term `state sponsor of terrorism' means a country the government of
which the Secretary of State has determined, for purposes of section
6(j) of the Export Administration Act of 1979 (as continued in effect
pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act), section
40 of the Arms Export Control Act, section 620A of the Foreign
Assistance Act of 1961, or any other provision of law, is a government
that has repeatedly provided support for acts of international
terrorism.
SEC. 307. REPORT ON VERIFICATION MEASURES RELATING TO NORTH KOREA'S NUCLEAR PROGRAMS.
(a) In General- Not later than 15 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall submit to the
appropriate congressional committees a report on verification measures
relating to North Korea's nuclear programs under the Six-Party Talks
Agreement of February 13, 2007, with specific focus on how such
verification measures are defined under the Six-Party Talks Agreement
and understood by the United States Government.
(b) Matters to Be Included- The report required under
subsection (a) shall include, among other elements, a detailed
description of--
(1) the methods to be utilized to confirm that North
Korea has `provided a complete and correct declaration of all of its
nuclear programs';
(2) the specific actions to be taken in North Korea and
elsewhere to ensure a high and ongoing level of confidence that North
Korea has fully met the terms of the Six-Party Talks Agreement relating
to its nuclear programs;
(3) any formal or informal agreement with North Korea
regarding verification measures relating to North Korea's nuclear
programs under the Six-Party Talks Agreement; and
(4) any disagreement expressed by North Korea regarding
verification measures relating to North Korea's nuclear programs under
the Six-Party Talks Agreement.
(c) Form- The report required under subsection (a) shall be
submitted in unclassified form, but may include a classified annex.
SEC. 308. DEFINITIONS.
(1) the term `appropriate congressional committees' means--
(A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee
on Appropriations, and the Committee on Armed Services of the House of
Representatives; and
(B) the Committee on Foreign Relations, the Committee on Appropriations, the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate;
(2) the terms `non-nuclear-weapon state', `design
information', and `component' have the meanings given such terms in
section 102 of the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2799aa-1); and
(3) the term `Six-Party Talks Agreement of February 13,
2007' or `Six-Party Talks Agreement' means the action plan released on
February 13, 2007, of the Third Session of the Fifth Round of the
Six-Party Talks held in Beijing among the People's Republic of China,
the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea), Japan, the
Republic of Korea (South Korea), the Russian Federation, and the United
States relating to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,
normalization of relations between the North Korea and the United
States, normalization of relations between North Korea and Japan,
economy and energy cooperation, and matters relating to the Northeast
Asia Peace and Security Mechanism.
TITLE IV--MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
SEC. 401. AUTHORITY TO BUILD THE CAPACITY OF FOREIGN MILITARY FORCES.
(a) Authority- The Secretary of State is authorized to
conduct a program to respond to contingencies in foreign countries or
regions by providing training, procurement, and capacity-building of a
foreign country's national military forces and dedicated
counter-terrorism forces in order for that country to--
(1) conduct counterterrorist operations; or
(2) participate in or support military and stability operations in which the United States is a participant.
(b) Types of Capacity-Building- The program authorized
under subsection (a) may include the provision of equipment, supplies,
and training.
(1) ANNUAL FUNDING LIMITATION- The Secretary of State
may use up to $25,000,000 of funds available under the Foreign Military
Financing program for each of the fiscal years 2009 and 2010 to conduct
the program authorized under subsection (a).
(2) ASSISTANCE OTHERWISE PROHIBITED BY LAW- The
Secretary of State may not use the authority in subsection (a) to
provide any type of assistance described in subsection (b) that is
otherwise prohibited by any provision of law.
(3) LIMITATION ON ELIGIBLE COUNTRIES- The Secretary of
State may not use the authority in subsection (a) to provide assistance
described in subsection (b) to any foreign country that is otherwise
prohibited from receiving such type of assistance under any other
provision of law.
(d) Formulation and Execution of Activities- The Secretary
of State shall consult with the head of any other appropriate
department or agency in the formulation and execution of the program
authorized under subsection (a).
(e) Congressional Notification-
(1) ACTIVITIES IN A COUNTRY- Not less than 15 days
before obligating funds for activities in any country under the program
authorized under subsection (a), the Secretary of State shall submit to
the congressional committees specified in paragraph (3) a notice of the
following:
(A) The country whose capacity to engage in activities in subsection (a) will be assisted.
(B) The budget, implementation timeline with milestones, and completion date for completing the activities.
(2) SPECIFIED CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES- The congressional committees specified in this paragraph are the following:
(A) The Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives.
(B) The Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate.
SEC. 402. MAINTENANCE OF EUROPEAN UNION ARMS EMBARGO AGAINST CHINA.
(a) Findings- Congress makes the following findings:
(1) Congress has previously expressed its strong
concerns in House Resolution 57 of February 2, 2005, and Senate
Resolution 91 of March 17, 2005, with the transfer of armaments and
related technology to the People's Republic of China by member states
of the European Union, which increased eightfold from 2001 to 2003, and
with plans to terminate in the near future the arms embargo they
imposed in 1989 following the Tiananmen Square massacre.
(2) The deferral of a decision by the European Council
to terminate its arms embargo following adoption of the resolutions
specified in paragraph (1), the visit by the President of the United
States to Europe, and growing concern among countries in the regions
and the general public on both sides of the Atlantic, was welcomed by
the Congress.
(3) The decision by the European Parliament on April
14, 2005, by a vote of 421 to 85, to oppose the lifting of the European
Union's arms embargo on the People's Republic of China, and resolutions
issued by a number of elected parliamentary bodies in Europe also
opposing the lifting of the arms embargo, was also welcomed by the
Congress as a reassurance that its European friends and allies
understood the gravity of prematurely lifting the embargo.
(4) The onset of a strategic dialogue between the
European Commission and the Government of the United States on the
security situation in East Asia holds out the hope that a greater
understanding will emerge of the consequences of European assistance to
the military buildup of the People's Republic of China for peace and
stability in that region, to the security interests of the United
States and its friends and allies in the region, and, in particular, to
the safety of United States Armed Forces whose presence in the region
has been a decisive factor in ensuring peace and prosperity since the
end of World War II.
(5) A more intensive dialogue with Europe on this
matter will clarify for United States' friends and allies in Europe how
their `non-lethal' arms transfers improve the force projection of the
People's Republic of China, are far from benign, and enhance the
prospects for the threat or use of force in resolving the status of
Taiwan.
(6) This dialogue may result in an important new
consensus between the United States and its European partners on the
need for coordinated policies that encourage the development of
democracy in the People's Republic of China and which discourage, not
assist, China's unjustified military buildup and pursuit of weapons
that threaten its neighbors.
(7) However, the statement by the President of France
in Beijing in November 2007 that the European Union arms embargo should
be lifted is troubling, especially since France will assume the
six-month presidency of the European Union in July 2008.
(8) There continues to be wide-spread concerns
regarding the lack of any significant progress by the Government of the
People's Republic of China in respecting the civil and political rights
of the Chinese people.
(b) Statement of Policy- It shall be the policy of the
United States Government to oppose any diminution or termination of the
arms embargo that was established by the Declaration of the European
Council of June 26, 1989, and to take whatever diplomatic and other
measures that are appropriate to convince the Member States of the
European Union, individually and collectively, to continue to observe
this embargo in principle and in practice. Appropriate measures should
include prohibitions on entering into defense procurement contracts or
defense-related research and development arrangements with European
Union Member States that do not observe such an embargo in practice.
(c) Report- Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, and every six months thereafter until December
31, 2010, the President shall transmit to the Committee on Foreign
Affairs and Committee on Armed Services of the House of Representatives
and the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on Armed
Services of the Senate a report on all efforts and activities of the
United States Government to ensure the success of the policy declared
in subsection (b).
SEC. 403. REIMBURSEMENT OF SALARIES OF MEMBERS OF THE RESERVE COMPONENTS IN SUPPORT OF SECURITY COOPERATION MISSIONS.
Section 632(d) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2392(d)) is amended--
(1) by striking `(d) Except as otherwise provided' and inserting `(d)(1) Except as otherwise provided'; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
`(2) Notwithstanding provisions concerning the exclusion of
the costs of salaries of members of the Armed Forces in section 503(a)
of this Act and paragraph (1) of this subsection, the full cost of
salaries of members of the reserve components of the Armed Forces
(specified in section 10101 of title 10, United States Code) may,
during each of fiscal years 2009 and 2010, be included in calculating
pricing or value for reimbursement charged under section 503(a) of this
Act and paragraph (1) of this subsection, respectively.'.
SEC. 404. FOREIGN MILITARY SALES STOCKPILE FUND.
(a) In General- Subsection (a) of section 51 of the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2795) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1), by striking `Special Defense
Acquisition Fund' and inserting `Foreign Military Sales Stockpile
Fund'; and
(2) in paragraph (4), by inserting `building the capacity of recipient countries and' before `narcotics control purposes'.
(b) Contents of Fund- Subsection (b) of such section is amended--
(1) in paragraph (2), by striking `and' at the end;
(2) in paragraph (3), by inserting `and' at the end; and
(3) by inserting after paragraph (3) the following:
`(4) collections from leases made pursuant to section 61 of this Act,'.
(c) Conforming Amendments- (1) The heading of such section
is amended by striking `Special Defense Acquisition Fund' and inserting
`Foreign Military Sales Stockpile Fund'.
(2) The heading of chapter 5 of the Arms Export Control Act is amended by striking `SPECIAL DEFENSE ACQUISITION FUND' and inserting `FOREIGN MILITARY SALES STOCKPILE FUND'.
SEC. 405. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that the United States should
not provide security assistance or arms exports to nations contributing
to massive, widespread, and systematic violations of human rights or
acts of genocide, particularly with respect to Darfur, Sudan.
TITLE V--AUTHORITY TO TRANSFER NAVAL VESSELS
SEC. 501. AUTHORITY TO TRANSFER NAVAL VESSELS TO CERTAIN FOREIGN RECIPIENTS.
(a) Transfers by Grant- The President is authorized to
transfer vessels to foreign countries on a grant basis under section
516 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2321j), as follows:
(1) PAKISTAN- To the Government of Pakistan, the OLIVER HAZARD PERRY class guided missile frigate MCINERNEY (FFG-8).
(2) GREECE- To the Government of Greece, the OSPREY class minehunter coastal ships OSPREY (MHC-51) and ROBIN (MHC-54).
(3) CHILE- To the Government of Chile, the KAISER class oiler ANDREW J. HIGGINS (AO-190).
(4) PERU- To the Government of Peru, the NEWPORT class amphibious tank landing ships FRESNO (LST-1182) and RACINE (LST-1191).
(b) Grants Not Counted in Annual Total of Transferred
Excess Defense Articles- The value of a vessel transferred to a
recipient on a grant basis pursuant to authority provided by subsection
(a) shall not be counted against the aggregate value of excess defense
articles transferred in any fiscal year under section 516(g) of the
Foreign Assistance Act of 1961.
(c) Costs of Transfers- Any expense incurred by the United
States in connection with a transfer authorized by this section shall
be charged to the recipient.
(d) Repair and Refurbishment in United States Shipyards- To
the maximum extent practicable, the President shall require, as a
condition of the transfer of a vessel under this section, that the
recipient to which the vessel is transferred have such repair or
refurbishment of the vessel as is needed before the vessel joins the
naval forces of the recipient performed at a shipyard located in the
United States, including a United States Navy shipyard.
(e) Expiration of Authority- The authority to transfer a
vessel under this section shall expire at the end of the 2-year period
beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act.
Passed the House of Representatives May 15, 2008.
Attest:
Clerk.
110th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 5916
AN ACT
To reform the administration of the Arms Export Control Act, and for other purposes.
END
