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<dc:title>119 HR 2609 IH: Promoting Education on the Abraham Accords for Comprehensive Engagement Act</dc:title>
<dc:publisher>U.S. House of Representatives</dc:publisher>
<dc:date>2025-04-02</dc:date>
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<dc:language>EN</dc:language>
<dc:rights>Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.</dc:rights>
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<distribution-code display="yes">I</distribution-code><congress display="yes">119th CONGRESS</congress><session display="yes">1st Session</session><legis-num display="yes">H. R. 2609</legis-num><current-chamber>IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES</current-chamber><action display="yes"><action-date date="20250402">April 2, 2025</action-date><action-desc><sponsor name-id="S001190">Mr. Schneider</sponsor> (for himself and <cosponsor name-id="H001098">Mr. Hamadeh of Arizona</cosponsor>) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the <committee-name committee-id="HFA00">Committee on Foreign Affairs</committee-name></action-desc></action><legis-type>A BILL</legis-type><official-title display="yes">To promote education and training to United States diplomatic personnel relating to the Abraham Accords and other normalization agreements with Israel, and for other purposes.</official-title></form><legis-body id="H2072451ECF27427590DF677B2077FF12" style="OLC"><section id="HD0F8FE680A82482F979842A33FF6E0F7" section-type="section-one"><enum>1.</enum><header>Short title</header><text display-inline="no-display-inline">This Act may be cited as the <quote><short-title>Promoting Education on the Abraham Accords for Comprehensive Engagement Act</short-title></quote> or the <quote><short-title>PEACE Act</short-title></quote>.</text></section><section id="H189813F2134B458EA88E599081A7E0DA"><enum>2.</enum><header>Sense of congress</header><text display-inline="no-display-inline">It is the sense of Congress that—</text><paragraph id="HA4972954860F4133B19AFA3AA06A8B7B"><enum>(1)</enum><text>educating relevant Federal officials on the provisions of the Abraham Accords, as well as the provisions of prior normalization agreements with Israel, is essential to advancing the United States commitment to peace, cooperation, and stability in the Middle East;</text></paragraph><paragraph id="H818843C8CD794FD884B492C9C362F675"><enum>(2)</enum><text>the Secretary of State should ensure that United States diplomats and related personnel working in the region or on related issues receive comprehensive training on the history, principles, and future applications of the Abraham Accords and other normalization agreements; and</text></paragraph><paragraph id="H23C30E2F0F28494097BE482387E4124B"><enum>(3)</enum><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">the Secretary of State should ensure that United States diplomats are taught about the policy codified in section 104 of the Israel Relations Normalization Acts of 2022 and future iterations of the policy as amended.</text></paragraph></section><section id="HEC078CB89D014C1BA58717D166B97918"><enum>3.</enum><header>Abraham Accords and normalization education and training</header><subsection id="HD86AD150B4BA4761B9000F5D68AA34AB"><enum>(a)</enum><header>In general</header><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">To carry out the policy described in section 2, the Secretary of State may undertake the following:</text><paragraph id="HC9C3F6AF5B4A4F0C873E1ABE62CCCF16"><enum>(1)</enum><text>Supplementing existing offerings at the Foreign Service Institute and other relevant Department of State training facilities with courses focused on the Abraham Accords, peace agreements with Egypt and Jordan, and other such normalization agreements relating to Israel as determined by the Secretary of State. Such courses shall be developed to provide an understanding of these agreements’ diplomatic history, implementation strategies, and implications for regional peace.</text></paragraph><paragraph id="HCA55CB7DA19F4A38BC0D24578DE2F856"><enum>(2)</enum><text>Developing virtual training modules and interactive content accessible by employees and officers of the Department of State worldwide, focused on the principles, history, and diplomatic impacts of these agreements.</text></paragraph></subsection><subsection id="H1926ACD8946042D583980B5B620F5EF2"><enum>(b)</enum><header>Scope of training</header><text>For purposes of training and education activities implementing subsection (a)(2), the Secretary of State shall determine the countries eligible to provide such training in a manner that ensures alignment with current diplomatic landscape and objectives.</text></subsection></section><section id="HFCB2C4C8FC5B44A49DE562E57196DCFB" commented="no"><enum>4.</enum><header>Fellowships and exchanges</header><text display-inline="no-display-inline">The Director General of the Foreign Service is authorized to award fellowships or grants to eligible Foreign Service officers participating in programs, projects, or activities engaging with appropriate counterparts of Abraham Accords and other normalization agreement countries, as determined by the Secretary of State pursuant to <internal-xref idref="H1926ACD8946042D583980B5B620F5EF2" legis-path="3.(b)">section 3(b)</internal-xref>, or engaging with regional organizations in the Middle East, including—</text><paragraph id="HC39AF623973B4AB4B4C8DB4E9FD2F210" commented="no"><enum>(1)</enum><text>short-term and long-term fellowships with educational institutions, nongovernmental organizations, or diplomatic organizations involved in the negotiation and implementation of the Abraham Accords and other agreements; and</text></paragraph><paragraph id="HA479D3E6B8C54615AAE2250305583B98" commented="no"><enum>(2)</enum><text>opportunities to collaborate with regional governmental and non-governmental institutions that are part of the Abraham Accords or have normalized relations with Israel.</text></paragraph></section><section id="HC49B5305C4B24A9EAF1D0B862FE3AD22"><enum>5.</enum><header>Abraham accords and normalization advisory board</header><subsection id="H48EC42C4B55441919243D52D995D5494"><enum>(a)</enum><header>Establishment</header><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall establish a nonpartisan Abraham Accords and Normalization Advisory Board consisting of 4 individuals with expertise in diplomacy, Middle Eastern studies, interfaith dialogue, and peace-building.</text></subsection><subsection id="HCCC16F90E2604D5B94CDA132B5B44E76"><enum>(b)</enum><header>Membership</header><text>The members of the Abraham Accords and Normalization Advisory Board shall be appointed as follows:</text><paragraph id="HA08E32DC81E745C9A8D1BD2DBC84690F"><enum>(1)</enum><text>One member each by the Chairperson and Ranking Member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives.</text></paragraph><paragraph id="HEF2ACAE47E6A4B54B20187F9662C3F1A"><enum>(2)</enum><text>One member each by the Chairperson and Ranking Member of the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate.</text></paragraph></subsection><subsection id="H5858174E4159414AA005773AF1D31819"><enum>(c)</enum><header>Duties</header><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">The Board shall be responsible for providing on a unanimous basis independent advice and recommendations on curriculum development, resource management, and strategic planning for education and training curricula within the Foreign Service Institute and the Department of State relating to the Abraham Accords and other normalization agreements.</text></subsection></section><section id="H4967DFF138B44321ACBD39AF0B55628D"><enum>6.</enum><header>Strategy and reporting requirements</header><subsection id="HF47AE91F30554F36BE0E5537E741867E"><enum>(a)</enum><header>In general</header><text>Not later than 1 year after the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall develop and submit to the appropriate congressional committees a strategy for the Department of State to implement comprehensive training and education programs focused on the Abraham Accords and other normalization agreements with Israel.</text></subsection><subsection id="HB7B787073D694157A5611E99319A790D"><enum>(b)</enum><header>Elements</header><text>The strategy shall include:</text><paragraph id="H71B19A5CC2984F9CB00F3B934B2CC3B4"><enum>(1)</enum><text>A plan for integrating education on the Abraham Accords and other normalization agreements into existing training frameworks for Foreign Service Officers and other personnel of the Department of State;</text></paragraph><paragraph id="HCE98EF30F9C246CC921459CAB0525893"><enum>(2)</enum><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">A description of the unanimous recommendations of the Abraham Accords and Normalization Advisory Board established pursuant to <internal-xref idref="HC49B5305C4B24A9EAF1D0B862FE3AD22" legis-path="5.">section 5</internal-xref> and a detailed explanation of any departure from such recommendations in the course of implementing the education and training required by this Act.</text></paragraph><paragraph id="H21662AC1F64740C29B847876B4F1F4F4"><enum>(3)</enum><text>An outline of training requirements and goals to promote the understanding and operational capacity of United States personnel working with or on issues related to Abraham Accords and normalization agreements in the relevant countries; and</text></paragraph><paragraph id="HA73405FBF16947F694D0986A040A2A9D"><enum>(4)</enum><text>An analysis of the manner and extent to which the implementation of the education and training required by this Act supports the strategy required by section 105 of the Israel Relations Normalization Act of 2022 (division Z of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022; <external-xref legal-doc="usc" parsable-cite="usc/22/8601">22 U.S.C. 8601</external-xref> note).</text></paragraph></subsection><subsection id="H25D37C0BBBED458C837EC161FDDD3F65"><enum>(c)</enum><header>Ongoing reports</header><text>Not later than 1 year after the submission of the report required by subsection (a), and annually thereafter for 4 years, the Secretary of State shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report detailing the progress, challenges, and measurable outcomes of the educational initiatives developed pursuant to this Act.</text></subsection><subsection id="H9AA1C6BA1E2347EB8DAC2482E5FAB5FB"><enum>(d)</enum><header>Appropriate congressional committees defined</header><text>In this section, the term <quote>appropriate congressional committees</quote> means—</text><paragraph id="HC38112C7A892424F810CCF1E2A4636C1"><enum>(1)</enum><text>the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives; and</text></paragraph><paragraph id="HD2DDD336CD564BCA8A5A4C7F455F6B89"><enum>(2)</enum><text>the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate.</text></paragraph></subsection></section></legis-body></bill> 

