[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 907 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        H.R.907

                     One Hundred Fourteenth Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America


                          AT THE SECOND SESSION

           Begun and held at the City of Washington on Monday,
           the fourth day of January, two thousand and sixteen


                                 An Act


 
    To improve defense cooperation between the United States and the 
                      Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
    This Act may be cited as the ``United States-Jordan Defense 
Cooperation Act of 2015''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
    Congress makes the following findings:
        (1) As of January 22, 2015, the United States Government has 
    provided $3,046,343,000 in assistance to respond to the Syria 
    humanitarian crisis, of which nearly $467,000,000 has been provided 
    to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.
        (2) As of January 2015, according to the United Nations High 
    Commissioner for Refugees, there were 621,937 registered Syrian 
    refugees in Jordan and 83.8 percent of whom lived outside refugee 
    camps.
        (3) In 2000, the United States and Jordan signed a free-trade 
    agreement that went into force in 2001.
        (4) In 1996, the United States granted Jordan major non-NATO 
    ally status.
        (5) Jordan is suffering from the Syrian refugee crisis and the 
    threat of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
        (6) The Government of Jordan was elected as a non-permanent 
    member of the United Nations Security Council for a 2-year term 
    ending in December 2015.
        (7) Enhanced support for defense cooperation with Jordan is 
    important to the national security of the United States, including 
    through creation of a status in law for Jordan similar to the 
    countries in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Japan, 
    Australia, the Republic of Korea, Israel, and New Zealand, with 
    respect to consideration by Congress of foreign military sales to 
    Jordan.
        (8) The Colorado National Guard's relationship with the 
    Jordanian military provides a significant benefit to both the 
    United States and Jordan.
        (9) Jordanian pilot Moaz al-Kasasbeh was brutally murdered by 
    ISIL.
        (10) On February 3, 2015, Secretary of State John Kerry and 
    Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh signed a new Memorandum of 
    Understanding that reflects the intention to increase United States 
    assistance to the Government of Jordan from $660,000,000 to 
    $1,000,000,000 for each of the years 2015 through 2017.
        (11) On December 5, 2014, in an interview on CBS This Morning, 
    Jordanian King Abdullah II stated--
            (A) in reference to ISIL, ``This is a Muslim problem. We 
        need to take ownership of this. We need to stand up and say 
        what is wrong''; and
            (B) ``This is our war. This is a war inside Islam. So we 
        have to own up to it. We have to take the lead. We have to 
        start fighting back.''.
SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY.
    It should be the policy of the United States--
        (1) to support the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in its response 
    to the Syrian refugee crisis;
        (2) to provide necessary assistance to alleviate the domestic 
    burden to provide basic needs for the assimilated Syrian refugees;
        (3) to cooperate with Jordan to combat the terrorist threat 
    from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) or other 
    terrorist organizations; and
        (4) to help secure the border between Jordan and its neighbors 
    Syria and Iraq.
SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
    It is the sense of Congress that--
        (1) expeditious consideration of certifications of letters of 
    offer to sell defense articles, defense services, design and 
    construction services, and major defense equipment to the Hashemite 
    Kingdom of Jordan under section 36(b) of the Arms Export Control 
    Act (22 U.S.C. 2776(b)) is fully consistent with United States 
    security and foreign policy interests and the objectives of world 
    peace and security;
        (2) Congress welcomes the statement of King Abdullah II quoted 
    in section (2)(11); and
        (3) it is in the interest of peace and stability for regional 
    members of the Global Coalition to Combat ISIL to continue their 
    commitment to, and increase their involvement in, addressing the 
    threat posed by ISIL.
SEC. 5. ENHANCED DEFENSE COOPERATION.
    (a) In General.--During the 3-year period beginning on the date of 
the enactment of this Act, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan shall be 
treated as if it were a country listed in the provisions of law 
described in subsection (b) for purposes of applying and administering 
such provisions of law.
    (b) Arms Export Control Act.--The provisions of law described in 
this subsection are--
        (1) subsections (b)(2), (d)(2)(B), (d)(3)(A)(i), and (d)(5) of 
    section 3 of the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2753);
        (2) subsections (e)(2)(A), (h)(1)(A), and (h)(2) of section 21 
    of such Act (22 U.S.C. 2761);
        (3) subsections (b)(1), (b)(2), (b)(6), (c), and (d)(2)(A) of 
    section 36 of such Act (22 U.S.C. 2776);
        (4) section 62(c)(1) of such Act (22 U.S.C. 2796a(c)(1)); and
        (5) section 63(a)(2) of such Act (22 U.S.C. 2796b(a)(2)).
SEC. 6. MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING.
    Subject to the availability of appropriations, the Secretary of 
State is authorized to enter into a memorandum of understanding with 
the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan to increase economic support funds, 
military cooperation, including joint military exercises, personnel 
exchanges, support for international peacekeeping missions, and 
enhanced strategic dialogue.

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.