[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1143 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1143

  To direct the Secretary of Defense to carry out a grant program to 
increase cooperation on post-traumatic stress disorder research between 
                     the United States and Israel.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 30, 2023

Mr. Moran (for himself, Mr. Padilla, Mr. Cardin, Ms. Rosen, Ms. Hassan, 
Ms. Stabenow, Ms. Collins, Mr. Peters, and Mr. Menendez) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                           Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To direct the Secretary of Defense to carry out a grant program to 
increase cooperation on post-traumatic stress disorder research between 
                     the United States and Israel.

    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-Israel PTSD 
Collaborative Research Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) The Department of Veterans Affairs reports that between 
        11 and 20 percent of veterans who served in Operation Iraqi 
        Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom have post-traumatic 
        stress disorder (in this subsection referred to as ``PTSD'') in 
        a given year. In addition, that figure amounts to about 12 
        percent of Gulf War veterans and up to 30 percent of Vietnam 
        veterans.
            (2) The Department of Veterans Affairs reports that among 
        women veterans of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, almost 
        20 percent have been diagnosed with PTSD.
            (3) It is thought that 70 percent of individuals in the 
        United States have experienced at least one traumatic event in 
        their lifetime, and approximately 20 percent of those 
        individuals have struggled or continue to struggle with 
        symptoms of PTSD.
            (4) Studies show that PTSD has links to homelessness and 
        substance abuse in the United States. The Department of 
        Veterans Affairs estimates that approximately 11 percent of the 
        homeless population are veterans and the Substance Abuse and 
        Mental Health Services Administration estimates that about 
        seven percent of veterans have a substance abuse disorder.
            (5) Our ally Israel, under constant attack from terrorist 
        groups, experiences similar issues with Israeli veterans facing 
        symptoms of PTSD. The National Center for Traumatic Stress and 
        Resilience at Tel Aviv University found that five to eight 
        percent of combat soldiers experience some form of PTSD, and 
        during wartime, that figure rises to 15 to 20 percent.
            (6) Current treatment options in the United States focus on 
        cognitive therapy, exposure therapy, or eye movement 
        desensitization and reprocessing, but the United States must 
        continue to look for more effective treatments. Several leading 
        hospitals, academic institutions, and nonprofit organizations 
        in Israel dedicate research and services to treating PTSD.

SEC. 3. GRANT PROGRAM FOR INCREASED COOPERATION ON POST-TRAUMATIC 
              STRESS DISORDER RESEARCH BETWEEN UNITED STATES AND 
              ISRAEL.

    (a) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that the 
Secretary of Defense, acting through the Psychological Health and 
Traumatic Brain Injury Research Program, should seek to explore 
scientific collaboration between academic institutions and nonprofit 
research entities in the United States and institutions in Israel with 
expertise in researching, diagnosing, and treating post-traumatic 
stress disorder.
    (b) Grant Program.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary of Defense, in coordination 
        with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and the Secretary of 
        State, shall award grants to eligible entities to carry out 
        collaborative research between the United States and Israel 
        with respect to post-traumatic stress disorders.
            (2) Agreement.--The Secretary of Defense shall carry out 
        the grant program under this section in accordance with the 
        Agreement on the United States-Israel binational science 
        foundation with exchange of letters, signed at New York 
        September 27, 1972, and entered into force on September 27, 
        1972.
    (c) Eligible Entities.--To be eligible to receive a grant under 
this section, an entity shall be an academic institution or a nonprofit 
entity located in the United States.
    (d) Award.--The Secretary shall award grants under this section to 
eligible entities that--
            (1) carry out a research project that--
                    (A) addresses a requirement in the area of post-
                traumatic stress disorders that the Secretary 
                determines appropriate to research using such grant; 
                and
                    (B) is conducted by the eligible entity and an 
                entity in Israel under a joint research agreement; and
            (2) meet such other criteria that the Secretary may 
        establish.
    (e) Application.--To be eligible to receive a grant under this 
section, an eligible entity shall submit an application to the 
Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing such commitments 
and information as the Secretary may require.
    (f) Gift Authority.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary may accept, hold, and 
        administer any gift of money made on the condition that the 
        gift be used for the purpose of the grant program under this 
        section.
            (2) Deposit.--Gifts of money accepted under paragraph (1) 
        shall be deposited in the Treasury in the Department of Defense 
        General Gift Fund and shall be available, subject to 
        appropriation, without fiscal year limitation.
    (g) Reports.--Not later than 180 days after the date on which an 
eligible entity completes a research project using a grant under this 
section, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report that 
contains--
            (1) a description of how the eligible entity used the 
        grant; and
            (2) an evaluation of the level of success of the research 
        project.
    (h) Termination.--The authority to award grants under this section 
shall terminate on the date that is seven years after the date on which 
the first such grant is awarded.
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