118 S2725 IS: To authorize the establishment of the US-ASEAN Center to support United States economic and cultural engagement with Southeast Asia. U.S. Senate 2023-09-05 text/xml EN 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.

II118th CONGRESS1st SessionS. 2725IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATESSeptember 5, 2023Mr. Van Hollen (for himself and Mr. Romney) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign RelationsA BILLTo authorize the establishment of the US-ASEAN Center to support United States economic and cultural engagement with Southeast Asia.

1.

US-ASEAN Center

(a)

Defined term

In this Act, the term ASEAN means the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.(b)

Establishment

The Secretary of State is authorized to enter into a public-private partnership for the purposes of establishing a US-ASEAN Center in the United States to support United States economic and cultural engagement with Southeast Asia. (c)

Functions

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the US-ASEAN Center established pursuant to subsection (b) may—(1)provide grants for research to support and elevate the importance of the US-ASEAN partnership;(2)facilitate activities to strengthen US-ASEAN trade and investment;(3)expand economic and technological relationships between ASEAN countries and the United States into new areas of cooperation;(4)provide training to United States citizens and citizens of ASEAN countries that improve people-to-people ties;(5)develop educational programs to increase awareness for the United States and ASEAN countries on the importance of relations between the United States and ASEAN countries; and(6)carry out other activities the Secretary of State considers necessary to strengthen ties between the United States and ASEAN countries and achieve the objectives of the US-ASEAN Center.