[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4097 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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118th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 4097
To modernize the defense capabilities of the Philippines, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
April 10, 2024
Mr. Hagerty (for himself and Mr. Kaine) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To modernize the defense capabilities of the Philippines, 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.
This Act may be cited as the ``Philippines Enhanced Resilience
Act'' or the ``PERA Act''.
SEC. 2. MODERNIZING THE DEFENSE CAPABILITIES OF THE PHILIPPINES.
(a) Use of Authorities.--The Secretary of State, in consultation
with the Secretary of Defense, shall use the authorities under this
section--
(1) to strengthen the United States-Philippines alliance;
and
(2) to support the acceleration of the modernization of the
defense capabilities of the Philippines.
(b) Purpose.--In addition to the purposes otherwise authorized for
Foreign Military Financing programs under the Arms Export Control Act (
22 U.S.C. 2751 et seq.), a purpose of such programs shall be to provide
assistance, including equipment, training, and other support, to
modernize the defense capabilities of the Armed Forces of the
Philippines--
(1) to safeguard the territorial sovereignty of the
Philippines;
(2) to improve maritime domain awareness;
(3) to counter coercive military activities;
(4) to improve the military and civilian infrastructure and
capabilities necessary to prepare for regional contingencies;
and
(5) to strengthen cooperation between the United States and
the Philippines on counterterrorism-related efforts.
(c) Annual Spending Plan.--Not later than March 1, 2025, and
annually thereafter for a period of 5 years, the Secretary of State, in
coordination with the Secretary of Defense, shall submit to the
appropriate congressional committees a plan describing how amounts
authorized to be appropriated pursuant to subsection (e), if made
available, would be used to achieve the purpose described in subsection
(b).
(d) Annual Report on Enhancing the United States-Philippines
Defense Relationship.--
(1) Report.--Not later than 270 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter for a period of
7 years, the Secretary of State, in consultation with the
Secretary of Defense, and in consultation with such other heads
of Federal departments and agencies as the Secretary of State
considers appropriate, shall submit to the appropriate
congressional committees a report that describes steps taken to
enhance the United States-Philippines defense relationship.
(2) Matters to be included.--Each report required under
paragraph (1) shall include the following:
(A) A description of the capabilities needed to
modernize the defense capabilities of the Philippines,
including with respect to--
(i) coastal defense;
(ii) long-range fires;
(iii) integrated air defenses;
(iv) maritime security;
(v) manned and unmanned aerial systems;
(vi) mechanized ground mobility vehicles;
(vii) intelligence, surveillance, and
reconnaissance;
(viii) defensive cybersecurity; and
(ix) any other defense capabilities that
the Secretary of State determines, including
jointly with the Philippines, are crucial to
the defense of the Philippines.
(B) A description of additional statutory
authorities and funding levels required to provide
support for and cooperation with the Philippines on the
capabilities described in subparagraph (A).
(3) Form.--Each report required under paragraph (1) shall
be submitted in unclassified form, but may contain a classified
annex.
(e) Authorization of Appropriations.--In addition to amounts
otherwise authorized to be appropriated for Foreign Military Financing,
there is authorized to be appropriated to the Department of State for
Foreign Military Financing grant assistance for the Philippines
$500,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 through 2029.
(f) Use of Funds.--Of the amounts authorized to be appropriated
pursuant to subsection (e), the Secretary of State shall obligate and
expend not less than $500,000 each fiscal year for one or more blanket
order agreements for Foreign Military Financing training programs
related to the defense needs of the Philippines.
(g) Sunset Provision.--Assistance may not be provided under this
section after September 30, 2030.
(h) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(A) the Committee on Foreign Relations, the
Committee on Armed Services, and the Committee on
Appropriations of the Senate; and
(B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee
on Armed Services, and the Committee on Appropriations
of the House of Representatives.
(2) Blanket order agreement.--The term ``blanket order
agreement'' means an agreement between a foreign customer and
the United State Government for a specific category of items or
services (including training) that--
(A) does not include a definitive list of items or
quantities; and
(B) specifies a dollar ceiling against which orders
may be placed.
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