[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4703 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 4703

     To enhance the partnership between the United States and the 
                  Philippines, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                July 11 (legislative day, July 10), 2024

   Mr. Rubio introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
             referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To enhance the partnership between the United States and 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``United States-
Philippines Partnership Act of 2024''.
    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as 
follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
                       TITLE I--ECONOMIC MEASURES

Sec. 101. Definitions.
Sec. 102. Negotiation of critical minerals agreement with the 
                            Philippines.
Sec. 103. Prioritization of support by United States International 
                            Development Finance Corporation for 
                            projects in the Philippines in critical 
                            minerals and fossil fuels.
Sec. 104. Interagency plan for infrastructure development in the 
                            Philippines to support military and 
                            disaster recovery operations.
                     TITLE II--DIPLOMATIC MEASURES

Sec. 201. Statement of policy regarding China's illegal, coercive, 
                            aggressive, and deceptive tactics in the 
                            South China Sea.
Sec. 202. Multilateral agreement between the United States, the 
                            Philippines, the Republic of Korea, and 
                            Japan.
                      TITLE III--MILITARY MEASURES

Sec. 301. United States-Philippines Security Consultative Committee.
Sec. 302. Report on domain awareness gaps of the Philippines.
Sec. 303. Assessment of and report on improvements in Second Thomas 
                            Shoal region of the Philippines.

                       TITLE I--ECONOMIC MEASURES

SEC. 101. DEFINITIONS.

    In this title:
            (1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term 
        ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
                    (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations, the 
                Committee on Finance, and the Committee on Energy and 
                Natural Resources of the Senate; and
                    (B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee 
                on Ways and Means, and the Committee on Energy and 
                Commerce of the House of Representatives.
            (2) Critical mineral.--The term ``critical mineral'' has 
        the meaning given that term in section 7002(a) of the Energy 
        Act of 2020 (30 U.S.C. 1606(a)).
            (3) Foreign entity of concern.--The term ``foreign entity 
        of concern'' means an entity organized under the laws of or 
        otherwise subject to the jurisdiction of--
                    (A) the People's Republic of China;
                    (B) the Russian Federation;
                    (C) the Islamic Republic of Iran; or
                    (D) the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

SEC. 102. NEGOTIATION OF CRITICAL MINERALS AGREEMENT WITH THE 
              PHILIPPINES.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall seek to enter into 
negotiations with the Philippines for an executive agreement relating 
to critical minerals that--
            (1) requires that duties not be imposed on the export of on 
        critical minerals;
            (2) provides for domestic measures to address nonmarket 
        policies and practices of other countries affecting trade in 
        critical minerals;
            (3) implements best practices for reviewing investments 
        within the critical mineral sector of the Philippines by 
        foreign entities of concern;
            (4) promotes more efficient methods of extraction of 
        critical minerals that reduces the demand for the extractions 
        of virgin materials;
            (5) establishes engagement, information-sharing, and 
        enforcement processes to address concerns relating to the use 
        of forced labor in the critical mineral industry; and
            (6) promotes the neutrality of employers in the 
        organization and operations of labor organizations.
    (b) Briefings Required.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
the enactment of this Act, and every 180 days thereafter until an 
agreement described in subsection (a) enters into force, the Secretary 
of State, the United States Trade Representative, and the heads of 
other relevant Federal agencies, shall brief the appropriate 
congressional committees on progress in negotiating such an agreement.

SEC. 103. PRIORITIZATION OF SUPPORT BY UNITED STATES INTERNATIONAL 
              DEVELOPMENT FINANCE CORPORATION FOR PROJECTS IN THE 
              PHILIPPINES IN CRITICAL MINERALS AND FOSSIL FUELS.

    (a) In General.--In providing support under title II of the Better 
Utilization of Investments Leading to Development Act of 2018 (22 
U.S.C. 9621 et seq.), the United States International Development 
Finance Corporation (in this section referred to as the 
``Corporation'') shall prioritize the provision of support to projects 
in the Philippines in sectors the Government of the Philippines is 
seeking to develop, including the mining of critical minerals and 
fossil fuels.
    (b) Report Required.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter until the date that is 5 
years after such date of enactment, the Chief Executive Officer of the 
Corporation shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a 
report that--
            (1) lists all the critical mineral and fossil fuel projects 
        in the Philippines for which the Corporation provided support 
        in the one-year period preceding submission of the report;
            (2) lists all the applications for support for such 
        projects that the Corporation rejected; and
            (3) provides a justification for rejecting such 
        applications.

SEC. 104. INTERAGENCY PLAN FOR INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT IN THE 
              PHILIPPINES TO SUPPORT MILITARY AND DISASTER RECOVERY 
              OPERATIONS.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall--
            (1) lead an interagency effort to assess investments of the 
        United States in the Philippines; and
            (2) develop a plan for how such investments can better 
        enable efficient transportation during a conflict or other 
        emergency scenario.
    (b) Identification of Infrastructure Requiring Additional 
Investment.--The plan required by subsection (a)(2) shall--
            (1) identify--
                    (A) infrastructure in the Philippines that the 
                Secretary determines is insufficient to support 
                military and disaster recovery operations; and
                    (B) any asset that would assist the military of the 
                Philippines in the event of an attack on the 
                Philippines; and
            (2) assess whether any of such assets require additional 
        investment by the United States to assist the military of the 
        Philippines in the event of an attack.
    (c) Identification of Additional United States Agencies to Make 
Investments.--The plan required by subsection (a)(2) shall identify 
United States Government agencies, such as the Office of Strategic 
Capital of the Department of Defense, that--
            (1) are not involved, as of the date of the enactment of 
        this Act, in infrastructure investment in the Philippines; and
            (2) could make investments that could assist the Government 
        of the Philippines respond to an attack on the Philippines.

                     TITLE II--DIPLOMATIC MEASURES

SEC. 201. STATEMENT OF POLICY REGARDING CHINA'S ILLEGAL, COERCIVE, 
              AGGRESSIVE, AND DECEPTIVE TACTICS IN THE SOUTH CHINA SEA.

    (a) In General.--It is the policy of the United States that the 
actions of the People's Republic of China in the South China Sea 
constitute illegal, coercive, aggressive, and deceptive (ICAD) tactics.
    (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that the United 
States Government should describe actions of the People's Republic of 
China in the South China Sea as ICAD tactics and that doing so would 
help the diplomatic efforts of the Government of the Philippines.

SEC. 202. MULTILATERAL AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES, THE 
              PHILIPPINES, THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA, AND JAPAN.

    There is authorized to be appropriated $5,000,000 for the 
Department of State and the United States Agency for International 
Development for fiscal year 2025 to support activities related to 
entering into and implementing a multilateral agreement with the 
Philippines, the Republic of Korea, and Japan for purposes of 
responding to actions of the People's Republic of China in the South 
China Sea.

                      TITLE III--MILITARY MEASURES

SEC. 301. UNITED STATES-PHILIPPINES SECURITY CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE.

    (a) Establishment.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State and the Secretary of 
Defense shall establish a consultative committee (to be known as the 
``United States-Philippines Security Consultative Committee'') to 
include the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Minister of Defense of 
the Philippines in the development of a strategy for jointly 
strengthening the national security and defense institutions of the 
Philippines and the capacity of such institutions to carry out 
operations across the Philippines (including inland and maritime areas) 
relating to--
            (1) counterterrorism and counterinsurgency;
            (2) counternarcotics and countering other forms of illicit 
        trafficking;
            (3) cyber defense and prevention of cyber crimes; and
            (4) border and maritime security and air defense.
    (b) Additional Elements.--The United States-Philippines Security 
Consultative Committee shall evaluate--
            (1) existing technologies, equipment, and weapons systems 
        of the national security and defense institutions of the 
        Philippines; and
            (2) the upgrades to such technologies, equipment, and 
        systems necessary to ensure the continued defense of the 
        national sovereignty and national territory of the Philippines.
    (c) Bilateral Security and Defense Cooperation.--Not later than 180 
days after the establishment of the United States-Philippines Security 
Consultative Committee, the Secretary of State, in coordination with 
the Secretary of Defense, may enter into consultations with the 
Government of Philippines to strengthen existing, or establish new, 
bilateral security and defense cooperation agreements or lines of 
effort to address capacity-building and resource needs identified by 
the consultative committee.
    (d) Briefings.--
            (1) Consultative committee.--Not later than 30 days after 
        the date on which the United States-Philippines Security 
        Consultative Committee is established, and not later than 15 
        days after any meeting of the United States-Philippines 
        Security Consultative Committee thereafter, the Secretary of 
        State and the Secretary of Defense shall, on request by any of 
        the appropriate committees of Congress, jointly brief the 
        appropriate committees of Congress on progress made by the 
        consultative committee.
            (2) Bilateral security and defense cooperation.--Not later 
        than 30 days after the completion of any consultation with the 
        Government of Philippines under subsection (c), the Secretary 
        of State and the Secretary of Defense shall brief the 
        appropriate committees of Congress on the implementation of 
        agreed upon areas of cooperation or lines of effort.
            (3) Appropriate committees of congress defined.--In this 
        subsection, the term ``appropriate committees of Congress'' 
        means--
                    (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the 
                Committee on Armed Services of the Senate; and
                    (B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the 
                Committee on Armed Services of the House of 
                Representatives.

SEC. 302. REPORT ON DOMAIN AWARENESS GAPS OF THE PHILIPPINES.

    Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this 
Act, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to Congress a report on gaps 
in the domain awareness of the Philippines that may be filled by 
broader Department of Defense resourcing of new capabilities.

SEC. 303. ASSESSMENT OF AND REPORT ON IMPROVEMENTS IN SECOND THOMAS 
              SHOAL REGION OF THE PHILIPPINES.

    (a) Assessment.--The Secretary of Defense shall assess the 
feasibility of improving the force posture of the United States Armed 
Forces capable of deterring, in cooperation with the military forces of 
the Philippines, hostile acts against the Philippines with respect to 
the Second Thomas Shoal, including an assessment of potential funding 
sources to execute the planning for and design of improvements to the 
position of the BRP Sierra Madre. The Secretary shall carry out such 
assessment not later than 180 days after enactment of this Act, and 
produce a report to Congress on joint efforts between the Department of 
Defense and the Philippines to harden positions near the Second Thomas 
Shoal.
    (b) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the 
Congress a report on the assessment carried out under subsection (a) 
and joint efforts between the Department of Defense and the Philippines 
to harden positions near the Second Thomas Shoal.
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