[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 201 (Thursday, November 18, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Page S8461]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 4791. Mr. MORAN (for himself and Ms. Rosen) submitted an amendment 
intended to be proposed to amendment SA 3867 submitted by Mr. Reed and 
intended to be proposed to the bill H.R. 4350, to authorize 
appropriations for fiscal year 2022 for military activities of the 
Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense 
activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military personnel 
strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which was 
ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

        At the end of subtitle C of title VII, add the following:

     SEC. 744. GRANT PROGRAM FOR INCREASED COOPERATION ON POST-
                   TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER RESEARCH BETWEEN 
                   UNITED STATES AND ISRAEL.

       (a) Findings and Sense of Congress.--
       (1) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
       (A) 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 paragraph 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.
       (B) 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.
       (C) 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.
       (D) 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.
       (E) 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.
       (F) 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.
       (2) 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) 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.
       (g) 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.
                                 ______