International Fund for Israeli-Palestinian Peace Authorization Act of 2015
Urges the President to make every effort, in conjunction with the government of Israel, the Palestinian Authority, and the international community to establish an International Fund for Israeli-Palestinian Peace.
Authorizes appropriations for U.S. contributions to the Fund.
[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1489 Introduced in House (IH)]
114th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1489
To seek the establishment of and contributions to an International Fund
for Israeli-Palestinian Peace.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 19, 2015
Mr. Crowley (for himself and Mr. Fortenberry) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To seek the establishment of and contributions to an International Fund
for Israeli-Palestinian Peace.
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 ``International Fund for Israeli-
Palestinian Peace Authorization Act of 2015''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
(1) Peaceful co-existence in the Middle East between
Israelis and Palestinians, and between Muslims, Christians,
Jews, and those of all backgrounds is in the interests of the
United States, Israel, the Palestinian people, and the world.
(2) While the United States and its international allies
continue to support diplomatic and political negotiations
between the representatives of the parties to the conflict as
well as others, in the long run such efforts require broad
popular support among people in order to succeed. In order to
achieve lasting peace in the region, the people who live there
must, over time, sustain any potential high-level agreements.
(3) Through many independent individual and nongovernmental
activities, tens of thousands of people of different
backgrounds are already working together to build better
relations between people, through people-to-people coexistence
and trust-building measures, activities, and other cooperative
efforts.
(4) By working cooperatively on shared goals and addressing
mutual understanding, participants in such activities,
including youth, can come to reject violence and understand the
promise of peaceful coexistence.
(5) Through support for people-to-people exchanges in the
region and joint economic initiatives, millions of ordinary
citizens affected by this conflict can assist in building
support for lasting peace.
(6) Working together, the United States, countries around
the world, and the private sector can help sustain support for
peace with the establishment and funding of an independent
International Fund for Israeli-Palestinian Peace (referred to
in this Act as the ``International Fund''), to promote and
support contact, cooperation, dialogue, shared community
building, peaceful coexistence, joint economic development, and
reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians.
(7) United States and international support for grassroots
people-to-people efforts can help serve as an antidote to false
propaganda by terrorist groups.
(8) The International Fund shall serve as a coordinating
body offering expertise and support, adhering to best practices
for governance, transparency, and accountability. The
International Fund will be an ongoing presence and catalyst for
rejecting violence and building broad public support for
sustaining peace in the region. The International Fund is not
intended to be a political forum, but a grant-making body to
facilitate enduring people-to-people relationships.
(b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are as follows:
(1) To urge the President to make every effort, in
conjunction with the Government of Israel, the Palestinian
Authority, regional governments, and the international
community to establish a non-political, mutually acceptable
International Fund to promote and support contact, cooperation,
dialogue, shared community building, peaceful coexistence,
joint economic development, and reconciliation between Israelis
and Palestinians.
(2) To provide for United States contributions to consist
of amounts made available to carry out chapter 4 of part II of
the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2346 et seq.
(relating to the Economic Support Fund)) for payment to the
International Fund to carry out the activities described in
paragraph (1).
SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF INTERNATIONAL FUND FOR ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN
PEACE.
Congress urges the President to make every effort, in conjunction
with the Government of Israel, the Palestinian Authority, and the
international community, to establish an International Fund for
Israeli-Palestinian Peace to carry out the purposes described in
section 2(b).
SEC. 4. UNITED STATES CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE INTERNATIONAL FUND FOR
ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN PEACE.
(a) In General.--Of the amounts made available for each of fiscal
years 2016 through 2020 to carry out chapter 4 of part II of the
Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2346 et seq. (relating to the
Economic Support Fund)), $50,000,000 is authorized to be appropriated
for United States contributions to the International Fund.
(b) Additional Authorities.--Amounts authorized to be appropriated
pursuant to subsection (a)--
(1) are in addition to amounts otherwise authorized to be
appropriated for such purposes; and
(2) are authorized to remain available until expended.
SEC. 5. CONDITIONS AND UNDERSTANDINGS RELATING TO INTERNATIONAL FUND
FOR ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN PEACE.
(a) Support and Promotion of Purposes.--United States contributions
to the International Fund provided for in section 4 may be used only to
support and promote the purposes described in section 2(b).
(b) Additional Restrictions.--The restrictions described in section
531(e) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2346(e)) shall
apply to United States contributions to the International Fund provided
for in section 4 to the same extent and in the same manner as such
restrictions apply to amounts made available to carry out chapter 4 of
part II of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961.
(c) United States Representation on Board of International Fund.--
The United States shall provide two representatives to the Advisory
Board of the International Fund with specialized expertise in promoting
contact, cooperation, dialogue, shared community building, peaceful
coexistence, joint economic development, and reconciliation between
Israelis and Palestinians. The United States representatives on the
Advisory Board of the International Fund shall be from different
political parties, and in making appointments, members of different
political parties shall be appointed alternately as nearly as may be
practicable.
SEC. 6. ANNUAL REPORT.
(a) In General.--At the end of each fiscal year in which the United
States Government makes any contribution to the International Fund in
accordance with this Act, the President shall transmit to Congress a
written report on the extent to which the International Fund and United
States contributions to the International Fund have contributed to
promoting and supporting contact, cooperation, dialogue, shared
community building, peaceful coexistence, joint economic development,
and reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians.
(b) Matters To Be Included.--The reports required under subsection
(a) shall also include the following:
(1) Information on contributions pledged to, contributions
(including donations from the private sector) received by, and
projects funded by the International Fund, and the mechanisms
established for transparency and accountability in the grant-
making process.
(2) A description of the International Fund's operations,
activities, budget, receipts, and expenditures for the
preceding 12-month period, including an audited report of the
International Fund's finances, including statements of
financial position, operations, and cash flows, in accordance
with the United States generally accepted government auditing
standards as prescribed by the Comptroller General.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
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