Special Envoy for the Abraham Accords Act

Special Envoy for the Abraham Accords Act

This bill establishes the position of Special Envoy for the Abraham Accords within the Department of State. (The Abraham Accords are agreements to normalize or improve relations between Israel and four members of the Arab League: the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan.)

The Special Envoy shall serve as the primary advisor to the U.S. government for expanding and strengthening the Abraham Accords. The duties of the Special Envoy include (1) encouraging counties without diplomatic relations with Israel to establish formal diplomatic, economic, security, and people-to-people ties; (2) expanding and strengthening existing relationships between Israel and Muslim-majority countries; and (3) coordinating efforts across the US government and engaging diplomatically with foreign governments, nongovernmental organizations, and other stakeholders to expand and strengthen the Abraham Accords.

The Special Envoy shall have the rank and status of ambassador.

[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3099 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3099

 To establish in the Department of State the position of Special Envoy 
            for the Abraham Accords, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 5, 2023

  Mr. Lawler (for himself and Mr. Torres of New York) introduced the 
 following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To establish in the Department of State the position of Special Envoy 
            for the Abraham Accords, 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 ``Special Envoy for the Abraham 
Accords Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that the policy of the United States, as enacted in 
section 104 of the Israel Relations Normalization Act of 2022 (division 
Z of Public Law 117-103), with respect to the Abraham Accords remains 
unchanged.

SEC. 3. SPECIAL ENVOY FOR THE ABRAHAM ACCORDS.

    Title I of the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 (22 
U.S.C. 2651a et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
section:

``SEC. 64. SPECIAL ENVOY FOR THE ABRAHAM ACCORDS.

    ``(a) Special Envoy for the Abraham Accords.--There is established 
within the Department of State a Special Envoy for the Abraham Accords 
(in this section referred to as the `Special Envoy'), who shall serve 
as the primary advisor to, and coordinate efforts across, the United 
States Government relating to expanding and strengthening the Abraham 
Accords. The Special Envoy shall report directly to the Secretary of 
State and shall hold the office at the pleasure of the President.
    ``(b) Nomination.--Pursuant to subsection (j)(1) of section 1, the 
Special Envoy shall be appointed by the President, by and with the 
advice and consent of the Senate, and may be appointed from among the 
officers and employees of the Department except that such officer or 
employee may not retain the position (or the responsibilities 
associated with the position) held by such officer or employee prior to 
such appointment simultaneously with the position or responsibilities 
of the Special Envoy.
    ``(c) Rank and Status of Ambassador.--The Special Envoy shall have 
the rank and status of ambassador.
    ``(d) Duties.--The Special Envoy shall be responsible for--
            ``(1) encouraging countries without diplomatic relations 
        with Israel to establish formal diplomatic, economic, security, 
        and people-to-people ties;
            ``(2) seeking to expand and strengthen existing 
        relationships between Israel and Muslim-majority countries, 
        including those outside the geographic scope of the Near 
        Eastern Affairs Bureau of the Department of State, to ensure 
        that all parties reap tangible security and economic benefits 
        for their citizens;
            ``(3) building on existing efforts, including the Negev 
        Forum, to help foster enhanced cooperation between Israel and 
        Muslim-majority countries on shared priorities including as 
        relates to trade, agriculture, and water security;
            ``(4) providing diplomatic support for Israel's integration 
        into cooperative efforts related to regional security; and
            ``(5) coordinating lines of effort across the United States 
        Government, including the regional and functional bureaus 
        within the Department of State, and conducting appropriate 
        diplomatic engagement with foreign governments, nongovernmental 
        organizations, and other stakeholders determined appropriate by 
        the Special Envoy in order to expand and strengthen the Abraham 
        Accords.
    ``(e) Report.--
            ``(1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
        the confirmation of the first Special Envoy appointed pursuant 
        to this section, and annually thereafter, the Special Envoy 
        shall submit to the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House 
        of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of 
        the Senate a report describing all United States efforts to 
        expand the Abraham Accords, including specific diplomatic 
        engagements and status of efforts with respect to specific 
        countries.
            ``(2) Form of report.--The report required by paragraph (1) 
        shall be submitted in unclassified form but may contain a 
        separate, classified annex.''.
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