[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1143 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1143
To direct the Secretary of Defense to carry out a grant program to
increase cooperation on post-traumatic stress disorder research between
the United States and Israel.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 30, 2023
Mr. Moran (for himself, Mr. Padilla, Mr. Cardin, Ms. Rosen, Ms. Hassan,
Ms. Stabenow, Ms. Collins, Mr. Peters, and Mr. Menendez) introduced the
following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on
Foreign Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To direct the Secretary of Defense to carry out a grant program to
increase cooperation on post-traumatic stress disorder research between
the United States and Israel.
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 ``United States-Israel PTSD
Collaborative Research Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) 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 subsection 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.
(2) 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.
(3) 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.
(4) 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.
(5) 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.
(6) 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.
SEC. 3. GRANT PROGRAM FOR INCREASED COOPERATION ON POST-TRAUMATIC
STRESS DISORDER RESEARCH BETWEEN UNITED STATES AND
ISRAEL.
(a) 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) Gift Authority.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary may accept, hold, and
administer any gift of money made on the condition that the
gift be used for the purpose of the grant program under this
section.
(2) Deposit.--Gifts of money accepted under paragraph (1)
shall be deposited in the Treasury in the Department of Defense
General Gift Fund and shall be available, subject to
appropriation, without fiscal year limitation.
(g) 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.
(h) 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.
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