U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) joined a bipartisan contingent in introducing legislation that would reauthorize key cooperative programs between the United States and Israel and foster the use of existing programs to help expand the Abraham Accords.
Rep. McCaul, chairman of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee, on June 1 cosponsored the U.S.-Israel Partnership and Abraham Accords Enhancement Act of 2023, H.R. 3792, alongside bill sponsor U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) and fellow original cosponsors U.S. Reps. Gregory Meeks (D-NY), Dean Phillips (D-MN), James Baird (R-IN), and Colin Allred (D-TX), who are all members on the committee.
“As champions of the U.S.-Israel relationship, we are grateful to introduce the U.S.-Israel Partnership and Abraham Accords Enhancement Act of 2023,” Rep. McCaul and his colleagues said in a joint statement released on June 5. “The U.S. and Israel are strongest when we work together to achieve shared goals and respond to shared challenges.
“As we celebrate 75 years of Israel’s existence, we hope this bill charts a course for what the next 75 years of our friendship will bring,” said the lawmakers.
If enacted, H.R. 3792 would affirm it is the policy of the U.S. to support the democratic, Jewish state of Israel’s right to self-defense and seek a successor to the current U.S.-Israel Memorandum of Understanding reflecting the commitment of the U.S. to Israel’s security, according to a bill summary provided by the members.
Additionally, the bill would affirm policy to encourage the expansion and strengthening of the Abraham Accords, in accordance with the Israel Relations Normalization Act of 2022, support Israel’s full participation as an equally treated member of the community of nations, and continue to expand the U.S.-Israel relationship to deepen existing economic and people-to-people ties, including through cooperative programs, the summary says.
In addition to the House Foreign Affairs Committee, H.R. 3792 has been referred for consideration to the U.S. House Science, Space, and Technology Committee.