CRS INSIGHT Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress

INSIGHTi

FY2025 NDAA: Security Cooperation

September 30, 2024

Background

The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) broadly defines “security cooperation” (also known as SC) as department interactions with foreign security establishments to build security relationships that promote specific U.S. security interests, develop allied and partner nation military and security capabilities for self-defense and multinational operations, and provide U.S. forces with peacetime and contingency access to allies and partners. DOD policy states that by encouraging and enabling cooperation between the United States forces and partner nations’ forces to achieve strategic objectives, security cooperation programs are a key tool for achieving U.S. national security and foreign policy objectives. SC includes DOD-administered SC programs (authorized under Title 10, U.S.C.) and DOD-implemented State Department security assistance programs (authorized under Title 22, U.S.C.). In addition to grant-based programs, SC encompasses the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program and enables U.S. and partner nations’ international armaments cooperation. For more background on SC, see CRS In Focus IF11677, Defense Primer: DOD “Title 10” Security Cooperation.

The House- and Senate-passed versions of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025 (FY2025 NDAA; H.R. 8070; S. 4638) include multiple proposals pertaining to SC programs, such as specific regional initiatives, the export of U.S. defense articles, and SC workforce development. Table 1 summarizes selected provisions from H.R. 8070 and S. 4638 and selected items of interest noted in the corresponding House and Senate reports accompanying their respective versions of the FY2025 NDAA (H.Rept. 118-529; S.Rept. 118-188). Security cooperation provisions related to Israel, Taiwan, and Ukraine are discussed below the table.

Table 1. Selected Security Cooperation Proposals in the FY2025 NDAA Bills

House-Passed H.R. 8070 Senate-Passed S. 4638

Proposals Related to SC Programs

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House-Passed H.R. 8070 Senate-Passed S. 4638

No similar provision. Section 1201 would amend Chapter 16 Title 10, U.S.C., to authorize the Secretary of Defense to accept, retain, and expend contributions, including money, personal property, and services, from foreign governments with shared national security interests, to carry out security cooperation.

Two provisions would amend Section 333 of Title 10, U.S.C., to authorize the Secretary of Defense to conduct or support programs to build the capacity of foreign security forces for the purpose of “counter-illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing operations” (§1237) and “space domain awareness and defensive space operations” (§1610).

Section 1202 would amend Section 333 of Title 10, U.S.C., to authorize the Secretary of Defense to conduct or support programs to build the capacity of foreign security forces for the purpose of “disaster risk reduction or response operations,” “space domain awareness and space operations,” and “foreign internal defense operations.” The provision would also extend the period of availability of funds from two to three years.

Section 1204 would amend Section 1212 of the FY2023 NDAA (P.L. 117-263) to extend the Defense Operational Resilience International Cooperation pilot program through 2027.

Section 1209 would amend Section 1212 of the FY2023 NDAA (P.L. 117-263) to extend the Defense Operational Resilience International Cooperation pilot program through 2030 and increase the annual amount authorized from $10 million to $15 million.

No similar provision. Section 1203 would add a new Section 336 under Title 10, U.S.C., that would authorize the Secretary of Defense to build the capability and capacity of foreign civilian medical support entities for resilience in crisis and conflict.

No similar provision. Section 1208 and Section 1215 would amend Section 1208 of the FY2023 NDAA (P.L. 117-263) and Section 1210E of the FY2021 NDAA (P.L. 116-283), respectively, in order to continue efforts to implement the Women, Peace, and Security Act of 2017.

Section 1201 would extend to up to two years the availability of funds authorized for State Partnership Program activities (SPP, §341 of Title 10, U.S.C.). Additionally, Section 1739 would require the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, in consultation with the Secretary of State and the Chief of the National Guard Bureau, to conduct a feasibility and benefits study on expanding SPP to Brunei, Micronesia, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, Nauru, and Vanuatu.

Section 415 would amend Section 115 of Title 10, U.S.C., to exempt those active-duty or full-time National Guard Bilateral Affairs Officers that are part of SPP from active- duty end strength limits and modify annual security cooperation reporting requirements. The Senate-passed bill would also authorize a funding increase for the Air and Army National Guard to initiate seven new SPP partnerships.

Section 1203 would modify the authority under Section 1210A of the FY2020 NDAA (P.L. 116-92) to require that all Department of Defense support pursuant to stabilization activities is provided on a reimbursable basis. The provision would also remove Afghanistan from the list of specified countries.

Section 1207 would extend the authority under Section 1210A of the FY2020 NDAA (P.L. 116-92) through December 31, 2027, for the Secretary of Defense to provide support for the stabilization activities of other federal agencies. The provision would also modify the requirements for concurrence, reporting, and notification.

No similar provision. Section 1213 would extend the temporary increase in the amount authorized for all support provided to friendly foreign countries under Section 331 of Title 10, U.S.C., through FY2026. The provision would also require the Secretary of Defense to submit a plan to support the multinational security support mission in Haiti utilizing Section 331 programs.

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House-Passed H.R. 8070 Senate-Passed S. 4638

Proposals Related to the Middle East and Africa

Section 1211 would extend and modify the authority under Section 1236 of the FY2015 NDAA (P.L. 113-291) to provide assistance to Iraq to counter the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria through December 31, 2025.

Section 1222 would extend the authority under Section 1236 of the FY2015 NDAA (P.L. 113-291) to provide assistance to Iraq to counter the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria through December 31, 2025, among additional modifications.

No similar provision. Section 1226 would require the Secretary of Defense to submit a report the House and Senate Armed Services Committees that assesses equipment provided by the United States to the Kurdish Peshmerga forces.

Section 1212 would extend the authority under Section 1209 of the FY2015 NDAA (P.L. 113-291) to provide assistance to vetted Syrian groups to counter the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria through December 31, 2025.

Section 1221 would extend the authority under Section 1209 of the FY2015 NDAA (P.L. 113-291) to provide assistance to vetted Syrian groups to counter the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria through December 31, 2025, among additional modifications.

Section 1216 would require the Secretary of Defense, using existing authorities, including Section 311 of Title 10, U.S.C., to establish a subject matter expert exchange program between the U.S. military and partner forces in the Middle East to advance regional integration.

Section 1211 would require the Secretary of Defense, using existing authorities, including Section 311 of Title 10, U.S.C., to establish a subject matter expert exchange program between the U.S. military and partner forces in the Middle East to advance regional integration.

Section 1765 would require the Secretary of Defense to brief Congress on the adequacy of institutional capacity building in countries within the area of responsibility of the U.S. Africa Command to strengthen governance in the defense sectors of such countries.

S.Rept. 118-188 would direct the Secretary of Defense to submit a report to the defense committees assessing force posture requirements and access agreements in the Sahel and West Africa to support U.S. counterterrorism strategy, and strategic competition, among other things.

H.Rept. 118-529 directs the Secretary of Defense to brief the House Armed Services Committee on any current and future plans to utilize existing authorities to increase air defense for counter unmanned aerial systems in Jordan to protect United States and partner interests.

Section 1536 would require the Secretary of Defense to work with Jordan to establish further air and missile defense capabilities and bolster Jordan’s participation in a multilateral integrated air and missile defense architecture.

Section 1248 would require the Secretary of Defense to submit a report detailing how to improve U.S.-Morocco interoperability and cooperation through the African Lion exercise to continue to address growing threats in Africa.

S.Rept. 118-188 notes the importance of the U.S.-Morocco security relationship to regional security.

Section 1233 would require military exercises in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility to conduct an annual counter-tunneling exercise with Israel.

Section 1206 would amend Section 1279 of the FY2016 NDAA (P.L. 114-92) to expand cooperation with Israel to improve anti-tunneling technologies and increase the limit on the amount authorized for such activities.

Sections 1512 require the Secretary of Defense to submit a strategy to improve the use of joint air and missile defense partner sharing network capabilities with allies and partners in the Middle East.

Section 1615 would require the Secretary of Defense to provide a strategy for improved cooperation between the United States and Middle Eastern allies and partners to improve partner sharing network capabilities. The provision would also require the establishment of an artificial intelligence forum to help promote coordination.

Section 1607 would require the Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Secretary of State, to assess space and satellite security and identify opportunities for multilateral agreements to protect ally and partner countries in U.S. Central Command’s area of responsibility.

Section 1288 would require the Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Secretary of State, to provide a strategy for cooperation on space and satellite capability with Middle East allies and partners.

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House-Passed H.R. 8070 Senate-Passed S. 4638

Proposals Related to Europe and Eurasia

No similar provision. Section 1232 would amend the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI; §1250 of the FY2016 NDAA; P.L. 114-92) to provide an additional two years for the period of performance across fiscal years, would waive a limitation regarding reimbursable support in support of USAI, and would add a subsection entitled “Statement of Policy.”

H.Rept. 118-529 directs the Secretary of Defense, in coordination with the Secretary of each military department, to submit a report to the House Armed Services Committee on lessons learned by the respective military departments from the war in Ukraine.

Section 1235 would require the Secretary of Defense to provide a report to the Committees on Armed Services on DOD’s efforts to identify, disseminate, and implement lessons learned from the war in Ukraine.

No similar provision. Section 1233 would extend the authority under Section 1251 of the FY2016 NDAA (P.L. 114-92) to train Eastern European national security forces through December 31, 2027. The provision would also add Cyprus to the list of eligible countries to receive training.

Section 1767 would require the Secretary of Defense to establish a common defense key within the Baltic states to share ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) among such states for training and operational purposes.

No similar provision.

No similar provision. Section 1214 would require the Secretary of Defense to assess whether continued defense cooperation with Georgia aligns with U.S. security interests.

No similar provision. Section 6231 of the Senate amendment package to S. 4638 would amend the Ukraine Democracy Defense Lend-Lease Act of 2022 (P.L. 117-118) to extend it through FY2026 and add a new reporting requirement.

Proposals Related to the Indo-Pacific

No similar provision. Section 1241 would authorize the Indo-Pacific Security Initiative, under which the Secretary of Defense would be authorized to provide security assistance to foreign partner security forces and defense ministries in the Indo-Pacific as well as regional security organizations within the region. The provision would also authorize the Secretary to replenish foreign partners who have provided defense articles or services to partners in the Indo-Pacific.

No similar provision. Section 1242 would require the Secretary of Defense, with the concurrence of the Secretary of State, to engage with appropriate officials from Japan, Australia, and the Republic of Korea for the purpose of establishing multilateral security assistance initiatives with the national security forces of mutual foreign partners in the Indo-Pacific region.

No similar provision. Section 1245 would amend the Indo-Pacific Maritime Security Initiative (Section 1263 of the FY2016 NDAA, P.L. 114-92) to authorize assistance to partner non-military governmental organizations that have maritime security among their functional responsibilities.

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House-Passed H.R. 8070 Senate-Passed S. 4638

Section 1304 would direct the Secretary of Defense to establish a medical readiness program in the Indo-Pacific region in order to partner with countries and facilitate access to foreign medical facilities during peacetime and wartime operations.

Section 721 would require the Secretary of Defense to establish a medical readiness program to partner with countries in the Indo-Pacific region to gain access to foreign medical facilities during peacetime and wartime operations and to maintain military-wide strategies for medical readiness in the region.

Section 1080 would require the Commander of U.S. Indo- Pacific Command to conduct at least one tabletop exercise to assess the ability of the U.S. military and the militaries of allies and partners to confront aggressive adversarial threats in the Indo-Pacific region while simultaneously confronting extreme weather hazards.

No similar provision.

No similar provision. Section 1250 would require the Secretary of Defense, in coordination with the Secretary of State, to submit a plan for advancing trilateral security cooperation among the United States, Japan, and the Republic of Korea.

Section 1313 would require the Secretary of Defense, in coordination with the Secretary of State, to ensure that Taiwan is “appropriately considered” for enhanced defense industrial base cooperation activities. The provision would also require the Secretary of Defense to submit a report to the Armed Services Committees assessing the feasibility and advisability of entering into one or more defense industrial agreements with Taiwan.

Section 1253 would require the Secretary of Defense, in coordination with the Secretary of State, to ensure that Taiwan is “appropriately considered” for enhanced defense industrial base cooperation activities. The provision would also require the Secretary of Defense to submit a report to the Armed Services Committees assessing the feasibility, advisability, and benefits of entering into one or more defense industrial agreements with Taiwan.

Proposals Related to U.S. Defense Exports

H.Rept. 118-529 would direct the Director of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency to brief the House Armed Services Committee on the status of enhancements to the Security Cooperation Information Portal (SCIP).

Section 1212 that would require the Director of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency to submit a plan to modernize and streamline the information technology infrastructure used to carry out end-use monitoring functions.

No similar provision. Section 904 would require the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy to include the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for International and Industry Engagement in the planning for, or attendance at, any meetings with foreign partners or allies related to foreign military sales or certain other international cooperation activities. The provision also requires a study on DOD’s capacity to support expanded demand for security cooperation.

Section 808 would require the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment to ensure that major defense acquisition program guidance is revised to integrate the global demand under Foreign Military Sales (FMS), Direct Commercial Sales, and other relevant transfer authorities. H. Rept. 118-529 directs the Secretary of Defense to brief the House Committee on Armed Services on the FMS Continuous Process Improvement Board and the Security Cooperation Execution Focus Forum.

Section 1289 would require the Secretary of Defense to issue guidance to the defense acquisition workforce and the security cooperation workforce governing the execution of Foreign Military Sales (FMS) and establish an FMS Continuous Process Improvement Board.

H.Rept. 118-529 directs the Secretary of Defense to brief the House Armed Services Committee on the feasibility and desirability of establishing a contracting office in the Army dedicated to processing non-program of record acquisitions for Foreign Military Sales and building partner capacity programs.

No similar provision.

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House-Passed H.R. 8070 Senate-Passed S. 4638

Other SC Proposals

H.Rept. 118-529 would direct the Director of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency to brief the House Armed Services Committee on planned funding levels for Global Fragility Act implementation in FY2025.

No similar provision.

No similar provision. Section 1201 would amend Chapter 16 Title 10, U.S.C., to authorize the Secretary of Defense to accept, retain, and expend contributions, including money, personal property, and services, from foreign governments with shared national security interests, to carry out security cooperation.

Section 1202 would amend Section 383 of Title 10, U.S.C., to add an element to the reporting requirements for Assessment, Monitoring, and Evaluation (AM&E) of security cooperation activities. H.Rept. 118-529 would direct the Secretary of Defense to brief the House Armed Services Committee on DOD’s plans for funding AM&E for security cooperation through FY2030.

No similar provision.

No similar provision. Section 1210 would temporarily authorize military training under Section 321 of Title 10, U.S.C., to the national security forces of Costa Rica and Panama and pay for specified expenses related to such training through December 31, 2030.

Section 1246 would require the Secretary of Defense to submit a report to the defense committees assessing the effectiveness of multilateral exercises in the eastern Mediterranean and the potential benefits of including Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.

No similar provision.

Section 1009 would require the Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the heads of other departments, to submit a report on DOD’s operational planning to “defeat Mexican drug cartels,” including an identification of any gaps in Mexican military assets and capabilities for which the United States military could provide assistance.

Section 1011 would require the Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Secretary of State, to submit a plan for joint U.S.-Mexico military training for countering threats posed by transnational criminal organizations.

Source: CRS analysis of legislation on Congress.gov.

Discussion

Ukraine

The House-passed and Senate-passed versions of an FY2025 NDAA include provisions that would require the executive branch to provide reports on various aspects of the war in Ukraine. The House- passed version would require at least three reports from the Secretary of Defense, including a report on Ukrainian Armed Forces personnel trained within the United States (§1238), a report on the war in Ukraine that includes information on material and equipment losses (§1240), and a report that would include a strategy for U.S. involvement in Ukraine (§1245). The House-passed bill also would require a report from the DOD Inspector General that would reconcile all U.S. assistance to Ukraine to include details about the countries, entities, and individuals who received assistance (§1247).

Among the issues that Members considered during deliberations over both the House and Senate bills were enhancing Ukraine’s defense industrial base and extracting lessons learned from the war in Ukraine;

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the Senate-passed version includes provisions requiring reports from DOD on these two issues (§1238 and §1235, respectively). The House-passed version does not include provisions on these two issues within the bill itself but the accompanying committee report does direct DOD to submit a report on efforts to facilitate defense production in Ukraine and a comprehensive report on lessons learned by each military department from the war in Ukraine.

Taiwan

Both versions of an FY2025 NDAA contain several provisions that would encourage expanded U.S. defense cooperation with Taiwan to enhance Taiwan’s ability to deter armed aggression by China. The Senate-passed version would require the executive to submit a multiyear implementation plan for supporting the establishment of a regional contingency stockpile for Taiwan (§1252). Both the House- passed and Senate-passed versions would require the Secretary of Defense to expand defense industrial base cooperation activities with Taiwan, including a feasibility study on entering into one or more defense industrial agreements with Taiwan (§1313 and §1253, respectively). The House-passed bill also would require new reports from the executive, including a feasibility assessment of establishing a strategic partnership between the Defense Innovation Unit and the Taiwan Ministry of National Defense (§254), a classified feasibility assessment for the development of “asymmetric naval assets for a potential defense of Taiwan” (§1319), and an annual report assessing a range of issues related to possible cross-Strait conflict scenarios (§1321). The House-passed version also would direct the Secretary of Defense to invite the naval forces Taiwan to future Rim of the Pacific exercises (§1318).

Israel

Several provisions in the House and Senate versions of an FY2025 NDAA would aim to enhance U.S.- Israel cooperation and bolster Israel’s defense industrial base. Both the House-passed and Senate-passed versions would authorize $500 million in missile defense funding per the terms of the current U.S.-Israel Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). In addition, both bills would continue to authorize defense funds for the U.S.-Israel counter-tunnel ($30 million) and Emerging Technologies ($47.5 million—formerly counter Unmanned Aerial Systems) programs. The House-passed bill would require military exercises in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility to conduct at least one annual counter-tunneling exercise with Israel (§1233). The Senate-passed bill would amend Section 1279 of the FY2016 NDAA (22 U.S.C. 8606 note) to expand cooperation with Israel to improve anti-tunneling technologies and increase the limit on the amount authorized for such activities (§1206). The House-passed bill would require a biannual report from the executive on the extent to which Israel is subject to aerial attacks, including descriptions of munitions or components required for the replenishment of certain defense systems, funding requirements for such replenishments, and the current stock levels of munitions and components that would be used for such replenishments, among other matters (§1232). The House bill also would require the Secretary of Defense to seek to establish a partnership between the Defense Innovation Unit of the Department of Defense and appropriate counterparts of Israel (§1249).

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Author Information

Christina L. Arabia Analyst in Security Assistance, Security Cooperation and the Global Arms Trade

Disclaimer

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