S4703-118

1. Short title; table of contents This Act may be cited as the United States-Philippines Partnership Act of 2024. The table of contents for this Act is as follows:

101. Definitions In this title: The term appropriate congressional committees means— the Committee on Foreign Relations, the Committee on Finance, and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate; and the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee on Ways and Means, and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives. The term critical mineral has the meaning given that term in section 7002(a) of the Energy Act of 2020 (30 U.S.C. 1606(a)). The term foreign entity of concern means an entity organized under the laws of or otherwise subject to the jurisdiction of— the People's Republic of China; the Russian Federation; the Islamic Republic of Iran; or the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

102. Negotiation of critical minerals agreement with the Philippines Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall seek to enter into negotiations with the Philippines for an executive agreement relating to critical minerals that— requires that duties not be imposed on the export of on critical minerals; provides for domestic measures to address nonmarket policies and practices of other countries affecting trade in critical minerals; implements best practices for reviewing investments within the critical mineral sector of the Philippines by foreign entities of concern; promotes more efficient methods of extraction of critical minerals that reduces the demand for the extractions of virgin materials; establishes engagement, information-sharing, and enforcement processes to address concerns relating to the use of forced labor in the critical mineral industry; and promotes the neutrality of employers in the organization and operations of labor organizations. Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, and every 180 days thereafter until an agreement described in subsection (a) enters into force, the Secretary of State, the United States Trade Representative, and the heads of other relevant Federal agencies, shall brief the appropriate congressional committees on progress in negotiating such an agreement.

103. Prioritization of support by United States International Development Finance Corporation for projects in the Philippines in critical minerals and fossil fuels In providing support under title II of the Better Utilization of Investments Leading to Development Act of 2018 (22 U.S.C. 9621 et seq.), the United States International Development Finance Corporation (in this section referred to as the Corporation) shall prioritize the provision of support to projects in the Philippines in sectors the Government of the Philippines is seeking to develop, including the mining of critical minerals and fossil fuels. Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter until the date that is 5 years after such date of enactment, the Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report that— lists all the critical mineral and fossil fuel projects in the Philippines for which the Corporation provided support in the one-year period preceding submission of the report; lists all the applications for support for such projects that the Corporation rejected; and provides a justification for rejecting such applications.

104. Interagency plan for infrastructure development in the Philippines to support military and disaster recovery operations Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall— lead an interagency effort to assess investments of the United States in the Philippines; and develop a plan for how such investments can better enable efficient transportation during a conflict or other emergency scenario. The plan required by subsection (a)(2) shall— identify— infrastructure in the Philippines that the Secretary determines is insufficient to support military and disaster recovery operations; and any asset that would assist the military of the Philippines in the event of an attack on the Philippines; and assess whether any of such assets require additional investment by the United States to assist the military of the Philippines in the event of an attack. The plan required by subsection (a)(2) shall identify United States Government agencies, such as the Office of Strategic Capital of the Department of Defense, that— are not involved, as of the date of the enactment of this Act, in infrastructure investment in the Philippines; and could make investments that could assist the Government of the Philippines respond to an attack on the Philippines.

201. Statement of policy regarding China's illegal, coercive, aggressive, and deceptive tactics in the South China Sea It is the policy of the United States that the actions of the People's Republic of China in the South China Sea constitute illegal, coercive, aggressive, and deceptive (ICAD) tactics. It is the sense of Congress that the United States Government should describe actions of the People's Republic of China in the South China Sea as ICAD tactics and that doing so would help the diplomatic efforts of the Government of the Philippines.

301. United States-Philippines Security Consultative Committee Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense shall establish a consultative committee (to be known as the United States-Philippines Security Consultative Committee) to include the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Minister of Defense of the Philippines in the development of a strategy for jointly strengthening the national security and defense institutions of the Philippines and the capacity of such institutions to carry out operations across the Philippines (including inland and maritime areas) relating to— counterterrorism and counterinsurgency; counternarcotics and countering other forms of illicit trafficking; cyber defense and prevention of cyber crimes; and border and maritime security and air defense. The United States-Philippines Security Consultative Committee shall evaluate— existing technologies, equipment, and weapons systems of the national security and defense institutions of the Philippines; and the upgrades to such technologies, equipment, and systems necessary to ensure the continued defense of the national sovereignty and national territory of the Philippines. Not later than 180 days after the establishment of the United States-Philippines Security Consultative Committee, the Secretary of State, in coordination with the Secretary of Defense, may enter into consultations with the Government of Philippines to strengthen existing, or establish new, bilateral security and defense cooperation agreements or lines of effort to address capacity-building and resource needs identified by the consultative committee. Not later than 30 days after the date on which the United States-Philippines Security Consultative Committee is established, and not later than 15 days after any meeting of the United States-Philippines Security Consultative Committee thereafter, the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense shall, on request by any of the appropriate committees of Congress, jointly brief the appropriate committees of Congress on progress made by the consultative committee. Not later than 30 days after the completion of any consultation with the Government of Philippines under subsection (c), the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense shall brief the appropriate committees of Congress on the implementation of agreed upon areas of cooperation or lines of effort. In this subsection, the term appropriate committees of Congress means— the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate; and the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on Armed Services of the House of Representatives.

302. Report on domain awareness gaps of the Philippines Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to Congress a report on gaps in the domain awareness of the Philippines that may be filled by broader Department of Defense resourcing of new capabilities.

303. Assessment of and report on improvements in Second Thomas Shoal region of the Philippines The Secretary of Defense shall assess the feasibility of improving the force posture of the United States Armed Forces capable of deterring, in cooperation with the military forces of the Philippines, hostile acts against the Philippines with respect to the Second Thomas Shoal, including an assessment of potential funding sources to execute the planning for and design of improvements to the position of the BRP Sierra Madre. The Secretary shall carry out such assessment not later than 180 days after enactment of this Act, and produce a report to Congress on joint efforts between the Department of Defense and the Philippines to harden positions near the Second Thomas Shoal. Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the Congress a report on the assessment carried out under subsection (a) and joint efforts between the Department of Defense and the Philippines to harden positions near the Second Thomas Shoal.