June 15, 2026
Mr. Panetta (for himself, Mr. Lawler, Mr. Goldman of New York, Ms. Tenney, Mr. Schneider, Mr. Goldman of Texas, and Mr. Harrigan) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on Armed Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
To require the Secretary of Defense to establish an initiative to bolster defense cooperation with Abraham Accords countries, and for other purposes.
Section 1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the Abraham Accords Defense Cooperation Act of 2026
.
Sec. 2. Definitions
In this Act:
(1) Abraham Accords country
The term Abraham Accords country means—
(A)
a country that is a signatory of the Abraham Accords Declaration, done at Washington September 15, 2020; and
(B)
any regional, Arab, or Muslim-majority country that has sought to normalize relations with the State of Israel since 2020.
(2) Initiative
The term Initiative means the United States-Abraham Accords Defense Cooperation Initiative established under section 3(a).
(3) Secretary
The term Secretary means the Secretary of Defense.
Sec. 3. United States-Abraham Accords Defense Cooperation Initiative
(a) Establishment
The Secretary shall establish an initiative to bolster defense cooperation between the United States and the militaries of covered countries, to be known as the United States-Abraham Accords Defense Cooperation Initiative
.
(b) Relationship to existing authorities
The Initiative shall be carried out pursuant to the authorities provided in title 10, United States Code.
(c) Objectives
The objectives of the Initiative shall include—
(1)
deterring aggression by Iran and proxies of Iran in the Middle East;
(2)
coordination with the Comprehensive Security Integration and Prosperity Agreement; and
(3)
enhancing regional planning and cooperation among the military forces of covered countries, particularly with respect to long-term regional projects, such as—
(A)
counter-unmanned aircraft systems capabilities;
(B)
ground-based air defenses;
(C)
theater ballistic missiles and cruise missiles;
(D)
intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance and tactical command and control;
(E)
special operations forces development;
(F)
joint air or naval military exercises; and
(G)
any other military capability the Secretary considers appropriate.
(d) Report
Not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives a report setting forth—
(1)
a strategy for achieving the objectives described in subsection (c); and
(2)
the amount of funding necessary to carry out the Initiative.
(e) Sense of Congress on matching funds
It is the sense of Congress that the Secretary should seek to require each participating covered country to contribute matching funds to the Initiative.