H.R. 1385 — Strengthening Cooperation and Security in the Middle East Act

This section provides the short title of the Act as the “Strengthening Cooperation and Security in the Middle East Act.”

This section directs the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, to submit to specified congressional committees within 180 days of enactment a report that includes a strategy to increase membership in the Comprehensive Security Integration and Prosperity Agreement (CSIPA), done at Washington, DC, on September 9–13, 2023. The report must analyze: (1) CSIPA’s strategic benefits, including improving joint military readiness in the Middle East, enhancing shared economic interests, advancing cooperation in science and technology, and strengthening regional alliances to improve stability and counter mutual threats; (2) CSIPA’s role in supporting responses to Houthi attacks on merchant vessels in the Red Sea since October 7, 2023; (3) how CSIPA could leverage the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet in Bahrain to project strength and respond to imminent threats from the Islamic Republic of Iran or other adversaries; (4) the long-term benefits of expanding membership; (5) possible changes to the CSIPA framework to broaden regional security integration, mutual deterrence, and cooperation in commerce, science, and technology; (6) the resources and capabilities needed to expand membership; and (7) domestic and regional barriers among allied countries of the United States and Bahrain that may limit expansion. The report must also include recommendations for further collaboration between the United States and other CSIPA members. This section further requires the Secretary of State, within 180 days after submitting the report, to submit a strategy on how to engage allied countries in the Middle East and outside the region to join CSIPA and what affirmative steps the Administration can take to increase membership. Not later than 60 days after developing that strategy, the Secretary must provide a briefing on a plan to implement it. The report, strategy, and briefing must be submitted in unclassified form, but may include a classified annex. The section defines “appropriate congressional committees” as the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and Committee on Armed Services and the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations and Committee on Armed Services.