6 U.S.C. § 195c — Promoting antiterrorism through international cooperation program

(a) Definitions: The "Director" is the person chosen under subsection (b)(2). "International cooperative activity" includes things like joint research projects, joint studies, technical demonstrations, field exercises, seminars, conferences, training scientists and engineers, staff exchanges, sharing scientific information, and sharing lab facilities and equipment. (b) Science and Technology Homeland Security International Cooperative Programs Office: (1) The Under Secretary must create this Office. (2) A Director heads it. The Under Secretary picks the Director, in consultation with the Assistant Secretary for International Affairs, and the Director reports to the Under Secretary. The Director may already hold another Department job. (3) The Director's jobs are to: build agreements with foreign governments (working with the State Department and, when needed, Defense and Energy) to support international cooperation on homeland security; set strategic priorities for this cooperation, working with the Office of International Affairs; carry out these priorities through grants, cooperative agreements, or contracts with foreign public or private groups, businesses (including small and disadvantaged businesses), research centers, and universities; and match up U.S. groups doing homeland security research with foreign groups doing the same, so they can partner. (4) The Director must coordinate all this work with the Office of International Affairs, the State Department, and, as needed, Defense, Energy, and other agencies. The Director may also team up directly with other federal agencies. (c) Matching funding: (1) Funding and resources the U.S. spends on international cooperation must be matched by the foreign partner, through direct funding, related activities, or providing staff, facilities, or equipment. The Secretary may require a grant recipient to contribute up to 50 percent of a project's cost, and may require repayment of the grant, with interest and administrative charges, but that repayment cannot exceed 150 percent of the grant amount, adjusted for inflation. (2) Foreign partners can include Israel, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Singapore, and other allies against terrorism, as chosen by the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Secretary of State. (3) The Director may make or accept loans of equipment for research, development, and testing. (d) Foreign reimbursements: If the Office shares project costs with a foreign partner, any money that partner sends to cover its share can be credited to the Science and Technology Directorate's regular appropriations accounts. (e) Report to Congress: Starting one year after August 3, 2007, and every 5 years after that, the Under Secretary, acting through the Director, must report to Congress on: (1) each grant, agreement, or contract made under subsection (b)(3)(C), including participants, goals, and funding; (2) ongoing international activities, including participants, goals, expected length, and funding; (3) for activities from the previous reporting period, an update on progress, lessons learned, and overall success; and (4) obstacles faced in forming, executing, or running these agreements, including administrative, legal, or diplomatic problems or resource limits. (f) Animal and zoonotic diseases: As part of this program, the Under Secretary, working with the Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office, the State Department, and the Agriculture, Defense, and Health and Human Services Departments, may partner with foreign countries, including African nations, to strengthen preparedness against animal and zoonotic diseases that could reach and harm U.S. agriculture and public health. (g) Cybersecurity: The Under Secretary, working with the State Department and other federal officials, may enter cooperative research activities with Israel to strengthen preparedness against cyber threats and build cybersecurity capabilities. (h) Construction; authorities of the Secretary of State: This section does not change several other laws, including Title V of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Year 1979, and specific sections of titles 1, 22, and 50 dealing with the Secretary of State's authority. (i) Authorization of appropriations: Congress may provide whatever money is needed to carry out this section.