text: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
  
      This Act may be cited as the ``Taiwan Airpower Modernization Act of 
  2011''.
  
  SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
  
      Congress makes the following findings.
              (1) The Department of Defense, in its 2011 report to 
          Congress on ``Military and Security Developments Involving the 
          People's Republic of China,'' found that ``China continued 
          modernizing its military in 2010, with a focus on Taiwan 
          contingencies, even as cross-Strait relations improved. The PLA 
          seeks the capability to deter Taiwan independence and influence 
          Taiwan to settle the dispute on Beijing's terms. In pursuit of 
          this objective, Beijing is developing capabilities intended to 
          deter, delay, or deny possible U.S. support for the island in 
          the event of conflict. The balance of cross-Strait military 
          forces and capabilities continues to shift in the mainland's 
          favor.'' In this report, the Department of Defense also 
          concludes that, over the next decade, China's air force will 
          remain primarily focused on ``building the capabilities 
          required to pose a credible military threat to Taiwan and U.S. 
          forces in East Asia, deter Taiwan independence, or influence 
          Taiwan to settle the dispute on Beijing's terms''.
              (2) The Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) conducted a 
          preliminary assessment of the status and capabilities of 
          Taiwan's air force in an unclassified report, dated January 21, 
          2010. The DIA found that, ``[a]lthough Taiwan has nearly 400 
          combat aircraft in service, far fewer of these are 
          operationally capable.'' The report concluded, ``Many of 
          Taiwan's fighter aircraft are close to or beyond service life, 
          and many require extensive maintenance support. The retirement 
          of Mirage and F-5 aircraft will reduce the total size of the 
          Taiwan Air Force.''
              (3) Since 2006, authorities from Taiwan have made repeated 
          requests to purchase 66 F-16C/D multirole fighter aircraft from 
          the United States, in an effort to modernize the air force of 
          Taiwan and maintain its self-defense capability.
              (4) According to a report by the Perryman Group, a private 
          economic research and analysis firm, the requested sale of F-
          16C/Ds to Taiwan ``would generate some $8,700,000,000 in output 
          (gross product) and more than 87,664 person-years of employment 
          in the US,'' including 23,407 direct jobs, while ``economic 
          benefits would likely be realized in 44 states and the District 
          of Columbia''.
              (5) The sale of F-16C/Ds to Taiwan would both sustain 
          existing high-skilled jobs in key United States manufacturing 
          sectors and create new ones.
              (6) On August 1, 2011, a bipartisan group of 181 members of 
          the House of Representatives sent a letter to the President, 
          expressing support for the sale of F-16C/Ds to Taiwan. On May 
          26, 2011, a bipartisan group of 45 members of the Senate sent a 
          similar letter to the President, expressing support for the 
          sale. Two other members of the Senate wrote separately to the 
          President or the Secretary of State in 2011 and expressed 
          support for this sale.
  
  SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
  
      It is the sense of Congress that--
              (1) a critical element to maintaining peace and stability 
          in Asia in the face of China's two-decade-long program of 
          military modernization and expansion of military capabilities 
          is ensuring a militarily strong and confident Taiwan;
              (2) a Taiwan that is confident in its ability to deter 
          Chinese aggression will increase its ability to proceed in 
          developing peaceful relations with China in areas of mutual 
          interest;
              (3) the cross-Strait military balance between China and our 
          longstanding strategic partner, Taiwan, has clearly shifted in 
          China's favor;
              (4) China's military expansion poses a clear and present 
          danger to Taiwan, and this threat has very serious implications 
          for the ability of the United States to fulfill its security 
          obligations to allies in the region and protect our vital 
          United States national interests in East Asia;
              (5) Taiwan's air force continues to deteriorate, and it 
          needs additional advanced multirole fighter aircraft in order 
          to modernize its fleet and maintain a sufficient self-defense 
          capability;
              (6) the United States has a statutory obligation under the 
          Taiwan Relations Act (22 U.S.C. 3301 et seq.) to provide Taiwan 
          the defense articles necessary to enable Taiwan to maintain 
          sufficient self-defense capabilities, in furtherance of 
          maintaining peace and stability in the western Pacific region;
              (7) in order to comply with the Taiwan Relations Act, the 
          United States must provide Taiwan with additional advanced 
          multirole fighter aircraft, as well as significant upgrades to 
          Taiwan's existing fleet of multirole fighter aircraft; and
              (8) the proposed sale of F-16C/D multirole fighter aircraft 
          to Taiwan would have significant economic benefits to the 
          United States economy.
  
  SEC. 4. SALE OF F-16 AIRCRAFT TO TAIWAN.
  
      The President shall carry out the sale of no fewer than 66 F-16C/D 
  multirole fighter aircraft to Taiwan.
target: Taiwan Air Power Modernization Act of 2011 - Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) a critical element to maintaining peace and stability in Asia in the face of China's military expansion is ensuring a militarily strong Taiwan, (2) the United States has a statutory obligation under the Taiwan Relations Act to help Taiwan maintain sufficient self-defense capabilities, and (3) the proposed fighter aircraft sale to Taiwan would have significant economic benefits to the U.S. economy.
  
  Directs the President to carry out the sale of no fewer than 66 F-16C/D multirole fighter aircraft to Taiwan.
feat_title: A bill to provide Taiwan with critically needed United States-built multirole fighter aircraft to strengthen its self-defense capability against the increasing military threat from China.