text: TITLE I--NAVAL VESSEL TRANSFER
  
  SECTION 101. SHORT TITLE.
      This title may be cited as the ``Naval Vessel Transfer Act of 
  2008''.
      SEC. 102. TRANSFER OF NAVAL VESSELS TO CERTAIN FOREIGN RECIPIENTS.
      (a) Transfers by Grant.--The President is authorized to transfer 
  the vessels specified in paragraphs (1), (3), and (4) of section 501(a) 
  of H.R. 5916 of the 110th Congress, as passed the House of 
  Representatives on May 15, 2008, to the foreign recipients specified in 
  paragraphs (1), (3), and (4) of such section, respectively, on a grant 
  basis under section 516 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 
  U.S.C. 2321j).
      (b) Grants Not Counted in Annual Total of Transferred Excess 
  Defense Articles.--The value of a vessel transferred to a recipient on 
  a grant basis pursuant to authority provided by subsection (a) shall 
  not be counted against the aggregate value of excess defense articles 
  transferred in any fiscal year under section 516 of the Foreign 
  Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2321j).
      (c) Costs of Transfers.--Any expense incurred by the United States 
  in connection with a transfer authorized by this section shall be 
  charged to the recipient (notwithstanding section 516(e) of the Foreign 
  Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2321j(e))).
      (d) Repair and Refurbishment in United States Shipyards.--To the 
  maximum extent practicable, the President shall require, as a condition 
  of the transfer of a vessel under this section, that the recipient to 
  which the vessel is transferred have such repair or refurbishment of 
  the vessel as is needed, before the vessel joins the naval forces of 
  the recipient, performed at a shipyard located in the United States, 
  including a United States Navy shipyard.
      (e) Expiration of Authority.--The authority to transfer a vessel 
  under this section shall expire at the end of the 2-year period 
  beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act.
  
                    TITLE II--UNITED STATES ARMS EXPORTS
  
      SEC. 201. ASSESSMENT OF ISRAEL'S QUALITATIVE MILITARY EDGE OVER 
        MILITARY THREATS.
      (a) Assessment Required.--The President shall carry out an 
  empirical and qualitative assessment on an ongoing basis of the extent 
  to which Israel possesses a qualitative military edge over military 
  threats to Israel. The assessment required under this subsection shall 
  be sufficiently robust so as to facilitate comparability of data over 
  concurrent years.
      (b) Use of Assessment.--The President shall ensure that the 
  assessment required under subsection (a) is used to inform the review 
  by the United States of applications to sell defense articles and 
  defense services under the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2751 et 
  seq.) to countries in the Middle East.
      (c) Reports.--
          (1) Initial report.--Not later than June 30, 2009, the 
      President shall transmit to the appropriate congressional 
      committees a report on the initial assessment required under 
      subsection (a).
          (2) Quadrennial report.--Not later than four years after the 
      date on which the President transmits the initial report under 
      paragraph (1), and every four years thereafter, the President shall 
      transmit to the appropriate congressional committees a report on 
      the most recent assessment required under subsection (a).
      (d) Certification.--Section 36 of the Arms Export Control Act (22 
  U.S.C. 2776) is amended by adding at the end the following:
      ``(h) Certification Requirement Relating to Israel's Qualitative 
  Military Edge.--
          ``(1) In general.--Any certification relating to a proposed 
      sale or export of defense articles or defense services under this 
      section to any country in the Middle East other than Israel shall 
      include a determination that the sale or export of the defense 
      articles or defense services will not adversely affect Israel's 
      qualitative military edge over military threats to Israel.
          ``(2) Qualitative military edge defined.--In this subsection, 
      the term `qualitative military edge' means the ability to counter 
      and defeat any credible conventional military threat from any 
      individual state or possible coalition of states or from non-state 
      actors, while sustaining minimal damages and casualties, through 
      the use of superior military means, possessed in sufficient 
      quantity, including weapons, command, control, communication, 
      intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities that in 
      their technical characteristics are superior in capability to those 
      of such other individual or possible coalition of states or non-
      state actors.''.
      (e) Definitions.--In this section:
          (1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term 
      ``appropriate congressional committees'' means the Committee on 
      Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Committee 
      on Foreign Relations of the Senate.
          (2) Qualitative military edge.--The term ``qualitative military 
      edge'' has the meaning given the term in section 36(h) of the Arms 
      Export Control Act, as added by subsection (d) of this section.
      SEC. 202. IMPLEMENTATION OF MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING WITH 
        ISRAEL.
      (a) In General.--Of the amount made available for fiscal year 2009 
  for assistance under the program authorized by section 23 of the Arms 
  Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2763) (commonly referred to as the 
  ``Foreign Military Financing Program''), the amount specified in 
  subsection (b) is authorized to be made available on a grant basis for 
  Israel.
      (b) Computation of Amount.--The amount referred to in subsection 
  (a) is the amount equal to--
          (1) the amount specified under the heading ``Foreign Military 
      Financing Program'' for Israel for fiscal year 2008; plus
          (2) $150,000,000.
      (c) Other Authorities.--
          (1) Availability of funds for advanced weapons systems.--To the 
      extent the Government of Israel requests the United States to 
      provide assistance for fiscal year 2009 for the procurement of 
      advanced weapons systems, amounts authorized to be made available 
      for Israel under this section shall, as agreed to by Israel and the 
      United States, be available for such purposes, of which not less 
      than $670,650,000 shall be available for the procurement in Israel 
      of defense articles and defense services, including research and 
      development.
          (2) Disbursement of funds.--Amounts authorized to be made 
      available for Israel under this section shall be disbursed not 
      later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of an Act making 
      appropriations for the Department of State, foreign operations, and 
      related programs for fiscal year 2009, or October 31, 2008, 
      whichever occurs later.
      SEC. 203. SECURITY COOPERATION WITH THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA.
      (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
          (1) Close and continuing defense cooperation between the United 
      States and the Republic of Korea continues to be in the national 
      security interest of the United States.
          (2) The Republic of Korea was designated a major non-NATO ally 
      in 1987, the first such designation.
          (3) The Republic of Korea has been a major purchaser of United 
      States defense articles and services through the Foreign Military 
      Sales (FMS) program, totaling $6,900,000,000 in deliveries over the 
      last 10 years.
          (4) Purchases of United States defense articles, services, and 
      major defense equipment facilitate and increase the 
      interoperability of Republic of Korea military forces with the 
      United States Armed Forces.
          (5) Congress has previously enacted important, special defense 
      cooperation arrangements for the Republic of Korea, as in the Act 
      entitled ``An Act to authorize the transfer of items in the War 
      Reserves Stockpile for Allies, Korea'', approved December 30, 2005 
      (Public Law 109-159; 119 Stat. 2955), which authorized the 
      President, notwithstanding section 514 of the Foreign Assistance 
      Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2321h), to transfer to the Republic of Korea 
      certain defense items to be included in a war reserve stockpile for 
      that country.
          (6) Enhanced support for defense cooperation with the Republic 
      of Korea is important to the national security of the United 
      States, including through creation of a status in law for the 
      Republic of Korea similar to the countries in the North Atlantic 
      Treaty Organization, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand, with 
      respect to consideration by Congress of foreign military sales to 
      the Republic of Korea.
      (b) Special Foreign Military Sales Status for Republic of Korea.--
  The Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2751 et seq.) is amended--
          (1) in sections 3(d)(2)(B), 3(d)(3)(A)(i), 3(d)(5), 
      21(e)(2)(A), 36(b), 36(c), 36(d)(2)(A), 62(c)(1), and 63(a)(2), by 
      inserting ``the Republic of Korea,'' before ``or New Zealand'' each 
      place it appears;
          (2) in section 3(b)(2), by inserting ``the Government of the 
      Republic of Korea,'' before ``or the Government of New Zealand'';
          (3) in section 21(h)(1)(A), by inserting ``the Republic of 
      Korea,'' before ``or Israel''; and
          (4) in section 21(h)(2), by striking ``or to any member 
      government of that Organization if that Organization or member 
      government'' and inserting ``, to any member government of that 
      Organization, or to the Governments of the Republic of Korea, 
      Australia, New Zealand, Japan, or Israel if that Organization, 
      member government, or the Governments of the Republic of Korea, 
      Australia, New Zealand, Japan, or Israel''.
  
                                 Speaker of the House of Representatives.
  
                              Vice President of the United States and    
                                                 President of the Senate.
target: Title I: Naval Vessel Transfer - Naval Vessel Transfer Act of 2008 - (Sec. 102) Authorizes the President to transfer on a grant basis to: (1) Pakistan, the OLIVER HAZARD PERRY class guided missile frigate MCINERNEY; (2) Chile, the KAISER class oiler ANDREW J. HIGGINS; and (3) Peru, the NEWPORT class amphibious tank landing ships FRESNO and RACINE. States that: (1) the value of such vessels transferred on a grant basis shall not be counted against the aggregate value of excess defense articles transferred to countries in any fiscal year under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961; (2) transfer costs shall be charged to the recipient; and (3) to the maximum extent practicable, the country to which a vessel is transferred shall have necessary vessel repair and refurbishment carried out at U.S. shipyards (including U.S. Navy shipyards).
  
  Terminates transfer authority two years after enactment of this Act.
  
  Title II: United States Arms Exports - (Sec. 201) Directs the President to: (1) carry out an ongoing assessment of the extent to which Israel possesses a qualitative military edge (as defined by this Act) over military threats; (2) use such assessment in reviewing applications to sell defense articles and services under the Arms Export Control Act to a Middle Eastern country other than Israel; and (3) submit an initial report on such assessment to the appropriate congressional committees by June 30, 2009, and then every four years thereafter.
  
  Amends the Arms Export Control Act to require any certification relating to a proposed sale or export of defense articles or services to a Middle Eastern country other than Israel to include a determination that such sale or export will not adversely affect Israel's qualitative military edge (as defined by this Act for purposes of this provision) over military threats.
  
  (Sec. 202) Makes specified foreign military financing program funds for FY2009 available on a grant basis for Israel.
  
  Authorizes funding in FY2009 for the procurement of advanced weapons systems, including research and development, by Israel.
  
  (Sec. 203) Amends the Arms Export Control Act to provide the Republic of Korea with special foreign military sales status, including expedited congressional review for export of U.S. defense items and services.
feat_title: To authorize the transfer of naval vessels to certain foreign recipients, and for other purposes.