AUTHORITY TO CONDUCT ACTIVITIES TO ENHANCE THE CAPABILITY OF FOREIGN COUNTRIES TO RESPOND TO INCIDENTS INVOLVING WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION.

SEC. 1204. AUTHORITY TO CONDUCT ACTIVITIES TO ENHANCE THE CAPABILITY OF FOREIGN COUNTRIES TO RESPOND TO INCIDENTS INVOLVING WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION.(a) Authority.—The Secretary of Defense may, with the concurrence of the Secretary of State, provide assistance to the military and civilian first responder organizations of countries that share a border with Syria in order to enhance the capability of such countries to respond effectively to potential incidents involving weapons of mass destruction in Syria and the surrounding region.(b) Availability of Authority for Other Countries.—(1) In general.—If the Secretary of Defense determines, with the concurrence of the Secretary of State, that the Department of Defense should provide the assistance authorized in subsection (a) to countries other than the countries described in subsection (a), the Secretary of Defense may provide such assistance to such other countries.(2) Limitation.—The Secretary of Defense may not provide assistance under paragraph (1) until the Secretary provides written notification to the congressional defense committees of the Secretary’s intention to provide such assistance, together with an explanation of the scope of the assistance and the reasons for providing the assistance.(c) Authorized Elements.—Assistance provided under this section may include training, equipment, and supplies.(d) Availability of Funds.—(1) Funds available.—Amounts for assistance under this section in a fiscal year shall be derived from amounts authorized to be appropriated for the Department of Defense for Operation and Maintenance, Defense-wide, and available for the Defense Threat Reduction Agency for such fiscal year.(2) Availability across fiscal years.—Amounts available under paragraph (1) may be available for assistance that begins in a fiscal year and ends in the next fiscal year.(e) Notice to Congress on Certain Assistance.—If the amount of assistance to be provided under this section in a fiscal year is anticipated to exceed $4,000,000, the Secretary of Defense shall notify the congressional defense committees in writing of that fact.(f) Interagency Coordination.—In carrying out this section, the Secretary of Defense shall comply with all applicable requirements for coordination and consultation within the Executive Branch.(g) Reports.—(1) In general.—Not later than 90 days after the authority in subsection (a) is first exercised and 60 days after the end of any fiscal year in which the authority under this section is exercised, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report setting forth the following:(A) A list of the countries to which the assistance has been or is being provided under the authority in this section, and a description of the assistance provided to each country under such authority.(B) A description of how such assistance advances the national security interests of the United States and is consistent with broader United States national security 127 STAT. 897 policy and strategy in each country provided assistance and within the applicable region.(C) The amount of funds used to provide such assistance to each country during the fiscal year covered by the report.(D) Any other matters the Secretary of Defense considers appropriate.(2) Appropriate committees of congress defined.—In this subsection, the term “appropriate committees of Congress” means—(A) the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on Foreign Relations, and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate; and(B) the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives.(h) Expiration.—The authority to provide assistance under this section may not be exercised after September 30, 2017.