REDESIGNATION, MODIFICATION, AND EXTENSION OF NATIONAL GUARD STATE PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM.

SEC. 1203. REDESIGNATION, MODIFICATION, AND EXTENSION OF NATIONAL GUARD STATE PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM. (a) Redesignation.—The heading of section 1205 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014 (Public Law 113-66; 127 Stat. 897; 32 U.S.C. 107 note) is amended to read as follows: “SEC. 1205. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE STATE PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM” . (b) Scope of Authority.—Subsection (a) of such section is amended— (1) in paragraph (1), by striking “a program of exchanges” and all that follows and inserting“a program of activities described in paragraph (2), to support the security cooperation objectives of the United States, between members of the National Guard of a State or territory and any of the following: “(A) The military forces of a foreign country. “(B) The security forces of a foreign country. “(C) Governmental organizations of a foreign country whose primary functions include disaster response or emergency response.” ; and (2) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the following new paragraph (2): “(2) State partnership.—Each program established under this subsection shall be known as a ‘State Partnership’.” . (c) Limitation.—Subsection (b) of such section is amended by striking “activity under a program” and all that follows through “State or territory,” and inserting “activity with forces referred to in subsection (a)(1)(B) or organizations described in subsection (a)(1)(C) under a program established under subsection (a)”. (d) Coordination of Activities.—Such section is further amended— (1) by redesignating subsections (c) through (g) as subsections (d) through (h), respectively; and (2) by inserting after subsection (b) the following new subsection (c): “(c) Coordination of Activities.—The Chief of the National Guard Bureau shall designate a director for each State and territory to be responsible for the coordination of activities under a program established under subsection (a) for such State or territory and reporting on activities under the program.” . (e) Annual Report.—Paragraph (2)(B) of subsection (f) of such section, as redesignated by subsection (d)(1) of this section, is amended— (1) in clause (iii), by inserting “or other government organizations” after “and security forces”; (2) in clause (iv), by adding before the period at the the following: “and country”; (3) in clause (v), by striking “training” and inserting “activities”; and (4) by adding at the end the following: “(vi) An assessment of the extent to which the activities conducted during the previous year met the objectives described in clause (v).” . (f) State Partnership Program Fund.— (1) Assessment of establishment of fund.—Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy and the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) shall jointly submit to the congressional defense committees a report setting forth a joint assessment of the feasibility and advisability of establishing a central fund to manage funds for programs and activities under the Department of Defense State Partnership Program under section 1205 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014, as amended by this section. (2) Recommendation for legislative action.—If the report under paragraph (1) concludes that the establishment of a fund as described in that paragraph is feasible and advisable, the Secretary of Defense shall include with the materials submitted to Congress in support of the budget of the President for fiscal year 2017 pursuant to section 1105 of title 31, United States Code, a recommendation for such legislation as the Secretary considers appropriate to establish the fund. (g) Conforming Amendments.—Paragraph (2)(A) of subsection (f) of such section, as redesignated by subsection (d)(1) of this section, is amended— (1) by striking “a program” and inserting “each program”; and (2) by striking “the program” and inserting “such program”. (h) Recipients of Reports and Notifications.—Paragraph (1) of subsection (h) of such section, as redesignated by subsection (d)(1) of this section, is amended by striking subparagraphs (A) and (B) and inserting the following new subparagraphs (A) and (B): “(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.” . (i) Five-year Extension.—Subsection (i) of such section is amended by striking “September 30, 2016” and inserting “September 30, 2021”.