II 118th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 2725 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES September 5, 2023 Mr. Van Hollen (for himself and Mr. Romney ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations A BILL To authorize the establishment of the US-ASEAN Center to support United States economic and cultural engagement with Southeast Asia.

1. US-ASEAN Center (a) Defined term In this Act, the term ASEAN means the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. (b) Establishment The Secretary of State is authorized to enter into a public-private partnership for the purposes of establishing a US-ASEAN Center in the United States to support United States economic and cultural engagement with Southeast Asia. (c) Functions Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the US-ASEAN Center established pursuant to subsection (b) may— (1) provide grants for research to support and elevate the importance of the US-ASEAN partnership; (2) facilitate activities to strengthen US-ASEAN trade and investment; (3) expand economic and technological relationships between ASEAN countries and the United States into new areas of cooperation; (4) provide training to United States citizens and citizens of ASEAN countries that improve people-to-people ties; (5) develop educational programs to increase awareness for the United States and ASEAN countries on the importance of relations between the United States and ASEAN countries; and (6) carry out other activities the Secretary of State considers necessary to strengthen ties between the United States and ASEAN countries and achieve the objectives of the US-ASEAN Center.