II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 816 

To amend the Diplomatic Security Act of 1986 to provide for improved 

serious security incident investigations, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 17 (legislative day, MARCH 16), 2021 

Mr. RISCH introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

To amend the Diplomatic Security Act of 1986 to provide 

for improved serious security incident investigations, and 

for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Diplomatic Support 

5 and Security Act of 2021’’. 

6 SEC. 2. INVESTIGATION OF SERIOUS SECURITY INCIDENTS. 

7 Section 301 of the Diplomatic Security Act of 1986 

8 (22 U.S.C. 4831) is amended— 

9 (1) in the section heading, by striking ‘‘AC10 COUNTABILITY REVIEW BOARDS’’ and inserting 


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1 ‘‘INVESTIGATION OF SERIOUS SECURITY INCI2 DENTS’’; 

3 (2) in subsection (a)— 

4 (A) by amending paragraph (1) to read as 

5 follows: 

6 ‘‘(1) CONVENING THE SERIOUS SECURITY INCI7 DENT INVESTIGATION PERMANENT COORDINATING

8 COMMITTEE PROCESS.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In any case of a seri10 ous security incident involving loss of life, seri11 ous injury, or significant destruction of prop12 erty at, or related to, a United States Govern13 ment (USG) diplomatic mission abroad, and in 

14 any case of a serious breach of security involv15 ing intelligence activities of a foreign govern16 ment directed at a USG mission abroad, a Seri17 ous Security Incident Investigation (SSII) into 

18 the event shall be convened by the Department 

19 of State and a report produced for the Sec20 retary providing a full account of what oc21 curred, including— 

22 ‘‘(i) whether security provisions perti23 nent to the incident were in place and 

24 functioning; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) whether any malfeasance or 

2 breach of duty took place that materially 

3 contributed to the outcome of the incident; 

4 and 

5 ‘‘(iii) any recommendations of relevant 

6 security improvements or follow-up meas7 ures. 

8 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—A Serious Security In9 cident Investigation need not be convened where 

10 the Secretary determines that a case clearly in11 volves only causes unrelated to security.’’; 

12 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘Board’’ 

13 and inserting ‘‘Serious Security Incident Inves14 tigation’’; and 

15 (C) by striking paragraph (3); 

16 (3) in subsection (b)— 

17 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

18 (i) by striking ‘‘Except as’’ and all 

19 that follows through ‘‘Board’’ and insert20 ing ‘‘The Secretary of State shall convene 

21 a Serious Security Incident Investigation 

22 and the subsequent Permanent Coordi23 nating Committee process (SSII/PCC)’’; 

24 and 


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1 (ii) by striking ‘‘for the convening of 

2 the Board’’; and 

3 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘Board’’ 

4 each place it appears and inserting ‘‘SSII/ 

5 PCC’’; and 

6 (4) in subsection (c)— 

7 (A) by striking ‘‘Board’’ and inserting 

8 ‘‘Serious Security Incident Investigation and 

9 begins the SSII/PCC process’’; 

10 (B) by adding ‘‘and ranking member’’ 

11 after ‘‘chairman’’; and 

12 (C) by striking ‘‘Speaker’’ and all that fol13 lows through the period at the end of para14 graph (3) and inserting ‘‘chairman and ranking 

15 member of the Committee of Foreign Affairs of 

16 the House of Representatives.’’. 

17 SEC. 3. SERIOUS SECURITY INCIDENT INVESTIGATION PER18 MANENT COORDINATING COMMITTEE. 

19 Section 302 of the Diplomatic Security Act of 1986 

20 (22 U.S.C. 4832) is amended to read as follows: 

21 ‘‘SEC. 302. SERIOUS SECURITY INCIDENT INVESTIGATION 

22 PERMANENT COORDINATING COMMITTEE. 

23 ‘‘(a) BUREAU OF DIPLOMATIC SECURITY RESPONSI24 BILITY FOR INVESTIGATIONS.—The Bureau of Diplomatic 

25 Security shall be responsible for carrying out investigaVerDate Sep 11 2014 15:43 Apr 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S816.IS S816

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1 tions of serious security incidents, utilizing such investiga2 tive personnel and other resources as may necessary. 

3 ‘‘(b) SERIOUS SECURITY INCIDENT PERMANENT CO4 ORDINATING COMMITTEE.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Serious Security Inci6 dent Investigation Permanent Coordinating Com7 mittee (SSII/PCC) shall be convened to review each 

8 serious security incident. The SSII/PCC shall review 

9 the Report of Investigation prepared under section 

10 303(b) and any other available reporting and evi11 dence, including video recordings, and shall prepare 

12 the SSII/PCC Report under section 304(b). 

13 ‘‘(2) COMPOSITION.—The SSII/PCC shall be 

14 primarily composed of Assistant Secretary-level per15 sonnel in the Department of State, and shall at a 

16 minimum include the following personnel: 

17 ‘‘(A) A representative of the Under Sec18 retary of State for Management, who shall 

19 serve as chair of the SSII/PCC. 

20 ‘‘(B) The Assistant Secretary responsible 

21 for the region where the incident occurred. 

22 ‘‘(C) The Assistant Secretary for Diplo23 matic Security. 

24 ‘‘(D) The Assistant Secretary for the Bu25 reau of Intelligence and Research. 


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1 ‘‘(E) An Assistant Secretary-level rep2 resentative from any involved United States 

3 Government department or agency. 

4 ‘‘(F) Other personnel as determined nec5 essary or appropriate. 

6 ‘‘(3) REPORT.—The SSII/PCC shall, upon com7 pleting review of the Report of Investigation, submit 

8 to the Secretary of State a report on the incident 

9 and outcomes, including any recommendations re10 lated to preventing or responding to similar inci11 dents.’’. 

12 SEC. 4. SERIOUS SECURITY INCIDENT INVESTIGATION 

13 PROCESS. 

14 Section 303 of the Diplomatic Security Act of 1986 

15 (22 U.S.C. 4833) is amended to read as follows: 

16 ‘‘SEC. 303. SERIOUS SECURITY INCIDENT INVESTIGATION 

17 PROCESS. 

18 ‘‘(a) INVESTIGATION PROCESS.— 

19 ‘‘(1) INITIATION.—The Serious Security Inci20 dent Investigation process begins when a United 

21 States mission reports a serious security incident at 

22 the mission, including detailed information about the 

23 incident, within three days after it occurred. 

24 ‘‘(2) INVESTIGATION.—The Diplomatic Security 

25 Service shall assemble an investigative team to carry 


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1 out the investigation of an incident reported under 

2 paragraph (1). The investigation shall cover the fol3 lowing matters: 

4 ‘‘(A) An assessment of what occurred, who 

5 perpetrated or is suspected of having per6 petrated the attack, and whether applicable se7 curity procedures were followed. 

8 ‘‘(B) In the event the security incident was 

9 an attack on a United States diplomatic com10 pound, motorcade, residence, or other facility, a 

11 determination whether adequate security coun12 termeasures were in effect. 

13 ‘‘(C) If the incident was an attack on an 

14 individual or group of officers, employees, or 

15 family members under chief of mission author16 ity conducting approved operations or move17 ments outside the United States mission, a de18 termination whether proper security briefings 

19 and procedures were in place and whether ade20 quate consideration of threat and weighing of 

21 risk of the operation or movement took place. 

22 ‘‘(D) An assessment of whether any offi23 cials’ or employees’ failure to follow procedures 

24 or perform their duties contributed to the secu25 rity incident. 


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1 ‘‘(b) REPORT OF INVESTIGATION.—The investigative 

2 team shall prepare a Report of Investigation at the conclu3 sion of the Serious Security Incident Investigation and 

4 submit the report to the Serious Security Incident Inves5 tigation Permanent Coordinating Committee (SSII/PCC). 

6 The report shall include the following elements: 

7 ‘‘(1) A detailed description of the matters set 

8 forth in subparagraphs (A) through (D) of sub9 section (a)(2), including all related findings. 

10 ‘‘(2) An accurate account of the casualties, in11 jured, and damage resulting from the incident. 

12 ‘‘(3) A review of security procedures and direc13 tives in place at the time of the incident. 

14 ‘‘(c) CONFIDENTIALITY.—The investigative team 

15 shall adopt such procedures with respect to confidentiality 

16 as determined necessary, including procedures relating to 

17 the conduct of closed proceedings or the submission and 

18 use of evidence in camera, to ensure in particular the pro19 tection of classified information relating to national de20 fense, foreign policy, or intelligence matters. The Director 

21 of National Intelligence shall establish the level of protec22 tion required for intelligence information and for informa23 tion relating to intelligence personnel included in the re24 port under subsection (b). The SSII/PCC shall determine 

25 the level of classification of the final report prepared under 


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1 section 304(b), but shall incorporate the same confiden2 tiality measures in such report to the maximum extent 

3 practicable.’’. 

4 SEC. 5. FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS BY THE SERI5 OUS SECURITY INCIDENT INVESTIGATION 

6 PERMANENT COORDINATING COMMITTEE. 

7 Section 304 of the Diplomatic Security Act of 1986 

8 (22 U.S.C. 4834) is amended to read as follows: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 304. SERIOUS SECURITY INCIDENT INVESTIGATION 

10 PERMANENT COORDINATING COMMITTEE 

11 FINDINGS AND REPORT. 

12 ‘‘(a) FINDINGS.—The Serious Security Incident In13 vestigation Permanent Coordinating Committee (SSII/ 

14 PCC) shall review the Report of Investigation prepared 

15 under section 303(b), all other evidence, reporting, and 

16 relevant information relating to a serious security incident 

17 at a United States mission abroad, including an examina18 tion of the facts and circumstances surrounding any seri19 ous injuries, loss of life, or significant destruction of prop20 erty resulting from the incident and shall make the fol21 lowing written findings: 

22 ‘‘(1) Whether the incident abroad was security 

23 related and constituted a serious security incident. 

24 ‘‘(2) If the incident involved a diplomatic com25 pound, motorcade, residence, or other mission facilVerDate Sep 11 2014 15:43 Apr 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S816.IS S816

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1 ity, whether the security systems, security counter2 measures, and security procedures operated as in3 tended, and whether such systems worked to materi4 ally mitigate the attack or were found to be inad5 equate to mitigate the threat and attack. 

6 ‘‘(3) If the incident involved an individual or 

7 group of officers conducting an approved operation 

8 outside the mission, a determination whether a valid 

9 process was followed in evaluating the requested op10 eration and weighing the risk of the operation. Such 

11 determination shall not seek to assign accountability 

12 for the incident unless the SSII/PCC determines 

13 that an official breached their duty. 

14 ‘‘(4) An assessment of the impact of intelligence 

15 and information availability, and whether the mis16 sion was aware of the general operating threat envi17 ronment or any more specific threat intelligence or 

18 information and took that into account in ongoing 

19 and specific operations. 

20 ‘‘(5) Such other facts and circumstances that 

21 may be relevant to the appropriate security manage22 ment of United States missions abroad. 

23 ‘‘(b) SSII/PCC REPORT.—Not later than 30 days 

24 after receiving the Report of Investigation prepared under 

25 section 303(b), the SSII/PCC shall submit a report to the 


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1 Secretary of State including the findings under subsection 

2 (a) and any related recommendations. Not later than 90 

3 days after receiving the report, the Secretary of State shall 

4 submit the report to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

5 of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 

6 the House of Representatives. 

7 ‘‘(c) PERSONNEL RECOMMENDATIONS.—If in the 

8 course of conducting an investigation under section 303, 

9 the investigative team finds reasonable cause to believe 

10 any individual described in section 303(a)(2)(D) has 

11 breached the duty of that individual or finds lesser failures 

12 on the part of an individual in the performance of his or 

13 her duties related to the incident, it shall be reported to 

14 the SSII/PCC. If the SSII/PCC find reasonable cause to 

15 support the determination, it shall be reported to the Di16 rector General of the Foreign Service for appropriate ac17 tion.’’. 

18 SEC. 6. RELATION TO OTHER PROCEEDINGS. 

19 Section 305 of the Diplomatic Security Act of 1986 

20 (22 U.S.C. 4835) is amended— 

21 (1) by inserting ‘‘(a) NO EFFECT ON EXISTING

22 REMEDIES OR DEFENSES.—’’ before ‘‘Nothing in 

23 this title’’; and 

24 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub25 section: 


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1 ‘‘(b) FUTURE INQUIRIES.—Nothing in this title shall 

2 be construed to preclude the Secretary of State from con3 vening a follow-up public board of inquiry to investigate 

4 any security incident if the incident was of such magnitude 

5 or significance that an internal process is deemed insuffi6 cient to understand and investigate the incident. All mate7 rials gathered during the procedures provided under this 

8 title shall be provided to any related board of inquiry con9 vened by the Secretary.’’. 

Æ 


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