II 

Calendar No. 318 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D 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 

APRIL 4 (legislative day, MARCH 31), 2022 

Reported by Mr. MENENDEZ, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

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’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. INVESTIGATION OF SERIOUS SECURITY INCIDENTS. 

2 Section 301 of the Diplomatic Security Act of 1986 

3 (22 U.S.C. 4831) is amended— 

4 (1) in the section heading, by striking ‘‘AC5 COUNTABILITY REVIEW BOARDS’’ and inserting 

6 ‘‘INVESTIGATION OF SERIOUS SECURITY INCI7 DENTS’’; 

8 (2) in subsection (a)— 

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

10 follows: 

11 ‘‘(1) CONVENING THE SERIOUS SECURITY INCI12 DENT INVESTIGATION PERMANENT COORDINATING

13 COMMITTEE PROCESS.— 

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In any case of a seri15 ous security incident involving loss of life, seri16 ous injury, or significant destruction of prop17 erty at, or related to, a United States Govern18 ment (USG) diplomatic mission abroad, and in 

19 any case of a serious breach of security involv20 ing intelligence activities of a foreign govern21 ment directed at a USG mission abroad, a Seri22 ous Security Incident Investigation (SSII) into 

23 the event shall be convened by the Department 

24 of State and a report produced for the Sec25 retary providing a full account of what oc26 curred, including— 


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1 ‘‘(i) whether security provisions perti2 nent to the incident were in place and 

3 functioning; 

4 ‘‘(ii) whether any malfeasance or 

5 breach of duty took place that materially 

6 contributed to the outcome of the incident; 

7 and 

8 ‘‘(iii) any recommendations of relevant 

9 security improvements or follow-up meas10 ures. 

11 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—A Serious Security In12 cident Investigation need not be convened where 

13 the Secretary determines that a case clearly in14 volves only causes unrelated to security.’’; 

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

16 and inserting ‘‘Serious Security Incident Inves17 tigation’’; and 

18 (C) by striking paragraph (3); 

19 (3) in subsection (b)— 

20 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

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

22 that follows through ‘‘Board’’ and insert23 ing ‘‘The Secretary of State shall convene 

24 a Serious Security Incident Investigation 

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1 nating Committee process (SSII/PCC)’’; 

2 and 

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

4 the Board’’; and 

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

6 each place it appears and inserting ‘‘SSII/ 

7 PCC’’; and 

8 (4) in subsection (c)— 

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

10 ‘‘Serious Security Incident Investigation and 

11 begins the SSII/PCC process’’; 

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

13 after ‘‘chairman’’; and 

14 (C) by striking ‘‘Speaker’’ and all that fol15 lows through the period at the end of para16 graph (3) and inserting ‘‘chairman and ranking 

17 member of the Committee of Foreign Affairs of 

18 the House of Representatives.’’. 

19 SEC. 3. SERIOUS SECURITY INCIDENT INVESTIGATION PER20 MANENT COORDINATING COMMITTEE. 

21 Section 302 of the Diplomatic Security Act of 1986 

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


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1 ‘‘SEC. 302. SERIOUS SECURITY INCIDENT INVESTIGATION 

2 PERMANENT COORDINATING COMMITTEE. 

3 ‘‘(a) BUREAU OF DIPLOMATIC SECURITY RESPONSI4 BILITY FOR INVESTIGATIONS.—The Bureau of Diplomatic 

5 Security shall be responsible for carrying out investiga6 tions of serious security incidents, utilizing such investiga7 tive personnel and other resources as may be necessary. 

8 ‘‘(b) SERIOUS SECURITY INCIDENT PERMANENT CO9 ORDINATING COMMITTEE.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Serious Security Inci11 dent Investigation Permanent Coordinating Com12 mittee (SSII/PCC) shall be convened to review each 

13 serious security incident. The SSII/PCC shall review 

14 the Report of Investigation prepared under section 

15 303(b) and any other available reporting and evi16 dence, including video recordings, and shall prepare 

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

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

19 primarily composed of Assistant Secretary-level per20 sonnel in the Department of State, and shall at a 

21 minimum include the following personnel: 

22 ‘‘(A) A representative of the Under Sec23 retary of State for Management, who shall 

24 serve as chair of the SSII/PCC. 

25 ‘‘(B) The Assistant Secretary responsible 

26 for the region where the incident occurred. 


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1 ‘‘(C) The Assistant Secretary for Diplo2 matic Security. 

3 ‘‘(D) The Assistant Secretary for the Bu4 reau of Intelligence and Research. 

5 ‘‘(E) An Assistant Secretary-level rep6 resentative from any involved United States 

7 Government department or agency. 

8 ‘‘(F) Other personnel as determined nec9 essary or appropriate. 

10 ‘‘(3) REPORT.—The SSII/PCC shall, upon com11 pleting review of the Report of Investigation, submit 

12 to the Secretary of State a report on the incident 

13 and outcomes, including any recommendations re14 lated to preventing or responding to similar inci15 dents.’’. 

16 SEC. 4. SERIOUS SECURITY INCIDENT INVESTIGATION 

17 PROCESS. 

18 Section 303 of the Diplomatic Security Act of 1986 

19 (22 U.S.C. 4833) is amended to read as follows: 

20 ‘‘SEC. 303. SERIOUS SECURITY INCIDENT INVESTIGATION 

21 PROCESS. 

22 ‘‘(a) INVESTIGATION PROCESS.— 

23 ‘‘(1) INITIATION.—The Serious Security Inci24 dent Investigation process begins when a United 

25 States mission reports a serious security incident at 


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1 the mission, including detailed information about the 

2 incident, within three days after it occurred. 

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

4 Service shall assemble an investigative team to carry 

5 out the investigation of an incident reported under 

6 paragraph (1). The investigation shall cover the fol7 lowing matters: 

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

9 perpetrated or is suspected of having per10 petrated the attack, and whether applicable se11 curity procedures were followed. 

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

13 an attack on a United States diplomatic com14 pound, motorcade, residence, or other facility, a 

15 determination whether adequate security coun16 termeasures were in effect. 

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

18 individual or group of officers, employees, or 

19 family members under chief of mission author20 ity conducting approved operations or move21 ments outside the United States mission, a de22 termination whether proper security briefings 

23 and procedures were in place and whether ade24 quate consideration of threat and weighing of 

25 risk of the operation or movement took place. 


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1 ‘‘(D) An assessment of whether any offi2 cials’ or employees’ failure to follow procedures 

3 or perform their duties contributed to the secu4 rity incident. 

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

6 team shall prepare a Report of Investigation at the conclu7 sion of the Serious Security Incident Investigation and 

8 submit the report to the Serious Security Incident Inves9 tigation Permanent Coordinating Committee (SSII/PCC). 

10 The report shall include the following elements: 

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

12 forth in subparagraphs (A) through (D) of sub13 section (a)(2), including all related findings. 

14 ‘‘(2) An accurate account of the casualties, in15 jured, and damage resulting from the incident. 

16 ‘‘(3) A review of security procedures and direc17 tives in place at the time of the incident. 

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

19 shall adopt such procedures with respect to confidentiality 

20 as determined necessary, including procedures relating to 

21 the conduct of closed proceedings or the submission and 

22 use of evidence in camera, to ensure in particular the pro23 tection of classified information relating to national de24 fense, foreign policy, or intelligence matters. The Director 

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1 tion required for intelligence information and for informa2 tion relating to intelligence personnel included in the re3 port under subsection (b). The SSII/PCC shall determine 

4 the level of classification of the final report prepared under 

5 section 304(b), but shall incorporate the same confiden6 tiality measures in such report to the maximum extent 

7 practicable.’’. 

8 SEC. 5. FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS BY THE SERI9 OUS SECURITY INCIDENT INVESTIGATION 

10 PERMANENT COORDINATING COMMITTEE. 

11 Section 304 of the Diplomatic Security Act of 1986 

12 (22 U.S.C. 4834) is amended to read as follows: 

13 ‘‘SEC. 304. SERIOUS SECURITY INCIDENT INVESTIGATION 

14 PERMANENT COORDINATING COMMITTEE 

15 FINDINGS AND REPORT. 

16 ‘‘(a) FINDINGS.—The Serious Security Incident In17 vestigation Permanent Coordinating Committee (SSII/ 

18 PCC) shall review the Report of Investigation prepared 

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

20 relevant information relating to a serious security incident 

21 at a United States mission abroad, including an examina22 tion of the facts and circumstances surrounding any seri23 ous injuries, loss of life, or significant destruction of prop24 erty resulting from the incident and shall make the fol25 lowing written findings: 


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

2 related and constituted a serious security incident. 

3 ‘‘(2) If the incident involved a diplomatic com4 pound, motorcade, residence, or other mission facil5 ity, whether the security systems, security counter6 measures, and security procedures operated as in7 tended, and whether such systems worked to materi8 ally mitigate the attack or were found to be inad9 equate to mitigate the threat and attack. 

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

11 group of officers conducting an approved operation 

12 outside the mission, a determination whether a valid 

13 process was followed in evaluating the requested op14 eration and weighing the risk of the operation. Such 

15 determination shall not seek to assign accountability 

16 for the incident unless the SSII/PCC determines 

17 that an official breached their duty. 

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

19 and information availability, and whether the mis20 sion was aware of the general operating threat envi21 ronment or any more specific threat intelligence or 

22 information and took that into account in ongoing 

23 and specific operations. 


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

2 may be relevant to the appropriate security manage3 ment of United States missions abroad. 

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

5 after receiving the Report of Investigation prepared under 

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

7 Secretary of State including the findings under subsection 

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

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

10 submit the report to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

11 of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 

12 the House of Representatives. 

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

14 course of conducting an investigation under section 303, 

15 the investigative team finds reasonable cause to believe 

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

17 breached the duty of that individual or finds lesser failures 

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

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

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

21 support the determination, it shall be reported to the Di22 rector General of the Foreign Service for appropriate ac23 tion.’’. 


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1 SEC. 6. RELATION TO OTHER PROCEEDINGS. 

2 Section 305 of the Diplomatic Security Act of 1986 

3 (22 U.S.C. 4835) is amended— 

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

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

6 this title’’; and 

7 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub8 section: 

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

10 be construed to preclude the Secretary of State from con11 vening a follow-up public board of inquiry to investigate 

12 any security incident if the incident was of such magnitude 

13 or significance that an internal process is deemed insuffi14 cient to understand and investigate the incident. All mate15 rials gathered during the procedures provided under this 

16 title shall be provided to any related board of inquiry con17 vened by the Secretary.’’. 

18 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

19 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Diplomatic Support and 

20 Security Act of 2022’’. 

21 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

22 Congress makes the following findings: 

23 (1) A robust overseas diplomatic presence is part 

24 of an effective foreign policy, particularly in volatile 

25 environments where a flexible and timely diplomatic 


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1 response can be decisive in preventing and addressing 

2 conflict. 

3 (2) Diplomats routinely put themselves and their 

4 families at great personal risk to serve their country 

5 overseas where they face threats related to inter6 national terrorism, violent conflict, and public health, 

7 among others. 

8 (3) The Department of State has a remarkable 

9 record of protecting personnel while enabling an enor10 mous amount of global diplomatic activity, often in 

11 unsecure and remote places and facing a variety of 

12 evolving risks and threats. With support from Con13 gress, the Department of State has revised policy, im14 proved physical security through retrofitting and re15 placing old facilities, deployed additional security 

16 personnel and armored vehicles, and greatly enhanced 

17 training requirements and facilities, including the 

18 new Foreign Affairs Security Training Center in 

19 Blackstone, Virginia. 

20 (4) Diplomatic missions rely on robust staffing 

21 and ambitious external engagement to advance 

22 United States interests as diverse as competing with 

23 China’s malign influence around the world, fighting 

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1 tarian disasters, promoting United States businesses 

2 and trade, protecting the rights of marginalized 

3 groups, addressing climate change, and preventing 

4 pandemic disease. 

5 (5) However, efforts to protect personnel overseas 

6 have often resulted in inhibiting diplomatic activity 

7 and limiting engagement between embassy personnel 

8 and local governments and populations. 

9 (6) Given that Congress currently provides an10 nual appropriations in excess of $1,900,000,000 for 

11 embassy security, construction, and maintenance, the 

12 Department of State should be able ensure a robust 

13 overseas presence without inhibiting the ability of 

14 diplomats to— 

15 (A) meet outside United States secured fa16 cilities with foreign leaders to explain, defend, 

17 and advance United States priorities; 

18 (B) understand and report on foreign polit19 ical, social, and economic conditions through 

20 meeting and interacting with community offi21 cials outside of United States facilities; 

22 (C) provide United States citizen services; 

23 and 

24 (D) collaborate and, at times, compete with 

25 other diplomatic missions, particularly those, 


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1 such as the People’s Republic of China, that do 

2 not restrictions on meeting locations. 

3 (7) Given these stakes, Congress has a responsi4 bility to empower, support, and hold the Department 

5 of State accountable for implementing an aggressive 

6 strategy to ensure a robust overseas presence that 

7 mitigates potential risks and adequately considers the 

8 myriad direct and indirect consequences of a lack of 

9 diplomatic presence. 

10 SEC. 3. ENCOURAGING EXPEDITIONARY DIPLOMACY. 

11 (a) PURPOSE.—Subsection (b) of section 102 of the 

12 Diplomatic Security Act (22 U.S.C. 4801(b)) is amended— 

13 (1) by amending paragraph (3) to read as fol14 lows: 

15 ‘‘(3) to promote strengthened security measures, 

16 institutionalize a culture of learning, and, in the case 

17 of apparent gross negligence or breach of duty, rec18 ommend that the Secretary investigate accountability 

19 for United States Government personnel with secu20 rity-related responsibilities;’’; 

21 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (4) and (5) as 

22 paragraphs (5) and (6), respectively; and 

23 (3) by inserting after paragraph (3) the fol24 lowing new paragraph: 


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1 ‘‘(4) to support a culture of risk management, 

2 instead of risk avoidance, that enables the Depart3 ment of State to pursue its vital goals with full 

4 knowledge that it is not desirable nor possible for the 

5 Department to avoid all risks;’’. 

6 (b) BRIEFINGS ON EMBASSY SECURITY.—Section 

7 105(a) of the Diplomatic Security Act (22 U.S.C. 4804(a)) 

8 is amended in paragraph (1)— 

9 (1) by striking ‘‘any plans to open or reopen a 

10 high risk, high threat post’’ and inserting ‘‘progress 

11 towards opening or reopening high risk, high threat 

12 post, and the risk to national security of the contin13 ued closure or any suspension of operations and re14 maining barriers to doing so’’; 

15 (2) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘the risk 

16 to United States national security of the post’s con17 tinued closure or suspension of operations,’’ after ‘‘na18 tional security of the United States,’’; and 

19 (3) in subparagraph (C), by inserting ‘‘the type 

20 and level of security threats such post could encoun21 ter, and’’ before ‘‘security ‘tripwires’ ’’. 

22 SEC. 4. SECURITY REVIEW COMMITTEES. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 301 of the Diplomatic Se24 curity Act of 1986 (22 U.S.C. 4831) is amended— 


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1 (1) in the section heading, by striking ‘‘AC2 COUNTABILITY REVIEW BOARDS’’ and inserting 

3 ‘‘SECURITY REVIEW COMMITTEES’’; 

4 (2) in subsection (a)— 

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

6 follows: 

7 ‘‘(1) CONVENING THE SECURITY REVIEW COM8 MITTEE.—In any case of a serious security incident 

9 involving loss of life, serious injury, or significant de10 struction of property at, or related to, a United States 

11 Government diplomatic mission abroad (a ‘Serious 

12 Security Incident’), and in any case of a serious 

13 breach of security involving intelligence activities of a 

14 foreign government directed at a United States Gov15 ernment mission abroad, the Secretary of State shall 

16 convene a Security Review Committee (SRC), which 

17 shall issue a report providing a full account of what 

18 occurred, consistent with section 304.’’; 

19 (B) by redesignating paragraphs (2) and 

20 (3) as paragraphs (3) and (4), respectively; 

21 (C) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol22 lowing new paragraph: 

23 ‘‘(2) COMMITTEE COMPOSITION.—The Secretary 

24 shall designate a Chairperson and may designate ad25 ditional personnel of commensurate seniority to serve 


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1 on the SRC. Members of the SRC shall, at a min2 imum, include the following personnel: 

3 ‘‘(A) The Director of the Office of Manage4 ment Strategy and Solutions (M/SS). 

5 ‘‘(B) The Assistant Secretary responsible for 

6 the region where the incident occurred. 

7 ‘‘(C) The Assistant Secretary for Diplo8 matic Security. 

9 ‘‘(D) The Assistant Secretary for the Bu10 reau of Intelligence and Research. 

11 ‘‘(E) An Assistant Secretary-level represent12 ative from any involved United States Govern13 ment department or agency. 

14 ‘‘(F) Other personnel as determined nec15 essary or appropriate.’’; 

16 (D) in paragraph (3), as redesignated by 

17 subparagraph (B)— 

18 (i) in the paragraph heading, by strik19 ing ‘‘DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE FACILITIES

20 AND PERSONNEL’’ and inserting ‘‘EXCEP21 TIONS TO CONVENING AN SRC’’; 

22 (ii) by striking ‘‘The Secretary of 

23 State’’ and all that follows through ‘‘con24 vene a Board in the case’’ and inserting the 

25 following: 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State 

2 is not required to convene an SRC— 

3 ‘‘(i) if the Secretary determines that 

4 the incident involves only causes unrelated 

5 to security, such as when the security at 

6 issue is outside of the scope of the Secretary 

7 of State’s security responsibility as defined 

8 in section 103; 

9 ‘‘(ii) in a case where operational con10 trol of overseas security functions has been 

11 delegated to another agency consistent with 

12 section 106; 

13 ‘‘(iii) if the incident is a cybersecurity 

14 incident and is covered by other review 

15 mechanisms; or 

16 ‘‘(iv) in the case’’; and 

17 (iii) by striking ‘‘In any such case’’ 

18 and inserting the following: 

19 ‘‘(B) DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE INVESTIGA20 TIONS.—In the case of an incident described in 

21 subparagraph (A)(iv)’’; and 

22 (E) by adding at the end the following new 

23 paragraph: 

24 ‘‘(5) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary of State 

25 shall promulgate regulations defining the membership 


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1 and operating procedures for the SRC and provide 

2 such guidance to the Chairmen and ranking members 

3 of the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate 

4 and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House 

5 of Representatives.’’; 

6 (3) in subsection (b)— 

7 (A) in the subsection heading, by striking 

8 ‘‘BOARDS’’ and inserting ‘‘SRCS’’; and 

9 (B) by amending paragraph (1) to read as 

10 follows: 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State shall 

12 convene an SRC not later than 60 days after the oc13 currence of an incident described in subsection (a)(1), 

14 or 60 days after the Department first becomes aware 

15 of such an incident, whichever is earlier, except that 

16 the 60-day period for convening an SRC may be ex17 tended for one additional 60-day period if the Sec18 retary determines that the additional period is nec19 essary.’’; and 

20 (4) in subsection (c)— 

21 (A) by striking ‘‘convenes a Board’’ and in22 serting ‘‘convenes an SRC’’; 

23 (B) by inserting ‘‘and ranking member’’ 

24 after ‘‘chairman’’; and 


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1 (C) by striking ‘‘Speaker’’ and all that fol2 lows through the period at the end of paragraph 

3 (3) and inserting ‘‘chairman and ranking mem4 ber of the Committee of Foreign Affairs of the 

5 House of Representatives.’’. 

6 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

7 Section 302 of the Diplomatic Security Act (22 U.S.C. 

8 4832) is amended— 

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

11 ‘‘SECURITY REVIEW COMMITTEE’’; and 

12 (2) by striking ‘‘a Board’’ each place it appears 

13 and inserting ‘‘an SRC’’. 

14 SEC. 5. SERIOUS SECURITY INCIDENT INVESTIGATION 

15 PROCESS. 

16 Section 303 of the Diplomatic Security Act of 1986 

17 (22 U.S.C. 4833) is amended to read as follows: 

18 ‘‘SEC. 303. SERIOUS SECURITY INCIDENT INVESTIGATION 

19 PROCESS. 

20 ‘‘(a) INVESTIGATION PROCESS.— 

21 ‘‘(1) INITIATION UPON REPORTED INCIDENT.— 

22 An investigation of a Serious Security Incident, as 

23 described in section 301(a)(1), shall begin when a 

24 United States mission reports a Serious Security In25 cident at the mission. Such a report shall include an 


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1 initial report of the incident and shall be made with2 in three days of the incident, when feasible. 

3 ‘‘(2) INVESTIGATION.—Not later than 10 days 

4 following a report under paragraph (1), the Secretary 

5 shall direct the Diplomatic Security Service to assem6 ble an investigative team to investigate the incident 

7 and independently establish what occurred. The inves8 tigation shall cover— 

9 ‘‘(A) an assessment of what occurred, who 

10 perpetrated or is suspected of having perpetrated 

11 the serious security incident, and whether appli12 cable security procedures were followed; 

13 ‘‘(B) in the event the Serious Security Inci14 dent involved a United States diplomatic com15 pound, motorcade, residence, or other facility, an 

16 assessment of whether adequate security counter17 measures were in effect based on known threat at 

18 the time of the incident; 

19 ‘‘(C) if the incident involved an individual 

20 or group of officers, employees, or family mem21 bers under chief of mission security responsi22 bility conducting approved operations or move23 ments outside the United States mission, an as24 sessment of whether proper security briefings and 


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1 procedures were in place and weighing of risk of 

2 the operation or movement took place; and 

3 ‘‘(D) an assessment of whether the failure of 

4 any officials or employees to follow procedures or 

5 perform their duties contributed to the security 

6 incident. 

7 ‘‘(3) INVESTIGATIVE TEAM.—The investigative 

8 team shall consist of individuals from the Diplomatic 

9 Security Service who shall provide an independent 

10 examination of the facts surrounding the incident and 

11 what occurred. The Secretary or the Secretary’s des12 ignee shall review the makeup of the investigative 

13 team for a conflict, appearance of conflict, or lack of 

14 independence that could undermine the results of the 

15 investigation and may remove or replace any mem16 bers of the team to avoid such an outcome. 

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

18 team shall prepare a Report of Investigation at the conclu19 sion of the investigation and submit the report to the SRC 

20 no later than 90 days after the occurrence of a Serious Secu21 rity Incident. The report shall include the following ele22 ments: 

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

24 forth in subparagraphs (A) through (D) of subsection 

25 (a)(2), including all related findings. 


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1 ‘‘(2) A complete and an accurate account of the 

2 casualties, injuries, and damage resulting from the 

3 incident. 

4 ‘‘(3) A review of security procedures and direc5 tives in place at the time of the incident. 

6 ‘‘(c) CONFIDENTIALITY.—The investigative team shall 

7 adopt such procedures with respect to confidentiality as de8 termined necessary, including procedures relating to the 

9 conduct of closed proceedings or the submission and use of 

10 evidence in camera, to ensure in particular the protection 

11 of classified information relating to national defense, for12 eign policy, or intelligence matters. The Director of Na13 tional Intelligence shall establish the level of protection re14 quired for intelligence information and for information re15 lating to intelligence personnel included in the report under 

16 subsection (b). The SRC shall determine the level of classi17 fication of the final report prepared under section 304(b), 

18 but shall incorporate the same confidentiality measures in 

19 such report to the maximum extent practicable.’’. 

20 SEC. 6. FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS BY THE SECU21 RITY REVIEW COMMITTEE. 

22 Section 304 of the Diplomatic Security Act of 1986 

23 (22 U.S.C. 4834) is amended to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 304. SECURITY REVIEW COMMITTEE FINDINGS AND 

2 REPORT. 

3 ‘‘(a) FINDINGS.—The Security Review Committee 

4 shall review the Report of Investigation prepared under sec5 tion 303(b), all other evidence, reporting, and relevant in6 formation relating to a serious security incident at a 

7 United States mission abroad, including an examination 

8 of the facts and circumstances surrounding any serious in9 juries, loss of life, or significant destruction of property re10 sulting from the incident and shall make the following writ11 ten findings: 

12 ‘‘(1) Whether the incident was security related 

13 and constituted a serious security incident. 

14 ‘‘(2) If the incident involved a diplomatic com15 pound, motorcade, residence, or other mission facility, 

16 whether the security systems, security counter17 measures, and security procedures operated as in18 tended, and whether such systems worked to materi19 ally mitigate the attack or were found to be inad20 equate to mitigate the threat and attack. 

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

22 group of officers conducting an approved operation 

23 outside the mission, a determination whether a valid 

24 process was followed in evaluating the requested oper25 ation and weighing the risk of the operation. Such de26 termination shall not seek to assign accountability for 


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1 the incident unless the SRC determines that an offi2 cial breached their duty. 

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

4 and information availability, and whether the mis5 sion was aware of the general operating threat envi6 ronment or any more specific threat intelligence or 

7 information and took that into account in ongoing 

8 and specific operations. 

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

10 may be relevant to the appropriate security manage11 ment of United States missions abroad. 

12 ‘‘(b) SRC REPORT.—Not later than 60 days after re13 ceiving the Report of Investigation prepared under section 

14 303(b), the SRC shall submit a report to the Secretary of 

15 State including the findings under subsection (a) and any 

16 related recommendations. Not later than 90 days after re17 ceiving the report, the Secretary of State shall submit the 

18 report to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate 

19 and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Rep20 resentatives. 

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

22 course of conducting an investigation under section 303, the 

23 investigative team finds reasonable cause to believe any in24 dividual described in section 303(a)(2)(D) has breached the 

25 duty of that individual or finds lesser failures on the part 


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1 of an individual in the performance of his or her duties 

2 related to the incident, it shall be reported to the SRC. If 

3 the SRC find reasonable cause to support the determina4 tion, it shall be reported to the Secretary for appropriate 

5 action.’’. 

6 SEC. 7. RELATION TO OTHER PROCEEDINGS. 

7 Section 305 of the Diplomatic Security Act of 1986 

8 (22 U.S.C. 4835) is amended— 

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

10 REMEDIES OR DEFENSES.—’’ before ‘‘Nothing in this 

11 title’’; and 

12 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub13 section: 

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

15 be construed to preclude the Secretary of State from con16 vening a follow-up public board of inquiry to investigate 

17 any security incident if the incident was of such magnitude 

18 or significance that an internal process is deemed insuffi19 cient to understand and investigate the incident. All mate20 rials gathered during the procedures provided under this 

21 title shall be provided to any related board of inquiry con22 vened by the Secretary.’’. 


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Calendar No. 318 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 816 

A BILL 

To amend the Diplomatic Security Act of 1986 to 

vestigations, and for other purposes. provide for improved serious security incident inAPRIL 4 (legislative day, MARCH 31), 2022 

Reported with an amendment 


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