II 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3210 

To establish a Design Excellence Program at the Department of State, 

to reestablish the Architectural Advisory Board, to assess the Standard 

Embassy Design Program, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 15, 2010 

Mr. KERRY (for himself and Mr. DODD) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

To establish a Design Excellence Program at the Department 

of State, to reestablish the Architectural Advisory Board, 

to assess the Standard Embassy Design Program, 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 ‘‘Embassy Design and 

5 Security Act of 2010’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 

8 (1) Embassies— 


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1 (A) are an important reflection of Amer2 ican values, openness, ingenuity, and innova3 tion; 

4 (B) should reflect the best of United 

5 States design, architecture, sustainability, and 

6 technology; and 

7 (C) should maintain security as a top pri8 ority. 

9 (2) Since 2001, the Bureau of Overseas Build10 ings Operations (referred to in this section as 

11 ‘‘OBO’’) has— 

12 (A) completed 71 new diplomatic and con13 sular facilities; and 

14 (B) moved more than 20,000 individuals 

15 into safer, more secure and functional facilities. 

16 (3) OBO, which has 34 other building projects 

17 in design or construction in 2010, has demonstrated 

18 its ability to construct diplomatic and consular facili19 ties in a timely and expeditious manner. 

20 (4) Since the August 1998 embassy bombings 

21 in East Africa, United States diplomatic and con22 sular facilities have faced increasing attacks. 

23 (5) OBO constructs safe and functional facili24 ties for American diplomats to allow them to ad25 vance foreign policy and to strive to create better, 


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1 safer, and more secure communities for all citizens 

2 of the world. 

3 (6) In his seminal memo, entitled ‘‘Guiding 

4 Principles for Federal Architecture’’, the Honorable 

5 Daniel Patrick Moynihan laid out the following core 

6 principles: 

7 (A) ‘‘It should be our object to meet the 

8 test of Pericles’ evocation to the Athenians, 

9 which the President commended to the Massa10 chusetts legislature in his address of January 9, 

11 1961: ‘We do not imitate—for we are a model 

12 to others.’ ’’. 

13 (B) ‘‘The policy shall be to provide req14 uisite and adequate facilities in an architectural 

15 style and form which is distinguished and which 

16 will reflect the dignity, enterprise, vigor and 

17 stability of the American National Govern18 ment.’’. 

19 (C) ‘‘The development of an official style 

20 must be avoided. . . . The advice of distin21 guished architects, as a rule, ought to be sought 

22 prior to the award of important design con23 tracts.’’. 


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1 (D) ‘‘The choice and development of the 

2 building site should be considered the first step 

3 of the design process.’’. 

4 (7) The principles set forth in paragraph (2) 

5 provide the foundation for the General Services Ad6 ministration’s Design Excellence Program, which— 

7 (A) establishes nationwide policies and pro8 cedures for selecting distinguished architects 

9 and artists for General Services Administra10 tion’s commissions; and 

11 (B) implements rigorous review processes 

12 to produce facilities and civic artworks of out13 standing quality and value. 

14 (8) Section 401 of the Energy Independence 

15 and Security Act of 2007 (Public Law 110–140) de16 fines a high-performance building as ‘‘a building 

17 that integrates and optimizes on a life cycle basis all 

18 major high performance attributes, including energy 

19 conservation, environment, safety, security, dura20 bility, accessibility, cost-benefit, productivity, sus21 tainability, functionality, and operational consider22 ations’’. 

23 (9) The 2009 American Institute of Architects 

24 ‘‘Design for Diplomacy: New Embassies for the 21st 

25 Century’’ reports ‘‘significant interest in developing 


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1 an approach that would enable architects and engi2 neers to design embassies that reflected the unique 

3 needs of a site at a foreign post’’. 

4 (10) The Center for Strategic and International 

5 Studies published a report in 2007, authored by the 

6 Embassy of the Future Commission and entitled 

7 ‘‘The Embassy of the Future’’, which makes the fol8 lowing statements: 

9 (A) ‘‘The new embassy facilities have in 

10 some places created the perception among some 

11 of a fearful United States, retreating behind 

12 high walls and isolating itself from the people 

13 it is trying to reach.’’. 

14 (B) ‘‘The commission believes that it is im15 portant to meet security needs in ways that re16 flect the new diplomatic job.’’. 

17 (C) ‘‘[S]etbacks, barriers, and other secu18 rity features can be designed in ways that inte19 grate security with the overall building design 

20 and surroundings.’’. 

21 SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

22 It is the policy of the United States to adopt design 

23 excellence as a mandate to advance a new generation of 

24 secure, high-performance, sustainable diplomatic and con25 sular facilities in support of United States foreign policy. 


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1 SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF A DESIGN EXCELLENCE PRO2 GRAM AT THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE. 

3 The Secretary of State should— 

4 (1) develop and establish a design excellence 

5 program, which shall be— 

6 (A) modeled after the program used by the 

7 General Services Administration; and 

8 (B) tailored to the specific requirements of 

9 the Bureau of Overseas Building Operations; 

10 (2) ensure that security remains a top priority 

11 for all diplomatic and consular facilities; 

12 (3) integrate sustainability and sustainable de13 sign and construction best practices for all facilities 

14 constructed under the direction of the Bureau of 

15 Overseas Building Operations; 

16 (4) encourage innovation in building design; 

17 (5) create a framework for testing new tech18 nologies as they come on the market that can create 

19 potential value for new facilities; 

20 (6) create a design excellence policies and pro21 cedures manual, which shall— 

22 (A) explain the mandate of the design ex23 cellence program; and 

24 (B) describe how the Department of State 

25 will implement and operate the program; 


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1 (7) establish a high-level board to track the 

2 progress of the design excellence program, which— 

3 (A) shall be composed of an equivalent 

4 number of— 

5 (i) outside professionals who have spe6 cific architectural, design, and industry ex7 pertise; and 

8 (ii) senior United States Government 

9 officials; and 

10 (B) shall meet not less frequently than 

11 semiannually— 

12 (i) to review and analyze the progress 

13 and results of the program; and 

14 (ii) to provide guidance to the Depart15 ment of State on questions that may arise; 

16 (8) train staff to support design excellence 

17 through education and training on program imple18 mentation to ensure consistency and quality on all 

19 projects; 

20 (9) perform post-occupancy evaluations to iden21 tify the problems and successes of each facility; 

22 (10) consider utilizing research studies from 

23 outside the Department of State to bring new ideas 

24 and provide cost-effective solutions; 


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1 (11) include fine arts advisors as part of the de2 sign excellence program and peer review panels for 

3 all embassy projects; and 

4 (12) undertake a concurrent review of the 

5 Standard Embassy Design Program (referred to in 

6 this section as the ‘‘SED Program’’) to determine— 

7 (A) the best way to integrate the newly es8 tablished design excellence program with the 

9 SED Program; and 

10 (B) modifications that need to be made to 

11 the SED Program. 

12 SEC. 5. ARCHITECTURAL ADVISORY BOARD. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall reestablish 

14 the Architectural Advisory Board (referred to in this sec15 tion as the ‘‘Board’’) in order to— 

16 (1) advise the Department of State on design 

17 standards; 

18 (2) recommend the most appropriate style of 

19 architecture for prospective projects; 

20 (3) review the quality and fitness of designs; 

21 (4) advise on an appropriate balance and inte22 gration between security priorities and American val23 ues of openness and design; 

24 (5) advise how the Department can construct 

25 new diplomatic and consular facilities that are built 


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1 to the most up-to-date energy efficiency require2 ments, standards, checklists, or rating systems, to 

3 the extent possible; 

4 (6) advise how the Department can place diplo5 matic and consular facilities in urban and city center 

6 locations, to the extent possible— 

7 (A) to permit greater accessibility to na8 tional government institutions; and 

9 (B) to facilitate ease of access for local 

10 residents; and 

11 (7) advise how the Department can construct 

12 new diplomatic and consular facilities with future, 

13 projected growth needs in mind, including growth 

14 needs for other Federal agencies. 

15 (b) COMPOSITION.—The Board shall be composed of 

16 5 members appointed by the Secretary from outside the 

17 United States Government, who are noted for their knowl18 edge of, and experience with, architecture and design. 

19 (c) DEADLINE FOR APPOINTMENTS.—All members of 

20 the Board shall be appointed not later than 60 days after 

21 the date of the enactment of this Act. 

22 (d) MEETINGS.—The Board shall meet not less fre23 quently than semiannually at the call of the Chairperson. 

24 (e) COMPENSATION.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para2 graph (2), members of the Board— 

3 (A) shall be paid compensation out of 

4 funds made available for the purposes of this 

5 title at the daily equivalent of the highest rate 

6 payable under section 5332 of title 5, United 

7 States Code, for each day (including travel 

8 time) during which the member is engaged in 

9 the actual performance of duties as a member 

10 of the Board; and 

11 (B) while away from the member’s home 

12 or regular place of business on necessary travel 

13 in the actual performance of duties as a mem14 ber of the Board, shall be paid per diem, travel, 

15 and transportation expenses in the same man16 ner as is provided under subchapter I of chap17 ter 57 of title 5, United States Code. 

18 (2) LIMITATION.—A member of the Board may 

19 not be paid compensation under paragraph (1)(B) 

20 for more than 90 days in any calendar year. 

21 (f) EXEMPTION.—The Board shall be exempt from 

22 the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.). 


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1 SEC. 6. REPORT TO REVIEW THE STANDARD EMBASSY DE2 SIGN PROGRAM. 

3 Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment 

4 of this Act, the Architectural Review Board established 

5 under section 5 shall submit to the appropriate congres6 sional committees an assessment of the Standard Em7 bassy Design Program, which shall include— 

8 (1) a comprehensive review of the Standard 

9 Embassy Design template, including the utility of 

10 the template in overseas contexts and general 

11 strengths, weaknesses, drawbacks, and limitations to 

12 the template; 

13 (2) an analysis of the cost-effectiveness and 

14 overall utility of incorporating 1 of 4 classes of 

15 Standard Embassy Design (small, medium, large, 

16 and extra large); 

17 (3) an analysis of whether such approach un18 duly limits the flexibility of design and responsive19 ness to local contexts and priorities; 

20 (4) a consideration of alternative approaches to 

21 enable architects and engineers— 

22 (A) to design embassies that reflect the 

23 unique needs of a site at a foreign post; and 

24 (B) to incorporate appropriate standard 

25 design and construction components common to 

26 the building type; 


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1 (5) an examination of the effectiveness of the 

2 SED Program in— 

3 (A) integrating security concerns with de4 sign considerations; 

5 (B) ensuring an adequate growth footprint 

6 for future embassy personnel increases; 

7 (C) incorporating sustainable design and 

8 the most up-to-date energy efficiency require9 ments, standards, checklists, or rating systems 

10 for diplomatic and consular facilities; 

11 (D) allowing for open and public access; 

12 and 

13 (E) ensuring overall design excellence; and 

14 (6) recommendations on— 

15 (A) the best way to integrate the newly es16 tablished Embassy Design Excellence Program 

17 with the SED Program; and 

18 (B) the modifications to the SED Program 

19 that are warranted. 

20 SEC. 7. MODIFIED SECURITY REQUIREMENTS FOR UNITED 

21 STATES DIPLOMATIC AND CONSULAR FACILI22 TIES. 

23 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS ON CO-LOCATION AND SE24 CURITY REQUIREMENTS.—It is the sense of Congress 

25 that— 


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1 (1) while assessing the necessity, security, and 

2 efficiency of co-locating all United States Govern3 ment personnel at a single embassy site within a sin4 gle foreign country, the Secretary should consider 

5 placing United States Government personnel at loca6 tions conducive to maximizing their use; 

7 (2) while cost efficiency and security consider8 ations may justify the consolidation of multiple Fed9 eral departments and agencies at a single location, 

10 such a determination should not be made without 

11 taking into account other crucial policy consider12 ations; 

13 (3) the Secretary should consider alternative lo14 cation arrangements that do not affect the strength 

15 and appropriateness of security arrangements for 

16 United States Government personnel; 

17 (4) it is crucial that security standards remain 

18 uniformly high in all locations hosting United States 

19 Government personnel; 

20 (5) the perimeter distance requirement under 

21 section 606(a)(3) of the Secure Embassy Construc22 tion and Counterterrorism Act of 1999 (22 U.S.C. 

23 4865(a)(3)) imposes a uniform security standard for 

24 all diplomatic and consular facilities regardless of 

25 country context or specific security needs; 


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1 (6) a more nuanced approach may tailor spe2 cific security requirements, such as perimeter dis3 tance requirements, to particular security consider4 ations in a given country; and 

5 (7) while every country with diplomatic rep6 resentation must have a modern, secure, safe, and 

7 functional facility, it is important to integrate secu8 rity with the long-term impact on the foreign policy 

9 objectives of the Department of State. 

10 (b) DIPLOMATIC AND CONSULAR FACILITIES TASK

11 FORCE.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State 

13 should establish the Diplomatic and Consular Facili14 ties Task Force (referred to in this section as the 

15 ‘‘Task Force’’)— 

16 (A) to review existing regulations, stand17 ards, and procedures to implement paragraphs 

18 (2) and (3) of section 606(a) of the Secure Em19 bassy Construction and Counterterrorism Act of 

20 1999 (22 U.S.C. 4865(a)); and 

21 (B) to make appropriate recommendations 

22 to modify or revoke the regulations, standards, 

23 and procedures under such Act. 

24 (2) COMPOSITION.—The Task Force shall be 

25 composed of 7 members, of whom— 


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1 (A) 4 shall be senior career professionals 

2 of the Department of State with different per3 sonnel backgrounds; and 

4 (B) 3 shall be professionals outside the 

5 United States Government who are noted for 

6 their knowledge and experience in construction 

7 and security issues. 

8 (3) DEADLINE FOR APPOINTMENTS.—All mem9 bers of the Task Force shall be appointed not later 

10 than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this 

11 Act. 

12 (4) EXEMPTION.—The Task Force shall be ex13 empt from the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 

14 U.S.C. App.). 

15 (5) TERMINATION.—The Task Force shall ter16 minate on the date on which the report is submitted 

17 to Congress under subsection (c)(2). 

18 (c) REPORTS.— 

19 (1) SECRETARY OF STATE.—Not later than 1 

20 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

21 Secretary of State shall submit a report to the Com22 mittee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the 

23 Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Rep24 resentatives that describes— 


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1 (A) the recommendations made by the 

2 Task Force under subsection (b)(1)(B); and 

3 (B) the impact of such recommendations 

4 on the operations of, and security standards 

5 for, United States diplomatic and consular fa6 cilities. 

7 (2) COMPTROLLER GENERAL.—Not later than 

8 120 days after the submission of the report under 

9 paragraph (1), the Comptroller General of the 

10 United States shall submit a report to the appro11 priate congressional committees that contains— 

12 (A) a review of, and comments on, the rec13 ommendations made by the Task Force under 

14 subsection (b)(1)(B); and 

15 (B) the Comptroller General’s recommen16 dations for improving the security standards at 

17 all United States diplomatic and consular facili18 ties. 

Æ 


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