SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Accountability Review 
Board Reform Act of 2013’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 
(1) The United States has a crucial stake in 
supporting the presence abroad of United States 
Government personnel representing United States 
interests. 
(2) United States Government personnel and 
missions abroad are confronted by serious security 
risks, including the threat of terrorism, which will 
continue for the foreseeable future. 
(3) The Accountability Review Board process 
was established in 1986 by Congress to conduct a 
thorough assessment of security-related incidents at 
or related to a United States Government mission 
abroad. 
(4) Each assessment by a Board is expected to 
promote strengthened security measures, and to pro-
vide for the accountability of United States Govern-
ment personnel with security-related responsibilities. 
(5) The terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya, on 
September 11, 2012, that took the lives of four 
United States Government personnel has brought 
unprecedented attention to the work of such Boards. 
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(b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con-
gress that the effectiveness of Accountability Review 
Boards would be improved by reconstituting such Boards 
to increase their independence from the Department of 
State. 
SEC. 3. NOTIFICATION TO CONGRESS ABOUT CERTAIN IN-
FORMATION RELATING TO ACCOUNTABILITY 
REVIEW BOARDS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF 
STATE. 
Subsection (c) of section 301 of the Omnibus Diplo-
matic Security and Antiterrorism Act (22 U.S.C. 4831) 
is amended— 
(1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by 
inserting ‘‘, the Chairman of the Committee on For-
eign Affairs of the House of Representatives,’’ after 
‘‘the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Sen-
ate’’; and 
(2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 
end; 
(3) by redesignating paragraph (3) as para-
graph (5); and 
(4) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol-
lowing new paragraphs: 
‘‘(3) of any individual who is employed at a 
grade of not lower than the level of FS-3 or GS-14 
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who is hired, assigned, or detailed to assist the 
Board to carry out its duties; 
‘‘(4) of any political appointee who is hired, as-
signed, or detailed to assist the Board to carry out 
its duties; and’’. 
SEC. 4. ACCOUNTABILITY REVIEW BOARDS. 
(a) MEMBERSHIP.—Subsection (a) of section 302 of 
the Omnibus Diplomatic Security and Antiterrorism Act 
(22 U.S.C. 4832) is amended— 
(1) by striking the first sentence and inserting 
the following new sentence: ‘‘A Board shall consist 
of five members, two appointed by the Secretary of 
State, two appointed by the Chairperson of the 
Council of Inspectors General on Integrity and Effi-
ciency (the CIGIE Chairperson), and one appointed 
by the Director of National Intelligence.’’; and 
(2) by striking the final two sentences and in-
serting the following new sentences: ‘‘Members of a 
Board who are not Federal officers or employees 
shall each be paid at a rate not to exceed the max-
imum rate of basic pay payable for level IV of the 
Executive Schedule under section 5317 of title 5, 
United States Code, for each day (including travel 
time) during which such members are engaged in 
the actual performance of duties vested in such 
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Board. Members of the Board who are Federal offi-
cers or employees shall receive no additional pay by 
reason of such membership. Only in exceptional cir-
cumstances may a member of a Board be a current 
Federal officer or employee.’’. 
(b) STAFF.—Paragraph (2) of subsection (b) of sec-
tion 302 of the Omnibus Diplomatic Security and 
Antiterrorism Act is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(2) STAFF.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—A Board may hire 
staff to assist the Board, and may have any 
Federal Government employee assigned or de-
tailed to such Board, with or without reim-
bursement, to assist such Board. Any such as-
signee or detailee shall retain without interrup-
tion the rights, status, and privileges of his or 
her regular employment. 
‘‘(B) SPECIAL RULE.—Any individual who 
is hired, assigned, or detailed to assist a Board 
under subparagraph (A) shall be subject to the 
rule relating to the avoidance of conflicts of in-
terest under subsection (a) in the same manner 
and to the same extent as a Member of such a 
Board is subject to such avoidance under such 
subsection. 
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‘‘(C) OFFICE
OF
THE
INSPECTOR
GEN-
ERAL.—To the maximum extent practicable, in-
dividuals assisting the Board shall be employees 
of the Office of the Inspector General of the 
Department of State.’’. 
(c) CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.—Section 302 of the 
Omnibus Diplomatic Security and Antiterrorism Act is 
amended by adding at the end the following new sub-
sections: 
‘‘(c) AVOIDANCE OF CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State, the 
CIGIE Chairperson, and the Director of National 
Intelligence may not appoint any individual as a 
member of a Board if the Secretary, the CIGIE 
Chairperson, or the Director, as the case may be, 
determines that such individual has a conflict of in-
terest concerning a person whose performance such 
Board reasonably could be expected to review. 
‘‘(2) DECLINING APPOINTMENT.—An individual 
shall decline appointment to membership on a Board 
if such individual has actual knowledge of a conflict 
of interest concerning a person whose performance 
such Board could reasonably be expected to review. 
‘‘(3) RECUSAL
FROM
PARTICULAR
ACTIVI-
TIES.—A member of a Board shall recuse him or 
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