I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 392 
To require the disclosure of beneficial ownership by a foreign person of 
high-security space leased to accommodate a Federal agency, and for 
other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 9, 2019 
Mr. LYNCH (for himself and Mr. KING of New York) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infra-
structure 
A BILL 
To require the disclosure of beneficial ownership by a foreign 
person of high-security space leased to accommodate a 
Federal agency, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; FINDINGS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Secure Government Buildings from Espionage Act of 
2019’’. 
(b) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
18:07 Jan 19, 2019
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H392.IH
H392
pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS
(1) the Government Accountability Office has 
reported that the Federal Government often leases 
high-security space from private sector landlords; 
(2) the General Services Administration and 
other Federal agencies with leasing authority are not 
currently required to collect beneficial ownership in-
formation and therefore do not know if foreign own-
ers have a stake in the buildings leased by the agen-
cies, even when the leased space is used for classified 
operations or to store sensitive data; and 
(3) according to a report of the Government 
Accountability Office, dated January 2017, that ex-
amined the risks of foreign ownership of Govern-
ment-leased real estate, ‘‘leasing space in foreign- 
owned buildings could present security risks such as 
espionage and unauthorized cyber and physical ac-
cess’’. 
SEC. 2. DISCLOSURE OF BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP BY FOR-
EIGN PERSONS OF HIGH-SECURITY SPACE 
LEASED FOR FEDERAL AGENCIES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Before entering into a lease 
agreement with a covered entity for the accommodation 
of a Federal agency in a building (or other improvement) 
that will be used for high-security leased space, a Federal 
lessee shall require the covered entity to— 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
18:07 Jan 19, 2019
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H392.IH
H392
pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS
(1) identify each beneficial owner of the covered 
entity by— 
(A) name; 
(B) current residential or business street 
address; and 
(C) a unique identifying number from a 
nonexpired passport issued by the United 
States or a nonexpired drivers license issued by 
a State; 
(2) disclose to the Federal lessee any beneficial 
owner of the covered entity that is a foreign person; 
and 
(3) if the Federal lessee is assigning the build-
ing (or other improvement) to a Federal tenant, no-
tify the Federal tenant of any disclosure made under 
paragraph (2). 
(b) TIMING.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—A Federal lessee shall re-
quire a covered entity to provide the information de-
scribed in subsections (a)(1) and (a)(2) when first 
submitting a proposal in response to a solicitation 
for offers issued by the Federal lessee. 
(2) UPDATES.—A Federal lessee shall require a 
covered entity to update a submission of the infor-
mation described in subsections (a)(1) and (a)(2) 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
18:07 Jan 19, 2019
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H392.IH
H392
pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS
not later than 60 days after the date of any change 
in— 
(A) the list of beneficial owners of the cov-
ered entity; or 
(B) the information required to be pro-
vided relating to each such beneficial owner. 
(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following defi-
nitions apply: 
(1) BENEFICIAL OWNER.— 
(A) IN
GENERAL.—The term ‘‘beneficial 
owner’’ means, with respect to a covered entity, 
each natural person who, directly or indi-
rectly— 
(i) exercises control over the covered 
entity through ownership interests, voting 
rights, agreements, or otherwise; or 
(ii) has an interest in or receives sub-
stantial economic benefits from the assets 
of the covered entity. 
(B) EXCEPTIONS.—The term ‘‘beneficial 
owner’’ does not include, with respect to a cov-
ered entity— 
(i) a minor child; 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
18:07 Jan 19, 2019
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H392.IH
H392
pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS
(ii) a person acting as a nominee, 
intermediary, custodian, or agent on behalf 
of another person; 
(iii) a person acting solely as an em-
ployee of the covered entity and whose con-
trol over or economic benefits from the 
covered entity derives solely from the em-
ployment status of the person; 
(iv) a person whose only interest in 
the covered entity is through a right of in-
heritance, unless the person also meets the 
requirements of subparagraph (A); or 
(v) a creditor of the covered entity, 
unless the creditor also meets the require-
ments of subparagraph (A). 
(C) ANTI-ABUSE
RULE.—The exceptions 
under subparagraph (B) shall not apply if used 
for the purpose of evading, circumventing, or 
abusing the requirements of this section. 
(2) COVERED ENTITY.—The term ‘‘covered en-
tity’’ means a person, copartnership, corporation, or 
other public or private entity. 
(3) EXECUTIVE AGENCY.—The term ‘‘Executive 
agency’’ has the meaning given the term under sec-
tion 105 of title 5, United States Code. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
18:07 Jan 19, 2019
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H392.IH
H392
pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS
(4) FEDERAL
AGENCY.—The term ‘‘Federal 
agency’’ means any Executive agency or any estab-
lishment in the legislative or judicial branch of the 
Government. 
(5) FEDERAL LESSEE.—The term ‘‘Federal les-
see’’ means the Administrator of General Services, 
the Architect of the Capitol, or the head of any Fed-
eral agency, other than the Department of Defense, 
that has independent statutory leasing authority. 
(6) FOREIGN PERSON.—The term ‘‘foreign per-
son’’ means an individual who is not a United States 
person or an alien lawfully admitted for permanent 
residence into the United States. 
(7) HIGH-SECURITY LEASED SPACE.—The term 
‘‘high-security leased space’’ means a space leased 
by a Federal lessee that— 
(A) will be occupied by Federal employees 
for nonmilitary activities; and 
(B) has a facility security level of III, IV, 
or V, as determined by the Interagency Security 
Committee. 
(8) 
UNITED
STATES
PERSON.—The 
term 
‘‘United States person’’ means a natural person who 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
18:07 Jan 19, 2019
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H392.IH
H392
pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS
is a citizen of the United States or who owes perma-
nent allegiance to the United States. 
Æ 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
18:07 Jan 19, 2019
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00007
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\H392.IH
H392
pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS