Improving Embassy Design and Security Act
Bill: H.R.1252 | Sponsor: Rep. McCaul, Michael T. (R-TX)
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
Improving Embassy Design and Security Act
This bill amends procedures related to Department of State overseas construction.
For any new embassy or consulate compound construction projects, the State Department may use a non-standard design only after consulting Congress. The State Department shall justify the choice to use such a design and provide documentation of the full lifecycle costs and the project's completion date, compared to the project if it used a standard design.
The State Department shall report to Congress biannually on overseas capital construction projects; currently it is required to report annually on embassy construction costs. The bill also expands the required information for such reports, including the value of all requests to adjust the contract amount (such as a request for equitable adjustment or a certified claim).
The bill also directs the State Department to complete all contractor performance evaluations by April 1, 2022.
The State Department shall use the design-build project delivery method (where a single firm is responsible for both designing and construction) for all diplomatic posts and shall notify Congress if it seeks to use a different method for a project.
The bill directs the State Department to report to Congress on various topics, including a six-year Long-Range Overseas Building Plan, a Long-Range Overseas Maintenance Plan, and a report detailing steps to expand the embassy construction contractor base to increase competition.

To provide for certain construction-related authorities of the 
              Department of State, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Improving Embassy Design and 
Security Act''.

SEC. 2. STANDARD DESIGN IN CAPITAL CONSTRUCTION.

    (a) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that the 
Department's Bureau of Overseas Building Operations (OBO) or successor 
office should give appropriate consideration to standardization in 
construction, in which each new United States embassy and consulate 
starts with a standard design and keeps customization to a minimum.
    (b) Consultation.--The Secretary of State shall carry out any new 
United States embassy compound or new consulate compound project that 
utilizes a non-standard design, including those projects that are in 
the design or pre-design phase as of the date of the enactment of this 
Act, only in consultation with the appropriate congressional 
committees. The Secretary shall provide the appropriate congressional 
committees, for each such project, the following documentation:
            (1) A comparison of the estimated full lifecycle costs of 
        the project to the estimated full lifecycle costs of such 
        project if it were to use a standard design.
            (2) A comparison of the estimated completion date of such 
        project to the estimated completion date of such project if it 
        were to use a standard design.
            (3) A comparison of the security of the completed project 
        to the security of such completed project if it were to use a 
        standard design.
            (4) A justification for the Secretary's selection of a non-
        standard design over a standard design for such project.
            (5) A written explanation if any of the documentation 
        necessary to support the comparisons and justification, as the 
        case may be, described in paragraphs (1) through (4) cannot be 
        provided.
    (c) Sunset.--The consultation requirement under subsection (b) 
shall expire on the date that is 4 years after the date of the 
enactment of this Act.

SEC. 3. CAPITAL CONSTRUCTION TRANSPARENCY.

    Section 118 of the Department of State Authorities Act, Fiscal Year 
2017 (22 U.S.C. 304) is amended--
            (1) in the section heading, by striking ``annual report on 
        embassy construction costs'' and inserting ``biannual report on 
        overseas capital construction projects''; and
            (2) by striking subsections (a) and (b) and inserting the 
        following new subsections:
    ``(a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this subsection and every 180 days thereafter until the 
date that is four years after such date of enactment, the Secretary of 
State shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a 
comprehensive report regarding all ongoing overseas capital 
construction projects and major embassy security upgrade projects.
    ``(b) Contents.--Each report required under subsection (a) shall 
include the following with respect to each ongoing overseas capital 
construction project and major embassy security upgrade project:
            ``(1) The initial cost estimate as specified in the 
        proposed allocation of capital construction and maintenance 
        funds required by the Committees on Appropriations for Acts 
        making appropriations for the Department of State, foreign 
        operations, and related programs.
            ``(2) The current cost estimate.
            ``(3) The value of each request for equitable adjustment 
        received by the Department to date.
            ``(4) The value of each certified claim received by the 
        Department to date.
            ``(5) The value of any usage of the project's contingency 
        fund to date and the value of the remainder of the project's 
        contingency fund.
            ``(6) An enumerated list of each request for adjustment and 
        certified claim that remains outstanding or unresolved.
            ``(7) An enumerated list of each request for equitable 
        adjustment and certified claim that has been fully adjudicated 
        or that the Department has settled, and the final dollar amount 
        of each adjudication or settlement.
            ``(8) The date of estimated completion specified in the 
        proposed allocation of capital construction and maintenance 
        funds required by the Committees on Appropriations not later 
        than 45 days after the date of the enactment of an Act making 
        appropriations for the Department of State, foreign operations, 
        and related programs.
            ``(9) The current date of estimated completion.''.

SEC. 4. CONTRACTOR PERFORMANCE INFORMATION.

    (a) Deadline for Completion.--The Secretary of State shall complete 
all contractor performance evaluations outstanding as of the date of 
the enactment of this Act required by subpart 42.15 of the Federal 
Acquisition Regulation for those contractors engaged in construction of 
new embassy or new consulate compounds by April 1, 2022.
    (b) Prioritization System.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 90 days after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall develop 
        a prioritization system for clearing the current backlog of 
        required evaluations referred to in subsection (a).
            (2) Elements.--The system required under paragraph (1) 
        should prioritize the evaluations as follows:
                    (A) Project completion evaluations should be 
                prioritized over annual evaluations.
                    (B) Evaluations for relatively large contracts 
                should have priority.
                    (C) Evaluations that would be particularly 
                informative for the awarding of government contracts 
                should have priority.
    (c) Briefing.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall brief the 
appropriate congressional committees on the Department's plan for 
completing all evaluations by October 1, 2021, in accordance with 
subsection (a) and the prioritization system developed pursuant to 
subsection (b).
    (d) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) contractors deciding whether to bid on Department 
        contracts would benefit from greater understanding of the 
        Department as a client; and
            (2) the Department should develop a forum where contractors 
        can comment on the Department's project management performance.

SEC. 5. GROWTH PROJECTIONS FOR NEW EMBASSIES AND CONSULATES.

    (a) In General.--For each new United States embassy compound (NEC) 
and new consulate compound project (NCC) in or not yet in the design 
phase as of the date of the enactment of this Act, the Department of 
State shall project growth over the estimated life of the facility 
using all available and relevant data, including the following:
            (1) Relevant historical trends for Department personnel and 
        personnel from other agencies represented at the NEC or NCC 
        that is to be constructed.
            (2) An analysis of the tradeoffs between risk and the needs 
        of United States Government policy conducted as part of the 
        most recent Vital Presence Validation Process, if applicable.
            (3) Reasonable assumptions about the strategic importance 
        of the NEC or NCC, as the case may be, over the life of the 
        building at issue.
            (4) Any other data that would be helpful in projecting the 
        future growth of NEC or NCC.
    (b) Other Federal Agencies.--The head of each Federal agency 
represented at a United States embassy or consulate shall provide to 
the Secretary, upon request, growth projections for the personnel of 
each such agency over the estimated life of each embassy or consulate, 
as the case may be.
    (c) Basis for Estimates.--The Department of State shall base its 
growth assumption for all NECs and NCCs on the estimates required under 
subsections (a) and (b).
    (d) Congressional Notification.--Any congressional notification of 
site selection for a NEC or NCC submitted after the date of the 
enactment of this Act shall include the growth assumption used pursuant 
to subsection (c).

SEC. 6. LONG-RANGE PLANNING PROCESS.

    (a) Plans Required.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act and annually thereafter for the next 
        five years as the Secretary of State considers appropriate, the 
        Secretary shall develop--
                    (A) a comprehensive 6-year plan documenting the 
                Department's overseas building program for the 
                replacement of overseas diplomatic posts taking into 
                account security factors under the Secure Embassy 
                Construction and Counterterrorism Act of 1999 and other 
                relevant statutes and regulations, as well as 
                occupational safety and health factors pursuant to the 
                Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 and other 
                relevant statutes and regulations, including 
                environmental factors such as indoor air quality that 
                impact employee health and safety; and
                    (B) a comprehensive 6-year plan detailing the 
                Department's long-term planning for the maintenance and 
                sustainment of completed diplomatic posts, which takes 
                into account security factors under the Secure Embassy 
                Construction and Counterterrorism Act of 1999 and other 
                relevant statutes and regulations, as well as 
                occupational safety and health factors pursuant to the 
                Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 and other 
                relevant statutes and regulations, including 
                environmental factors such as indoor air quality that 
                impact employee health and safety.
            (2) Initial report.--The first plan developed pursuant to 
        paragraph (1)(A) shall also include a one-time status report on 
        existing small diplomatic posts and a strategy for establishing 
        a physical diplomatic presence in countries in which there is 
        no current physical diplomatic presence and with which the 
        United States maintains diplomatic relations. Such report, 
        which may include a classified annex, shall include the 
        following:
                    (A) A description of the extent to which each small 
                diplomatic post furthers the national interest of the 
                United States.
                    (B) A description of how each small diplomatic post 
                provides American Citizen Services, including data on 
                specific services provided and the number of Americans 
                receiving services over the previous year.
                    (C) A description of whether each small diplomatic 
                post meets current security requirements.
                    (D) A description of the full financial cost of 
                maintaining each small diplomatic post.
                    (E) Input from the relevant chiefs of mission on 
                any unique operational or policy value the small 
                diplomatic post provides.
                    (F) A recommendation of whether any small 
                diplomatic posts should be closed.
            (3) Updated information.--The annual updates of each of the 
        plans developed pursuant to paragraph (1) shall highlight any 
        changes from the previous year's plan to the ordering of 
        construction and maintenance projects.
    (b) Reporting Requirements.--
            (1) Submission of plans to congress.--Not later than 60 
        days after the completion of each plan required under 
        subsection (a), the Secretary of State shall submit the plans 
        to the appropriate congressional committees.
            (2) Reference in budget justification materials.--In the 
        budget justification materials submitted to the appropriate 
        congressional committees in support of the Department of 
        State's budget for any fiscal year (as submitted with the 
        budget of the President under section 1105(a) of title 31, 
        United States Code), the plans required under subsection (a) 
        shall be referenced to justify funding requested for building 
        and maintenance projects overseas.
            (3) Form of report.--Each report required under paragraph 
        (1) shall be submitted in unclassified form but may include a 
        classified annex.
    (c) Small Diplomatic Post Defined.--In this section, the term 
``small diplomatic post'' means any United States embassy or consulate 
that has employed five or fewer United States Government employees or 
contractors on average over the 36 months prior to the date of the 
enactment of this Act.

SEC. 7. VALUE ENGINEERING AND RISK ASSESSMENT.

    (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) Federal departments and agencies are required to use 
        value engineering (VE) as a management tool, where appropriate, 
        to reduce program and acquisition costs pursuant to OMB 
        Circular A-131, Value Engineering, dated December 31, 2013.
            (2) OBO has a Policy Directive and Standard Operation 
        Procedure, dated May 24, 2017, on conducting risk management 
        studies on all international construction projects.
    (b) Notification Requirements.--
            (1) Submission to authorizing committees.--Any operating 
        plan that includes the allocation of capital construction and 
        maintenance funds shall be submitted to the Committee on 
        Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign 
        Affairs of the House of Representatives.
            (2) Requirement to confirm completion of value engineering 
        and risk assessment studies.--The notifications required under 
        paragraph (1) shall include confirmation that the Department 
        has completed the requisite VE and risk management process 
        described in subsection (a), or applicable successor process.
    (c) Reporting and Briefing Requirements.--The Secretary of State 
shall provide to the appropriate congressional committees upon 
request--
            (1) a description of each risk management study referred to 
        in subsection (a)(2) and a table detailing which 
        recommendations related to each such study were accepted and 
        which were rejected; and
            (2) a report or briefing detailing the rationale for not 
        implementing any such recommendations that may otherwise yield 
        significant cost savings to the Department if implemented.

SEC. 8. BUSINESS VOLUME.

    Section 402(c)(2)(E) of the Omnibus Diplomatic Security and 
Antiterrorism Act of 1986 (22 U.S.C. 4852(c)(2)(E)) is amended by 
striking ``in 3 years'' and inserting ``cumulatively over 3 years''.

SEC. 9. EMBASSY SECURITY REQUESTS AND DEFICIENCIES.

    The Secretary of State shall provide to the appropriate 
congressional committees, the Committee on Armed Services of the House 
of Representatives, and the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate 
upon request information on physical security deficiencies at United 
States diplomatic posts, including relating to the following:
            (1) Requests made over the previous year by United States 
        diplomatic posts for security upgrades.
            (2) Significant security deficiencies at United States 
        diplomatic posts that are not operating out of a new embassy 
        compound or new consulate compound.

SEC. 10. OVERSEAS SECURITY BRIEFINGS.

    Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this 
Act, the Secretary of State shall revise the Foreign Affairs Manual to 
stipulate that information on the current threat environment shall be 
provided to all United States Government employees under chief of 
mission authority traveling to a foreign country on official business. 
To the extent practicable, such material shall be provided to such 
employees prior to their arrival at a United States diplomatic post or 
as soon as possible thereafter.

SEC. 11. CONTRACTING METHODS IN CAPITAL CONSTRUCTION.

    (a) Delivery.--Unless the Secretary of State notifies the 
appropriate congressional committees that the use of the design-build 
project delivery method would not be appropriate, the Secretary shall 
make use of such method at United States diplomatic posts that have not 
yet received design or capital construction contracts as of the date of 
the enactment of this Act.
    (b) Notification.--Before executing a contract for a delivery 
method other than design-build in accordance with subsection (a), the 
Secretary of State shall notify the appropriate congressional 
committees in writing of the decision, including the reasons therefor. 
The notification required by this subsection may be included in any 
other report regarding a new United States diplomatic post that is 
required to be submitted to the appropriate congressional committees.
    (c) Performance Evaluation.--Not later than 180 days after the date 
of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall report to 
the appropriate congressional committees regarding performance 
evaluation measures in accordance with GAO's ``Standards for Internal 
Control in the Federal Government'' that will be applicable to design 
and construction, lifecycle cost, and building maintenance programs of 
the Bureau of Overseas Building Operations of the Department.

SEC. 12. COMPETITION IN EMBASSY CONSTRUCTION.

    Not later than 45 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
the Secretary of State shall submit to the appropriate congressional 
committee a report detailing steps the Department of State is taking to 
expand the embassy construction contractor base in order to increase 
competition and maximize value.

SEC. 13. STATEMENT OF POLICY.

    It is the policy of the United States that the Bureau of Overseas 
Building Operations of the Department or its successor office shall 
continue to balance functionality and security with accessibility, as 
defined by guidelines established by the United States Access Board in 
constructing embassies and consulates, and shall ensure compliance with 
the Architectural Barriers Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4151 et seq.) to the 
fullest extent possible.

SEC. 14. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Design-build.--The term ``design-build'' means a method 
        of project delivery in which one entity works under a single 
        contract with the Department to provide design and construction 
        services.
            (2) Non-standard design.--The term ``non-standard design'' 
        means a design for a new embassy compound project or new 
        consulate compound project that does not utilize a standardized 
        design for the structural, spatial, or security requirements of 
        such embassy compound or consulate compound, as the case may 
        be.
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