Title: Secure Federal LEASEs Act
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics

Summary:
Secure Federal Leases from Espionage And Suspicious Entanglements Act or the Secure Federal LEASEs Act
This bill instructs the General Services Administration (GSA), the Architect of the Capitol, or any federal agency (other than the Department of Defense) that has independent statutory leasing authority (federal lessee), before entering into a lease agreement or approving a novation agreement with an entity involving a change of ownership under a lease that will be used for high-security leased space, to require the entity to identify the immediate or highest-level owner of the space and disclose whether that owner is a foreign person or entity, including the country associated with the ownership entity.
A federal lessee shall require the entity to (1) provide such identification and disclosure when first submitting a proposal in response to a solicitation for offers issued by the federal lessee; and (2) update such information annually, including the list of the immediate or highest-level owners of that entity or the information required to be provided related to each such owner.
The GSA shall develop a government-wide proposal for identifying all immediate, highest-level, or beneficial owners of high-security leased spaces before entering into a lease agreement to accommodate a federal tenant.
The bill provides a rule for language in a lease agreement (concerning restriction of access to high-security space) between a federal lessee and an entity to accommodate an agency in a building or improvement used for high-security leased space.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1869 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1869

To require the disclosure of ownership of high-security space leased to 
         accommodate a Federal agency, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 13, 2019

Mr. Peters (for himself and Mr. Portman) introduced the following bill; 
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security 
                        and Governmental Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To require the disclosure of ownership of high-security space leased to 
         accommodate a Federal agency, 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; FINDINGS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Secure Federal 
Leases from Espionage And Suspicious Entanglements Act'' or the 
``Secure Federal LEASEs Act''.
    (b) Findings.--Congress finds that--
            (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 collects highest-
        level and immediate ownership information through the System of 
        Award Management, but it is not currently required to collect 
        beneficial ownership information and lacks an adequate system 
        for doing so;
            (3) the General Services Administration and Federal 
        agencies with leasing authority may not know if foreign owners 
        have a stake in the buildings leased by the agencies, either 
        through foreign-incorporated legal entities or through 
        ownership in United States-incorporated legal entities, even 
        when the leased space is used for classified operations or to 
        store sensitive data; and
            (4) according to a report of the Government Accountability 
        Office, dated January 2017, that examined the risks of foreign 
        ownership of Government-leased real estate, ``leasing space in 
        foreign-owned buildings could present security risks such as 
        espionage and unauthorized cyber and physical access''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Beneficial owner.--
                    (A) In general.--Except as provided in subparagraph 
                (B), the term ``beneficial owner'' means, with respect 
                to a covered entity, each natural person who, directly 
                or indirectly, through any contract, arrangement, 
                understanding, relationship, or otherwise--
                            (i) exercises control over the covered 
                        entity; or
                            (ii) has a substantial interest in or 
                        receives substantial economic benefits from the 
                        assets of the covered entity.
                    (B) Exceptions.--The term ``beneficial owner'' does 
                not include, with respect to a covered entity--
                            (i) a minor child;
                            (ii) a person acting as a nominee, 
                        intermediary, custodian, or agent on behalf of 
                        another person;
                            (iii) a person acting solely as an employee 
                        of the covered entity and whose control over or 
                        economic benefits from the covered entity 
                        derives solely from the employment status of 
                        the person;
                            (iv) a person whose only interest in the 
                        covered entity is through a right of 
                        inheritance, unless the person also meets the 
                        requirements of subparagraph (A); or
                            (v) a creditor of the covered entity, 
                        unless the creditor also meets the requirements 
                        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 Act.
            (2) Closely held.--The term ``closely held'' means a fund 
        that has less than 100 natural persons as direct or indirect 
        investors.
            (3) Control.--The term ``control'' means, with respect to a 
        covered entity--
                    (A) having the authority or ability to determine 
                how a covered entity is utilized; or
                    (B) having some decision-making power for the use 
                of a covered entity.
            (4) Covered entity.--The term ``covered entity'' means a 
        person, copartnership, corporation, or other public or private 
        entity.
            (5) Executive agency.--The term ``Executive agency'' has 
        the meaning given the term in section 105 of title 5, United 
        States Code.
            (6) Federal agency.--The term ``Federal agency'' means any 
        Executive agency or any establishment in the legislative or 
        judicial branch of the Government.
            (7) Federal lessee.--The term ``Federal lessee'' means the 
        Administrator of General Services, the Architect of the 
        Capitol, or the head of any Federal agency, other than the 
        Department of Defense, that has independent statutory leasing 
        authority.
            (8) Foreign entity.--The term ``foreign entity'' means an 
        entity that is headquartered or incorporated in a country that 
        is not the United States.
            (9) Foreign person.--The term ``foreign person'' means an 
        individual who is not a United States person.
            (10) Federal tenant.--The term ``Federal tenant'' means a 
        Federal agency that is occupying or will occupy a high-security 
        leased space for which a lease agreement has been secured on 
        behalf of the Federal agency.
            (11) 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 Federal tenant in consultation 
                with the Interagency Security Committee, the Department 
                of Homeland Security, and the General Services 
                Administration.
            (12) Highest-level owner.--The term ``highest-level owner'' 
        means the entity that owns or controls an immediate owner of 
        the offeror of a lease, or that owns or controls 1 or more 
        entities that control an immediate owner of the offeror.
            (13) Immediate owner.--The term ``immediate owner'' means 
        an entity, other than the offeror of a lease, that has direct 
        control of the offeror, including ownership or interlocking 
        management, identity of interests among family members, shared 
        facilities and equipment, and the common use of employees.
            (14) Substantial economic benefits.--The term ``substantial 
        economic benefits'' means, with respect to a natural person 
        described in paragraph (1)(A)(ii), having an entitlement to the 
        funds or assets of a covered entity that, as a practical 
        matter, enables the person, directly or indirectly, to control, 
        manage, or direct the covered entity.
            (15) United states person.--The term ``United States 
        person'' means an individual who--
                    (A) is a citizen of the United States; or
                    (B) is an alien lawfully admitted for permanent 
                residence in the United States.
            (16) Widely held.--The term ``widely held'' means a fund 
        that has not less than 100 natural persons as direct or 
        indirect investors.

SEC. 3. DISCLOSURE OF OWNERSHIP OF HIGH-SECURITY SPACE LEASED FOR 
              FEDERAL AGENCIES.

    (a) Required Disclosures.--Before entering into a lease agreement 
with a covered entity or approving a novation agreement with a covered 
entity involving a change of ownership under a lease that will be used 
for high-security leased space, a Federal lessee shall require the 
covered entity to identify and disclose whether the immediate or 
highest-level owner of the leased space, including an entity involved 
in the financing thereof, is a foreign person or a foreign entity, 
including the country associated with the ownership entity.
    (b) Notification.--If a disclosure is made under subsection (a), 
the Federal lessee shall notify the Federal tenant of the building or 
other improvement that will be used for high-security space in writing, 
and consult with the Federal tenant, regarding security concerns and 
necessary mitigation measures, if any, prior to award of the lease or 
approval of the novation agreement.
    (c) Timing.--
            (1) In general.--A Federal lessee shall require a covered 
        entity to provide the information described in subsection (a) 
        to a covered entity 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 information described in 
        subsection (a) annually, beginning on the date that is 1 year 
        after the date on which the Federal tenant began occupancy, 
        with information including--
                    (A) the list of immediate or highest-level owners 
                of the covered entity during the preceding 1-year 
                period of Federal occupancy; or
                    (B) the information required to be provided 
                relating to each such immediate or highest-level owner.

SEC. 4. IMMEDIATE, HIGHEST-LEVEL, AND BENEFICIAL OWNERS.

    (a) Proposal.--The General Services Administration shall develop a 
Government-wide proposal for identifying all immediate, highest-level, 
or beneficial owners of high-security leased spaces before entering 
into a lease agreement with a covered entity for the accommodation of a 
Federal tenant in a high-security leased space.
    (b) Requirements.--
            (1) Contents.--The proposal described in subsection (a) 
        shall include a process for collecting and utilizing the 
        following information on each immediate, highest-level, or 
        beneficial owner of a high-security leased space:
                    (A) Name.
                    (B) Current residential or business street address.
                    (C) An identifying number or document that verifies 
                identity as a United States person or foreign person.
            (2) Disclosures and notifications.--The proposal described 
        in subsection (a) shall--
                    (A) require the disclosure of any immediate, 
                highest-level, or beneficial owner that is a foreign 
                person;
                    (B) require that, if the Federal lessee is 
                assigning the building or other improvement that will 
                be used for high-security space to a Federal tenant, 
                the Federal tenant shall be notified of the disclosure 
                described in subparagraph (A); and
                    (C) exclude collecting ownership information on 
                widely held pooled-investment vehicles, mutual funds, 
                trusts, or other pooled-investment vehicles; and
                    (D) include ownership information on closely held 
                pooled-investment vehicles, mutual funds, trusts, or 
                other pooled-investment vehicles.
    (c) Report and Implementation.--The General Services Administration 
shall--
            (1) not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of 
        this Act, submit the proposal described in subsection (a) to 
        the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of 
        the Senate and the Committee on Oversight and Reform of the 
        House of Representatives; and
            (2) not later than 6 years after the date of enactment of 
        this Act, implement the proposal described in subsection (a).

SEC. 5. OTHER SECURITY AGREEMENTS FOR LEASED SPACE.

    A lease agreement between a Federal lessee and a covered entity for 
the accommodation of a Federal agency in a building or other 
improvement that will be used for high-security space shall include 
language that provides that--
            (1) the covered entity and any member of the property 
        management company who may be responsible for oversight or 
        maintenance of the high-security space shall not--
                    (A) maintain access to the high-security space; or
                    (B) have access to the high-security space without 
                prior approval from the Federal tenant;
            (2) access to the high-security space or any property or 
        information located within that space will only be granted by 
        the Federal tenant if the Federal tenant determines that the 
        access is clearly consistent with the mission and 
        responsibilities of the Federal tenant; and
            (3) the Federal lessee shall have written procedures in 
        place, signed by the Federal lessee and the covered entity, 
        governing access to the high-security space in case of 
        emergencies that may damage the leased property.
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