Title: Secure Embassy Construction and Counterterrorism Act of 2022
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
Secure Embassy Construction and Counterterrorism Act of 2022
This bill modifies various requirements pertaining to the security of U.S. diplomatic facilities. For example, each U.S. diplomatic mission must have an emergency action plan that addresses a range of threats. Currently, the plan is only required by statute to address the threat of large explosive attacks from vehicles.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4320 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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117th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 4320

  To enhance security at United States diplomatic facilities, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 26, 2022

   Mr. Risch introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
             referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To enhance security at United States diplomatic facilities, 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 ``Secure Embassy Construction and 
Counterterrorism Act of 2022''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) The Secure Embassy Construction and Counterterrorism 
        Act of 1999 (title VI of division A of appendix G of Public Law 
        106-113) was a necessary response to bombings on August 7, 
        1998, at the United States embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and in 
        Dar es Salaam, Tanzania that were destroyed by simultaneously 
        exploding bombs. The resulting explosions killed 220 persons 
        and injured more than 4,000 others. Twelve Americans and 40 
        Kenyan and Tanzanian employees of the United States Foreign 
        Service were killed in the attacks.
            (2) Those bombings, followed by the expeditionary 
        diplomatic efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan, demonstrated the 
        need to prioritize the security of United States posts and 
        personnel abroad above other considerations.
            (3) Between 1999 and 2022, the risk calculus of the 
        Department of State has swung too far toward the elimination of 
        risk, leading to a marked decrease in the ability of United 
        States diplomats around the world to advance the interests of 
        the United States through access to local populations, leaders, 
        and places.
            (4) America's competitors and adversaries do not have the 
        same restrictions that United States diplomats have, especially 
        in critically important medium-threat and high-threat posts.
            (5) The Department of State's 2021 Overseas Security Panel 
        report states that--
                    (A) the requirement for setback and collocation of 
                diplomatic posts under paragraphs (2) and (3) of 
                section 606(a) of the Secure Embassy Construction and 
                Counterterrorism Act of 1999 has led to sky-rocketing 
                costs of new embassies and consulates; and
                    (B) the locations of such posts have become less 
                desirable, creating an extremely suboptimal nexus that 
                further hinders United States diplomats who are willing 
                to accept more risk in order to advance United States 
                interests.

SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) the setback and collocation requirements referred to in 
        section 2(5)(A), even with available waivers, no longer provide 
        the security such requirements used to provide because of 
        advancement in technologies, such as remote controlled drones, 
        that can evade walls and other such static barriers;
            (2) the Department of State should focus on creating 
        performance security standards that--
                    (A) attempt to keep the setback requirements of 
                diplomatic posts as limited as possible; and
                    (B) provide diplomats access to local populations 
                as much as possible, while still providing a necessary 
                level of security;
            (3) collocation of diplomatic facilities is often not 
        feasible or advisable, particularly for public diplomacy spaces 
        in countries with repressive governments, since such spaces are 
        required to permit the foreign public to enter and exit the 
        space easily and openly;
            (4) the Bureau of Diplomatic Security should--
                    (A) fully utilize the waiver process provided under 
                paragraphs (2)(B) and (3)(B) of section 606(a) of the 
                Secure Embassy Construction and Counterterrorism Act of 
                1999; and
                    (B) appropriately exercise such waiver process as a 
                tool to right-size the appropriate security footing at 
                each diplomatic post rather than only approving waivers 
                in extreme circumstances;
            (5) the return of great power competition requires--
                    (A) United States diplomats to do all they can to 
                outperform our adversaries; and
                    (B) the Department of State to better utilize 
                taxpayer funding to advance United States national 
                interests; and
            (6) this Act will rebalance the Department of State's risk 
        and provide United States diplomats the tools they need to 
        compete in the 21st century, while saving United States 
        taxpayers potentially billions of dollars in reduced property 
        and maintenance costs at embassies and consulates abroad.

SEC. 4. DEFINITION OF UNITED STATES DIPLOMATIC FACILITY.

    Section 603 of the Secure Embassy Construction and Counterterrorism 
Act of 1999 (title VI of division A of appendix G of Public Law 106-
113) is amended to read as follows:

``SEC. 603. UNITED STATES DIPLOMATIC FACILITY DEFINED.

    ``In this title, the terms `United States diplomatic facility' and 
`diplomatic facility'--
            ``(1) mean any chancery, consulate, or other office 
        considered diplomatic or consular premises, consistent with the 
        Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, done at Vienna April 
        18, 1961, and the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, done 
        at Vienna April 24, 1963, or otherwise subject to a publicly 
        available bilateral agreement with the host government 
        (contained in the records of the United States Department of 
        State) that recognizes the official status of the United States 
        Government personnel present at the facility; and
            ``(2) do not include--
                    ``(A) U.S. Customs and Border Protection 
                preclearance facilities, as established pursuant to 
                section 629 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1629) 
                and section 103(a)(7) of the Immigration and 
                Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1103(a)(7)) and Open Source 
                Centers;
                    ``(B) contractor-owned facilities; and
                    ``(C) facilities at which United States Government 
                personnel will be present not more than 60 consecutive 
                days and where the Secretary determines that 
                operational conditions, security considerations, and 
                mission goals support exclusion.''.

SEC. 5. SECURITY REQUIREMENTS FOR UNITED STATES DIPLOMATIC FACILITIES.

    Section 606(a) of the Secure Embassy Construction and 
Counterterrorism Act of 1999 (title VI of division A of appendix G of 
Public Law 106-113) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1)(A), by striking ``the threat'' and 
        inserting ``a range of threats, including that'';
            (2) in paragraph (2)--
                    (A) in subparagraph (A)--
                            (i) by striking ``abroad'' and inserting 
                        ``in a high risk, high threat post''; and
                            (ii) by inserting ``and Voice of America 
                        correspondents on official assignment'' after 
                        ``military commander''; and
                    (B) in subparagraph (B)--
                            (i) in clause (i), by inserting ``if 
                        applicable,'' after ``at the site,'';
                            (ii) in clause (ii)--
                                    (I) in subclause (I), by inserting 
                                ``at a post designated as high risk, 
                                high threat under section 104 of the 
                                Omnibus Diplomatic Security and 
                                Antiterrorism Act of 1986 (22 U.S.C. 
                                4803)'' before the period at the end; 
                                and
                                    (II) in subclause (II), by 
                                inserting ``at a post designated as 
                                high risk, high threat under such 
                                section 104'' after ``consulate 
                                building''; and
                            (iii) in clause (iii), by striking 
                        ``waivers'' and inserting ``instances of split 
                        operations in which United States diplomatic 
                        facilities are not colocated''; and
            (3) in paragraph (3)--
                    (A) by amending subparagraph (A) to read as 
                follows:
                    ``(A) Requirement.--
                            ``(i) In general.--Each newly acquired 
                        United States diplomatic facility shall be 
                        constructed or modified to meet the measured 
                        building blast performance standard applicable 
                        to a facility sited not less than 100 feet from 
                        the perimeter.
                            ``(ii) Leased facilities.--If the 
                        Department of State is required to commence or 
                        restart diplomatic operations in a country or 
                        city without a previously constructed 
                        diplomatic facility and there is insufficient 
                        time to construct a facility before such 
                        commencement, the Secretary of State--
                                    ``(I) shall make every effort to 
                                lease an existing facility with the 
                                maximum setback and security features 
                                that can be reasonably expected; and
                                    ``(II) shall submit a setback 
                                waiver, with a period of 1 year after 
                                leased occupancy to process the setback 
                                waiver.''; and
                    (B) in subparagraph (B)(ii)--
                            (i) in subclause (I), by inserting ``at a 
                        post designated as high risk, high threat under 
                        section 104 of the Omnibus Diplomatic Security 
                        and Antiterrorism Act of 1986 (22 U.S.C. 
                        4803)'' before the period at the end;
                            (ii) in subclause (II), by inserting ``at a 
                        post designated as high risk, high threat under 
                        such section 104'' after ``consulate 
                        building''; and
                            (iii) in subclause (III), by striking ``an 
                        annual'' and inserting ``a quarterly''.
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