Sec. 9302. DIPLOMATIC SUPPORT AND SECURITY
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## SEC. 9302 DIPLOMATIC SUPPORT AND SECURITY ###
(a)Short Title **[**[22 U.S.C. 4801 note](/us/usc/t22/s4801)**]** This section may be cited as the “Diplomatic Support and Security Act of 2022”. ###
(b)Findings **[**[22 U.S.C. 4801 note](/us/usc/t22/s4801)**]** Congress makes the following findings: ####
(1)A robust overseas diplomatic presence is part of an effective foreign policy, particularly in volatile environments where a flexible and timely diplomatic response can be decisive in preventing and addressing conflict. ####
(2)Diplomats routinely put themselves and their families at great personal risk to serve their country overseas where they face threats related to international terrorism, violent conflict, and public health. ####
(3)The Department has a remarkable record of protecting personnel while enabling an enormous amount of global diplomatic activity, often in unsecure and remote places and facing a variety of evolving risks and threats. With support from Congress, the Department has revised policy, improved physical security through retrofitting and replacing old facilities, deployed additional security personnel and armored vehicles, and greatly enhanced training requirements and training facilities, including the new Foreign Affairs Security Training Center in Blackstone, Virginia. ####
(4)Diplomatic missions rely on robust staffing and ambitious external engagement to advance United States interests as diverse as competing with China’s malign influence around the world, fighting terrorism and transnational organized crime, preventing and addressing violent conflict and humanitarian disasters, promoting United States businesses and trade, protecting the rights of marginalized groups, addressing climate change, and preventing pandemic disease. ####
(5)Efforts to protect personnel overseas have often resulted in inhibiting diplomatic activity and limiting engagement between embassy personnel and local governments and populations. ####
(6)Given that Congress currently provides annual appropriations in excess of $1,900,000,000 for embassy security, construction, and maintenance, the Department should be able to ensure a robust overseas presence without inhibiting the ability of diplomats to— #####
(A)meet outside United States secured facilities with foreign leaders to explain, defend, and advance United States priorities; #####
(B)understand and report on foreign political, social, and economic conditions through meeting and interacting with community officials outside of United States facilities; #####
(C)provide United States citizen services; and #####
(D)collaborate and, at times, compete with other diplomatic missions, particularly those, such as that of the People’s Republic of China, that do not have restrictions on meeting locations. ####
(7)Given these stakes, Congress has a responsibility to empower, support, and hold the Department accountable for implementing an aggressive strategy to ensure a robust overseas presence that mitigates potential risks and adequately considers the myriad direct and indirect consequences of a lack of diplomatic presence. ###
(c)Encouraging Expeditionary Diplomacy ####
(1)Purpose Section 102(b) of the Diplomatic Security Act of 1986 (22 U.S.C. 4801(b)) is amended— #####
(A)by amending paragraph
(3)to read as follows: > > #### “(3) > > to promote strengthened security measures, institutionalize a culture of learning, and, in the case of apparent gross negligence or breach of duty, recommend that the Secretary investigate accountability for United States Government personnel with security-related responsibilities under chief of mission authority;” > ; #####
(B)by redesignating paragraphs
(4)and
(5)as paragraphs
(5)and (6), respectively; and #####
(C)by inserting after paragraph
(3)the following: > > #### “(4) > > to support a culture of risk management, instead of risk avoidance, that enables the Department of State to pursue its vital goals with full knowledge that it is neither desirable nor possible for the Department to avoid all risks;” > . ####
(2)Briefings on embassy security Section 105(a)(1) of the Diplomatic Security Act (22 U.S.C. 4804(a)) is amended— #####
(A)by striking “any plans to open or reopen a high risk, high threat post” and inserting “progress towards opening or reopening a high risk, high threat post, and the risk to national security of the continued closure or any suspension of operations and remaining barriers to doing so”; #####
(B)in subparagraph (A), by inserting “the risk to United States national security of the post’s continued closure or suspension of operations,” after “national security of the United States,”; and #####
(C)in subparagraph (C), by inserting “the type and level of security threats such post could encounter, and” before “security ‘tripwires’ ”. ###
(d)Security Review Committees Section 301 of the Diplomatic Security Act (22 U.S.C. 4831) is amended— ####
(1)in the section heading, by striking “accountability review boards” and inserting “security review committees”; ####
(2)in subsection (a)— #####
(A)by amending paragraph
(1)to read as follows: > > #### “(1) Convening the security review committee > > In any case of a serious security incident involving loss of life, serious injury, or significant destruction of property at, or related to, a United States Government diplomatic mission abroad (referred to in this title as a ‘Serious Security Incident’), and in any case of a serious breach of security involving intelligence activities of a foreign government directed at a United States Government mission abroad, the Secretary of State shall convene a Security Review Committee, which shall issue a report providing a full account of what occurred, consistent with section 304.” > ; #####
(B)by redesignating paragraphs
(2)and
(3)as paragraphs
(3)and (4), respectively; #####
(C)by inserting after paragraph
(1)the following: > > #### “(2) Committee composition > > The Secretary shall designate a Chairperson and may designate additional personnel of commensurate seniority to serve on the Security Review Committee, which shall include— > > > ##### “(A) > > the Director of the Office of Management Strategy and Solutions; > > > ##### “(B) > > the Assistant Secretary responsible for the region where the incident occurred; > > > ##### “(C) > > the Assistant Secretary of State for Diplomatic Security; > > > ##### “(D) > > the Assistant Secretary of State for Intelligence and Research; > > > ##### “(E) > > an Assistant Secretary-level representative from any involved United States Government department or agency; and > > > ##### “(F) > > other personnel determined to be necessary or appropriate.” > ; #####
(D)in paragraph (3), as redesignated by subclause (B)— ######
(i)in the paragraph heading, by striking “Department of defense facilities and personnel” and inserting “Exceptions to convening a security review committee”; ######
(ii)by striking “ The Secretary of State is not required to convene a Board in the case ” and inserting the following: > > ##### “(A) In general > > The Secretary of State is not required to convene a Security Review Committee— > > > ###### “(i) > > if the Secretary determines that the incident involves only causes unrelated to security, such as when the security at issue is outside of the scope of the Secretary of State’s security responsibilities under section 103; > > > ###### “(ii) > > if operational control of overseas security functions has been delegated to another agency in accordance with section 106; > > > ###### “(iii) > > if the incident is a cybersecurity incident and is covered by other review mechanisms; or > > > ###### “(iv) > > in the case” > ; and ######
(iii)by striking “ In any such case ” and inserting the following: > > ##### “(B) Department of defense investigations > > In the case of an incident described in subparagraph (A)(iv)” > ; and #####
(E)by adding at the end the following: > > #### “(5) Rulemaking > > The Secretary of State shall promulgate regulations defining the membership and operating procedures for the Security Review Committee and provide such guidance to the Chair and ranking members of the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives.” > ; ####
(3)in subsection (b)— #####
(A)in the subsection heading, by striking “Boards” and inserting “Security Review Committees”; and #####
(B)by amending paragraph
(1)to read as follows: > > #### “(1) In general > > The Secretary of State shall convene a Security Review Committee not later than 60 days after the occurrence of an incident described in subsection (a)(1), or 60 days after the Department first becomes aware of such an incident, whichever is earlier, except that the 60-day period for convening a Security Review Committee may be extended for one additional 60-day period if the Secretary determines that the additional period is necessary.” > ; and ####
(4)by amending subsection
(c)to read as follows: > > ### “(c) Congressional Notification > > Whenever the Secretary of State convenes a Security Review Committee, the Secretary shall promptly inform the chair and ranking member of— > > > #### “(1) > > the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate; > > > #### “(2) > > the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate; > > > #### “(3) > > the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate; > > > #### “(4) > > the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives; > > > #### “(5) > > the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of Representatives; and > > > #### “(6) > > the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives.” > . ###
(e)Technical and Conforming Amendments Section 302 of the Diplomatic Security Act of 1986 (22 U.S.C. 4832) is amended— ####
(1)in the section heading, by striking “accountability review board” and inserting “security review committee”; and ####
(2)by striking “a Board” each place such term appears and inserting “a Security Review Committee”. ###
(f)Serious Security Incident Investigation Process Section 303 of the Diplomatic Security Act of 1986 (22 U.S.C. 4833) is amended to read as follows: > > ## “SEC. 303 SERIOUS SECURITY INCIDENT INVESTIGATION PROCESS > > > ### “(a) Investigation Process > > > #### “(1) Initiation upon reported incident > > A United States mission shall submit an initial report of a Serious Security Incident not later than 3 days after such incident occurs, whenever feasible, at which time an investigation of the incident shall be initiated. > > > #### “(2) Investigation > > Not later than 10 days after the submission of a report pursuant to paragraph (1), the Secretary shall direct the Diplomatic Security Service to assemble an investigative team to investigate the incident and independently establish what occurred. Each investigation under this subsection shall cover— > > > ##### “(A) > > an assessment of what occurred, who perpetrated or is suspected of having perpetrated the Serious Security Incident, and whether applicable security procedures were followed; > > > ##### “(B) > > in the event the Serious Security Incident involved a United States diplomatic compound, motorcade, residence, or other facility, an assessment of whether adequate security countermeasures were in effect based on a known threat at the time of the incident; > > > ##### “(C) > > if the incident involved an individual or group of officers, employees, or family members under Chief of Mission security responsibility conducting approved operations or movements outside the United States mission, an assessment of whether proper security briefings and procedures were in place and whether weighing of risk of the operation or movement took place; and > > > ##### “(D) > > an assessment of whether the failure of any officials or employees to follow procedures or perform their duties contributed to the security incident. > > > #### “(3) Investigative team > > The investigative team assembled pursuant to paragraph
(2)shall consist of individuals from the Diplomatic Security Service who shall provide an independent examination of the facts surrounding the incident and what occurred. The Secretary, or the Secretary’s designee, shall review the makeup of the investigative team for a conflict, appearance of conflict, or lack of independence that could undermine the results of the investigation and may remove or replace any members of the team to avoid such an outcome. > > > ### “(b) Report of Investigation > > Not later than 90 days after the occurrence of a Serious Security Incident, the investigative team investigating the incident shall prepare and submit a Report of Investigation to the Security Review Committee that includes— > > > #### “(1) > > a detailed description of the matters set forth in subparagraphs
(A)through
(D)of subsection (a)(2), including all related findings; > > > #### “(2) > > a complete and accurate account of the casualties, injuries, and damage resulting from the incident; and > > > #### “(3) > > a review of security procedures and directives in place at the time of the incident. > > > ### “(c) Confidentiality > > The investigative team investigating a Serious Security Incident shall adopt such procedures with respect to confidentiality as determined necessary, including procedures relating to the conduct of closed proceedings or the submission and use of evidence in camera, to ensure in particular the protection of classified information relating to national defense, foreign policy, or intelligence matters. The Director of National Intelligence shall establish the level of protection required for intelligence information and for information relating to intelligence personnel included in the report required under subsection (b). The Security Review Committee shall determine the level of classification of the final report prepared pursuant to section 304(b), and shall incorporate the same confidentiality measures in such report to the maximum extent practicable.” > . ###
(g)Findings and Recommendations of the Security Review Committee Section 304 of the Diplomatic Security Act of 1986 (22 U.S.C. 4834) is amended to read as follows: > > ## “SEC. 304 SECURITY REVIEW COMMITTEE FINDINGS AND REPORT > > > ### “(a) Findings > > The Security Review Committee shall— > > > #### “(1) > > review the Report of Investigation prepared pursuant to section 303(b), and all other evidence, reporting, and relevant information relating to a Serious Security Incident at a United States mission abroad, including an examination of the facts and circumstances surrounding any serious injuries, loss of life, or significant destruction of property resulting from the incident; and > > > #### “(2) > > determine, in writing— > > > ##### “(A) > > whether the incident was security related and constituted a Serious Security Incident; > > > ##### “(B) > > if the incident involved a diplomatic compound, motorcade, residence, or other mission facility— > > > ###### “(i) > > whether the security systems, security countermeasures, and security procedures operated as intended; and > > > ###### “(ii) > > whether such systems worked to materially mitigate the attack or were found to be inadequate to mitigate the threat and attack; > > > ##### “(C) > > if the incident involved an individual or group of officers conducting an approved operation outside the mission, whether a valid process was followed in evaluating the requested operation and weighing the risk of the operation, which determination shall not seek to assign accountability for the incident unless the Security Review Committee determines that an official breached his or her duty; > > > ##### “(D) > > the impact of intelligence and information availability, and whether the mission was aware of the general operating threat environment or any more specific threat intelligence or information and took that into account in ongoing and specific operations; and > > > ##### “(E) > > any other facts and circumstances that may be relevant to the appropriate security management of United States missions abroad. > > > ### “(b) Report > > > #### “(1) Submission to secretary of state > > Not later than 60 days after receiving the Report of Investigation prepared pursuant to section 303(b), the Security Review Committee shall submit a report to the Secretary of State that includes— > > > ##### “(A) > > the findings described in subsection (a); and > > > ##### “(B) > > any related recommendations. > > > #### “(2) Submission to congress > > Not later than 90 days after receiving the report pursuant to paragraph (1), the Secretary of State shall submit a copy of the report to— > > > ##### “(A) > > the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate; > > > ##### “(B) > > the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate; > > > ##### “(C) > > the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate; > > > ##### “(D) > > the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives; > > > ##### “(E) > > the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of Representatives; and > > > ##### “(F) > > the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives. > > > ### “(c) Personnel Recommendations > > If in the course of conducting an investigation under section 303, the investigative team finds reasonable cause to believe any individual described in section 303(a)(2)(D) has breached the duty of that individual or finds lesser failures on the part of an individual in the performance of his or her duties related to the incident, it shall be reported to the Security Review Committee. If the Security Review Committee finds reasonable cause to support the determination, it shall be reported to the Secretary for appropriate action.” > . ###
(h)Relation to Other Proceedings Section 305 of the Diplomatic Security Act of 1986 (22 U.S.C. 4835) is amended— ####
(1)by inserting “(a) No Effect on Existing Remedies or Defenses.—” before “Nothing in this title”; and ####
(2)by adding at the end the following: > > ### “(b) Future Inquiries > > Nothing in this title may be construed to preclude the Secretary of State from convening a follow-up public board of inquiry to investigate any security incident if the incident was of such magnitude or significance that an internal process is deemed insufficient to understand and investigate the incident. All materials gathered during the procedures provided under this title shall be provided to any related board of inquiry convened by the Secretary.” > . ###
(i)Training for Foreign Service Personnel on Risk Management Practices Not later than 120 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall develop and submit a strategy to the appropriate congressional committees for training and educating Foreign Service personnel regarding appropriate risk management practices while conducting their duties in high risk, high threat environments that includes— ####
(1)plans to continue to develop and offer additional training courses, or augment existing courses, for Department personnel regarding the conduct of their duties in high risk, high threat environments outside of diplomatic compounds, including for diplomatic personnel, such as political officers, economic officers, and consular officers; ####
(2)plans to educate Senior Foreign Service personnel serving abroad, including ambassadors, chiefs of mission, deputy chiefs of missions, and regional security officers, regarding appropriate risk management practices to employ while evaluating requests for diplomatic operations in high risk, high threat environments outside of diplomatic compounds; and ####
(3)plans and strategies for effectively balancing safety risks with the need for in-person engagement with local governments and populations. ###
(j)Sense of Congress Regarding the Establishment of the Expeditionary Diplomacy Award It is the sense of Congress that the Secretary should— ####
(1)encourage expeditionary diplomacy, proper risk management practices, and regular and meaningful engagement with civil society at the Department by establishing an annual award, which shall be known as the “Expeditionary Diplomacy Award”, to be awarded to deserving officers and employees of the Department; and ####
(2)establish procedures for selecting the recipients of the Expeditionary Diplomacy Award, including any financial terms associated with such award. ###
(k)Promotion in the Foreign Service Section 603(b) of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 4003(b)) is amended— ####
(1)in the third sentence of the matter preceding paragraph (1), by inserting “and when occupying positions for which the following is, to any degree, an element of the member’s duties,” after “as the case may be,”; ####
(2)in paragraph (1), by striking “when occupying positions for which such willingness and ability is, to any degree, an element of the member’s duties, or” and inserting a semicolon; ####
(3)by striking paragraph
(2)and inserting the following: > > #### “(3) > > other demonstrated experience in public diplomacy; or” > ; ####
(4)by inserting after paragraph
(1)the following: > > #### “(2) > > a willingness and ability to regularly and meaningfully engage with civil society and other local actors in country;” > ; and ####
(5)by inserting after paragraph (3), as redesignated, the following: > > #### “(4) > > the ability to effectively manage and assess risk associated with the conduct of diplomatic operations.” > . ###
(l)Reporting Requirement Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act and every 180 days thereafter for the following 2 years, the Secretary shall submit a report to the appropriate congressional committees describing the Department’s risk management efforts, including information relating to— ####
(1)implementing this section and section 102(b) of the Diplomatic Security Act (22 U.S.C. 4801), as amended by subsection (c); ####
(2)encouraging and incentivizing appropriate Foreign Service personnel to regularly and meaningfully engage with civil society and other local actors in-country; ####
(3)promoting a more effective culture of risk management and greater risk tolerance among all Foreign Service personnel, including through additional risk management training and education opportunities; and ####
(4)incorporating the provisions of this section into the Foreign Affairs Manual regulations and implementing the Serious Security Incident Investigation Permanent Coordinating Committee established and convened pursuant to section 302(b) of the Diplomatic Security Act (22 U.S.C. 4832(b)) to more closely align Department procedures with the procedures used by other Federal departments and agencies to analyze, weigh, and manage risk.
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Sec. 9302
DIPLOMATIC SUPPORT AND SECURITY
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