[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3707 Referred in Senate (RFS)]

  2d Session
                                H. R. 3707


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 29, 2000

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
To authorize funds for the construction of a facility in Taipei, Taiwan 
     suitable for the mission of the American Institute in Taiwan.

    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 ``American Institute in Taiwan 
Facilities Enhancement Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds that--
            (1) in the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979 (22 U.S.C. 3301 et 
        seq.), the Congress established the American Institute in 
        Taiwan (hereafter in this Act referred to as ``AIT''), a 
        nonprofit corporation incorporated in the District of Columbia, 
        to carry out on behalf of the United States Government any and 
        all programs, transactions, and other relations with Taiwan;
            (2) the Congress has recognized AIT for the successful role 
        it has played in sustaining and enhancing United States 
        relations with Taiwan;
            (3) the Taipei office of AIT is housed in buildings which 
        were not originally designed for the important functions that 
        AIT performs, whose location does not provide adequate security 
        for its employees, and which, because they are almost 50 years 
        old, have become increasingly expensive to maintain;
            (4) the aging state of the AIT office building in Taipei is 
        neither conducive to the safety and welfare of AIT's American 
        and local employees nor commensurate with the level of contact 
        that exists between the United States and Taiwan;
            (5) because of the unofficial character of United States 
        relations with Taiwan, the Department of State is not 
        responsible for funding the construction of a new office 
        building for the Taipei office of AIT;
            (6) AIT has made a good faith effort to set aside funds for 
        the construction of a new office building, but these funds will 
        be insufficient to construct a building that is large and 
        secure enough to meet AIT's current and future needs; and
            (7) because the Congress established AIT and has a strong 
        interest in United States relations with Taiwan, the Congress 
        has a special responsibility to ensure that AIT's requirements 
        for safe and appropriate office quarters are met.

SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    (a) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated the sum of $75,000,000 to AIT--
            (1) for plans for a new facility and, if necessary, 
        residences or other structures located in close physical 
        proximity to such facility, in Taipei, Taiwan, for AIT to carry 
        out its purposes under the Taiwan Relations Act; and
            (2) for acquisition by purchase or construction of such 
        facility, residences, or other structures.
    (b) Limitations.--Funds appropriated pursuant to subsection (a) may 
only be used if the new facility described in that subsection meets all 
requirements applicable to the security of United States diplomatic 
facilities, including the requirements in the Omnibus Diplomatic 
Security and Anti-Terrorism Act of 1986 (22 U.S.C. 4801 et seq.) and 
the Secure Embassy Construction and Counterterrorism Act of 1999 (as 
enacted by section 1000(a)(7) of Public Law 106-113; 113 Stat 1501A-
451), except for those requirements which the Director of AIT certifies 
to the Committee on International Relations of the House of 
Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate 
are not applicable on account of the special status of AIT.
    (c) Availability of Funds.--Amounts appropriated pursuant to 
subsection (a) are authorized to remain available until expended.

            Passed the House of Representatives March 28, 2000.

            Attest:

                                                 JEFF TRANDAHL,

                                                                 Clerk.