[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2398 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2398

         To phase out the use of private military contractors.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           November 16, 2007

  Mr. Sanders introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
         To phase out the use of private military contractors.

    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 ``Stop Outsourcing Security Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The United States is increasingly relying on private 
        security contractors to perform mission critical and emergency 
        essential functions that historically have been performed by 
        United States military or government personnel.
            (2) The number of private security contractors in Iraq is 
        reported to be at least 48,000 and Department of State funding 
        for private security and law enforcement contractors is 
        estimated to have increased from $1,000,000,000 to 
        $4,000,000,000.
            (3) The Congressional Research Service reports that about 
        one-quarter of private security contractors are third-party 
        nationals.
            (4) On October 18, 2007, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates 
        said that the work of many contractors in Iraq was ``at cross-
        purposes to our larger mission in Iraq'', and that ``right now 
        those missions are in conflict . . .''.
            (5) A December 2006 report by the Government Accountability 
        Office found multiple deficiencies in the Army's oversight of 
        contractors in Iraq, including ``limited visibility over 
        contractors'', a lack of ``adequate contractor oversight 
        personnel'', and ``little or no training on the use of 
        contractors''.
            (6) The Congress does not have access to security 
        contracts, the number of private security contractors working 
        in Iraq, Afghanistan and other combat zones, the number of 
        contractors who have died or any disciplinary actions taken 
        against them.
            (7) The relationship between the governments of the United 
        States and Iraq has been negatively impacted by violent 
        incidents involving private military contractors and Iraqi 
        citizens, including a December 24, 2006, shooting of the guard 
        of the Iraqi Vice President and a September 16, 2007, shooting 
        by Blackwater employees that killed 17 Iraqi citizens and 
        wounded 24.
            (8) The Government of Iraq has demanded that the United 
        States Government sever all contracts in Iraq with Blackwater 
        and expel the company from Iraq within six months, highlighting 
        the danger in relying on private security contractors for 
        mission critical functions.
            (9) The use of private security contractors for mission 
        critical functions undermines the mission, jeopardizes the 
        safety of American troops conducting military operations in 
        Iraq and other combat zones, and should be phased out.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Mission critical or emergency essential functions.--The 
        term ``mission critical or emergency essential functions''--
                    (A) means--
                            (i) activities for which continued 
                        performance is considered essential to support 
                        combat systems and operational activities; or
                            (ii) activities whose delay, absence, or 
                        failure of performance would significantly 
                        affect the broader success or failure of a 
                        military operation; and
                    (B) includes--
                            (i) the provision of protective services;
                            (ii) the provision of security advice and 
                        planning;
                            (iii) military and police training;
                            (iv) repair and maintenance for weapons 
                        systems;
                            (v) prison administration;
                            (vi) interrogation; and
                            (vii) intelligence.
            (2) Specified congressional committee.--The term 
        ``specified congressional committee'' means each of the 
        following committees:
                    (A) The Committees on Armed Services, Oversight and 
                Government Reform, Appropriations, and Foreign Affairs, 
                and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, of 
                the House of Representatives.
                    (B) The Committees on Armed Services, Homeland 
                Security and Governmental Affairs, Appropriations, and 
                Foreign Relations, and the Select Committee on 
                Intelligence, of the Senate.

SEC. 4. REQUIREMENT FOR GOVERNMENT PERSONNEL TO PERFORM DIPLOMATIC 
              SECURITY IN IRAQ.

    Not later than 6 months after the date of the enactment of this 
Act, the Secretary of State shall ensure that all personnel at any 
United States diplomatic or consular mission in Iraq are provided 
security services only by Federal Government personnel.

SEC. 5. REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO CONTRACTORS PERFORMING MISSION 
              CRITICAL OR EMERGENCY ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS IN ALL CONFLICT 
              ZONES IN WHICH CONGRESS HAS AUTHORIZED THE USE OF FORCE.

    (a) Report by President.--
            (1) Requirement.--Not later than June 1, 2008, the 
        President shall submit to each specified congressional 
        committee a report on the status of planning for the transition 
        away from the use of private contractors for mission critical 
        or emergency essential functions by January 1, 2009, in all 
        conflict zones in which Congress has authorized the use of 
        force.
            (2) Additional matters covered.--If the report states that 
        the relevant agencies will not be able to transition to 
        government and military personnel for such functions by January 
        1, 2009, the President shall include the following in the 
        report:
                    (A) A statement of the reasons why the relevant 
                agencies are unable to do so, the date by which they 
                will be able to do so, and the plan to ensure that they 
                will be able to do so by that date.
                    (B) A certification that--
                            (i) all contract employees have undergone 
                        background checks to ensure that they do not 
                        have criminal records and have not been accused 
                        of human rights abuses;
                            (ii) contract employees cannot have been 
                        charged with crime in other employment if that 
                        charge is still pending;
                            (iii) contract employees are under the 
                        jurisdiction of section 3261 of title 18, 
                        United States Code (relating to military 
                        extraterritorial jurisdiction);
                            (iv) contract employees, if accused of 
                        crimes by the host country, must remain in 
                        United States custody; and
                            (v) contracts include whistleblower 
                        protections for employees to provide good faith 
                        information to management, government agencies, 
                        and Congress of any contract violations, human 
                        rights abuses, or criminal actions.
            (3) Form of report.--The report required by this subsection 
        shall be submitted in unclassified form, to the maximum extent 
        possible, but may contain a classified annex, if necessary.
    (b) Examination of Contractor Accounting Practices.--Any individual 
or entity under contract with the Federal Government to provide mission 
critical or emergency essential functions after January 1, 2009, shall 
allow the specified congressional committees to examine their 
accounting practices with respect to any such contract quarterly and 
upon request.
    (c) Requirements Relating to Contract Renewals.--Any contract with 
the Federal Government requiring personnel to perform mission critical 
or emergency essential functions that is proposed to be renewed after 
the date of the enactment of this Act may be renewed only if--
            (1) the President reports to the specified congressional 
        committees that the relevant agency does not have adequate 
        personnel to perform the duties stipulated in the contract; and
            (2) the President certifies that--
                    (A) all contract employees have undergone 
                background checks to ensure that they do not have 
                criminal records and have not been accused of human 
                rights abuses;
                    (B) contract employees are under force of law and 
                cannot have been charged with crime in other employment 
                if that charge is still pending;
                    (C) contract employees, if accused of crimes by the 
                host country, must remain in the custody of the United 
                States;
                    (D) the contract includes whistleblower protections 
                for employees to provide good faith information to 
                management, government agencies, and Congress of any 
                contract violations, human rights abuses, or criminal 
                actions.

SEC. 6. CONGRESSIONAL ACCESS TO CONTRACTS.

    (a) Requirement To Allow Congress Access to Copies and Descriptions 
of Contracts and Task Orders in Excess of $5,000,000 for Work To Be 
Performed in Iraq and Afghanistan.--
            (1) Requirement regarding contracts and task orders before 
        enactment.--The Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of State, 
        the Secretary of the Interior, and the Administrator of the 
        United States Agency for International Development shall allow 
        the chairman and the ranking minority member of each specified 
        congressional committee access to a copy of, and a description 
        of the work performed or to be performed under, each contract, 
        and each task order issued under an existing contract, in an 
        amount greater than $5,000,000 entered into by the Department 
        of Defense, the Department of State, the Department of the 
        Interior, and the Agency for International Development, 
        respectively, during the period beginning October 1, 2001, and 
        ending on the last day of the month during which this Act is 
        enacted for work to be performed in Iraq and Afghanistan.
            (2) Form of submissions.--The copies and descriptions 
        required by paragraph (1) shall be submitted in unclassified 
        form, to the maximum extent possible, but may contain a 
        classified annex, if necessary.
    (b) Reports on Iraq and Afghanistan Contracts.--The Secretary of 
Defense, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Interior, and the 
Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development 
shall each submit to each specified congressional committee a report 
not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act that 
contains the following information:
            (1) The number of persons performing work in Iraq and 
        Afghanistan under contracts (and subcontracts at any tier) 
        entered into by Department of Defense, the Department of State, 
        the Department of the Interior, and the United States Agency 
        for International Development, respectively.
            (2) The total cost of such contracts.
            (3) The total number of persons who have been wounded or 
        killed in performing work under such contracts.
            (4) A description of the disciplinary actions that have 
        been taken against persons performing work under such contracts 
        by the contractor, the United States Government, or the 
        Government of Iraq or Afghanistan.
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