[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6306 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 6306

To amend the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 to prohibit 
  the acquisition or lease of a consular or diplomatic post built or 
   owned by an entity beneficially owned by the People's Republic of 
                     China, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            November 8, 2023

  Mr. Mills introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                      Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 to prohibit 
  the acquisition or lease of a consular or diplomatic post built or 
   owned by an entity beneficially owned by the People's Republic of 
                     China, 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 ``Embassy Construction Integrity Act 
of 2023''.

SEC. 2. PROHIBITIONS RELATING TO CONSULAR AND DIPLOMATIC POSTS BUILT OR 
              OWNED BY CERTAIN ENTITIES.

    (a) Prohibitions.--Title I of the State Department Basic 
Authorities Act of 1956 (22 U.S.C. 2651a et seq.) is amended by adding 
at the end the following:

``SEC. 64. PROHIBITIONS RELATING TO CONSULAR AND DIPLOMATIC POSTS BUILT 
              OR OWNED BY CERTAIN ENTITIES.

    ``(a) Prohibitions.--The Secretary of State (in this section 
referred to as the `Secretary') may not--
            ``(1) acquire or lease a covered building--
                    ``(A) with respect to which a covered entity 
                performed covered construction on or after January 1, 
                1949; or
                    ``(B) in which a covered entity has an ownership 
                interest; or
            ``(2) authorize a covered entity to perform covered 
        construction with respect to a covered building, including 
        pursuant to a contract or other agreement.
    ``(b) Notification of Violations.--Not later than 7 days after 
becoming aware of a violation of subsection (a), the Secretary shall 
notify the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives 
and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate of such violation.
    ``(c) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Beneficial owner.--The term `beneficial owner'--
                    ``(A) means, with respect to an entity, an entity 
                that, directly or indirectly, through any contract, 
                arrangement, understanding, relationship, or 
                otherwise--
                            ``(i) exercises substantial control over 
                        the entity; or
                            ``(ii) owns or controls not less than 25 
                        percent of the ownership interest of an entity; 
                        and
                    ``(B) does not include--
                            ``(i) a minor child, as defined as a 
                        natural person under the age of 18;
                            ``(ii) an individual acting as a nominee, 
                        intermediary, custodian, or agent on behalf of 
                        another individual;
                            ``(iii) an individual acting solely as an 
                        employee of a corporation, limited liability 
                        company, or other similar entity and whose 
                        control over or economic benefits from such 
                        entity is derived solely from the employment 
                        status of the person; or
                            ``(iv) an individual whose only interest in 
                        a corporation, limited liability company, or 
                        other similar entity is through a right of 
                        inheritance, and who does not exercise 
                        substantial control or effective control over 
                        the entity.
            ``(2) Covered building.--The term `covered building' means 
        a building that is used or intended to be used by personnel, or 
        for a function, of a consular or diplomatic post located 
        outside of the United States.
            ``(3) Covered construction.--The term `covered 
        construction'--
                    ``(A) means any construction, development, 
                conversion, extension, alteration, repair, or 
                maintenance performed with respect to a building; and
                    ``(B) includes the installation or maintenance of 
                electrical, plumbing, heating, ventilation, air 
                conditioning, communication, fire protection, and 
                energy management systems with respect to such 
                building.
            ``(4) Covered entity.--The term `covered entity' means an 
        entity of which the government of the People's Republic of 
        China, or an agent or instrumentality of the government of the 
        People's Republic of China, is a beneficial owner.''.
    (b) Applicability.--
            (1) In general.--Section 64 of the State Department Basic 
        Authorities Act of 1956, as added by subsection (a), shall 
        apply with respect to the following:
                    (A) Acquisitions of covered buildings occurring on 
                or after the date of enactment of this Act.
                    (B) Leases of covered buildings entered into on or 
                after such date of enactment.
                    (C) Authorizations for the performance of covered 
                construction made on or after such date of enactment.
            (2) Definitions.--In this subsection, the terms ``covered 
        building'' and ``covered construction'' have the meanings given 
        such terms in subsection (c) of such section 64.
                                 <all>