[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 203 (Saturday, December 22, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8032-S8034]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 4181. Mr. McCONNELL (for Mr. Corker) proposed an amendment to the
bill H.R. 4969, to improve the design and construction of diplomatic
posts, and for other purposes; as follows:
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Improving Embassy Design and
Security Act of 2018''.
SEC. 2. STANDARDIZATION IN CAPITAL CONSTRUCTION.
(a) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that
the Department of State's Bureau of Overseas Building
Operations (OBO) or successor office should prioritize the
standardization of embassy design and keep customization to a
minimum.
(b) Consultation.--The Secretary of State shall carry out
any new embassy compound project or new consulate compound
project that utilizes a non-standard design, including those
projects that are in the design phase or pre-design phase as
of the date of the enactment of this Act, only in
consultation with the appropriate congressional committees.
The Secretary shall provide such committees, for each such
project, the following documentation:
(1) A comparison of the estimated full lifecycle costs of
the project at issue to the estimated full lifecycle costs of
such project if such project were to use a standard design.
(2) A comparison of the estimated completion date of such
project to the estimated completion date of such project if
such project were to use a standard design.
(3) A comparison of the security of such completed project
to the security of such completed project if such completed
project were to use a standard design.
(4) A justification for the Secretary's selection of a non-
standard design over a standard design for such project.
(5) A written explanation if any of the documentation
necessary to support the comparisons and justification, as
the case may be, described in paragraphs (1) through (4)
cannot be provided.
(c) Sunset.--The consultation requirement under subsection
(b) shall expire on September 30, 2022.
SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY.
It is the policy of the United States that the Bureau of
Overseas Building Operations of the Department of State or
its successor office shall continue to balance functionality
and security with accessibility as defined by guidelines
established by the United States Access Board in constructing
embassies and consulates and shall ensure compliance with the
Architectural Barriers Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4151 et seq.)
to the fullest extent possible.
SEC. 4. CAPITAL CONSTRUCTION TRANSPARENCY.
(a) In General.--Section 118 of the Department of State
Authorities Act, Fiscal Year 2017 (22 U.S.C. 304) is
amended--
(1) in the section heading, by striking ``annual report on
embassy construction costs'' and inserting ``quarterly report
on overseas capital construction projects''; and
(2) by amending subsections (a) and (b) to read as follows:
``(a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date
of the enactment of this subsection, and every 90 days
thereafter until September 30, 2022, the Secretary shall
submit to the appropriate congressional committees a
comprehensive report regarding all ongoing overseas capital
construction projects and major embassy security upgrade
projects.
``(b) Contents.--Each report required under subsection (a)
shall include the following with respect to each ongoing
overseas capital construction project and major embassy
security upgrade project:
``(1) The initial cost estimate as specified in the
proposed allocation of capital construction and maintenance
funds required by the Committees on Appropriations for Acts
making appropriations for the Department of State, foreign
operations, and related programs.
``(2) The current cost estimate.
``(3) The value of each request for equitable adjustment
received by the Department of State to date.
``(4) The value of each certified claim received by the
Department of State to date.
``(5) The value of any usage of the project's contingency
fund to date and the value of the remainder of the project's
contingency fund.
``(6) An enumerated list of each request for adjustment and
certified claim that remains outstanding or unresolved.
``(7) An enumerated list of each request for equitable
adjustment and certified claim that has been fully
adjudicated or that the Department has settled, and the final
dollar amount of each adjudication or settlement.
``(8) The date of estimated completion specified in the
proposed allocation of capital construction and maintenance
funds required by the Committees on Appropriations not later
than 45 days after the date of the enactment of an Act making
appropriations for the Department of State, foreign
operations, and related programs.
``(9) The current date of estimated completion.''.
(b) Initial Report.--The first report required under
subsection (a) of section 118 of the Department of State
Authorities Act, Fiscal Year 2017 (as amended by this
section) shall include an annex regarding all overseas
capital construction projects and major embassy security
upgrade projects completed during the 10-year period ending
on December 31, 2018, including, for each such project, the
elements specified in subsection (b) of such section 118 (as
amended by this section).
SEC. 5. CONTRACTOR PERFORMANCE INFORMATION.
(a) Deadline for Completion.--The Secretary of State shall
complete by October 1, 2020, all contractor performance
evaluations required by subpart 42.15 of the Federal
Acquisition Regulation.
(b) Prioritization System.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 90 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall
develop a prioritization system for clearing the current
backlog of required evaluations referred to in subsection
(a).
(2) Elements.--The system required under paragraph (1)
should prioritize such evaluations as follows:
(A) Project completion evaluations should be prioritized
over annual evaluations.
(B) Evaluations for relatively large contracts should have
priority.
(C) Evaluations that would be particularly informative for
the awarding of government contracts should have priority.
(c) Briefing.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall brief the
appropriate congressional committees on the Department of
State's plan for completing all evaluations by October 1,
2020, and the prioritization system developed pursuant to
this section.
(d) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) contractors deciding whether to bid on Department of
State contracts would benefit from greater understanding of
the Department as a client; and
[[Page S8033]]
(2) the Department should develop a forum through which
contractors can rate the Department's project management
performance.
SEC. 6. GROWTH PROJECTIONS FOR NEW EMBASSIES AND CONSULATES.
(a) In General.--For each new embassy compound project
(NEC) and new consulate compound project (NCC) in or not yet
in the design phase as of the date of the enactment of this
Act, the Office of Management Policy, Rightsizing, and
Innovation of the Department of State shall project growth
over the estimated life of the facility at issue using all
available and relevant data, including the following:
(1) Relevant historical trends for Department personnel and
personnel from other agencies represented at the NEC or NCC
that is to be constructed.
(2) An analysis of the tradeoffs between risk and the needs
of United States Government policy conducted as part of the
most recent Vital Presence Validation Process, if applicable.
(3) Reasonable assumptions about the strategic importance
of the NEC or NCC, as the case may be, over the life of the
building at issue.
(4) Any other data that would be helpful in projecting the
future growth of NEC or NCC.
(b) Other Agencies.--Each Federal agency represented at an
embassy or consulate shall provide to the Department of
State, upon request, growth projections for the personnel of
such agency over the estimated life of such embassy or
consulate, as the case may be.
(c) Basis for Estimates.--The Department of State shall
base growth assumption for all NECs and NCCs on the estimates
required under subsections (a) and (b).
(d) Congressional Notification.--Any congressional
notification of site selection for a NEC or NCC submitted
after the date of the enactment of this Act shall include the
growth assumption used pursuant to subsection (c).
SEC. 7. LONG-RANGE PLANNING PROCESS.
(a) Plans Required.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act and annually thereafter for five
years, the Secretary of State shall develop--
(A) a comprehensive six-year Long-Range Overseas Buildings
Plan (LROBP) documenting the Department of State's overseas
building program for the replacement of overseas diplomatic
facilities taking into account security factors under the
Secure Embassy Construction and Counterterrorism Act of 1999
(22 U.S.C. 4865 note) and other relevant statutes and
regulations, as well as occupational safety and health
factors pursuant to the Occupational Safety and Health Act of
1970 (29 U.S.C. 651 et seq.) and other relevant statutes and
regulations, including environmental factors such as indoor
air quality that impact employee health and safety; and
(B) a comprehensive six-year plan detailing the
Department's long-term planning for the maintenance and
sustainment of completed facilities, known as a Long-Range
Overseas Maintenance Plan (LROMP), which takes into account
security factors under the Secure Embassy Construction and
Counterterrorism Act of 1999 and other relevant statutes and
regulations, as well as occupational safety and health
factors pursuant to the Occupational Safety and Health Act of
1970 and other relevant statutes and regulations, including
environmental factors such as indoor air quality that impact
employee health and safety.
(2) Initial report.--The first plan developed pursuant to
paragraph (1)(A) shall also include a one-time status report
on existing small diplomatic posts and a strategy for
establishing a physical diplomatic presence in countries in
which there is no current physical diplomatic presence. The
report, which may include a classified annex, shall include
the following:
(A) A description of the extent to which each small
diplomatic post furthers the national interest of the United
States.
(B) A description of how each small diplomatic post
provides American Citizen Services, including data on
specific services provided and the number of Americans
receiving services over the previous year.
(C) A description of whether each small diplomatic post
meets current security requirements.
(D) A description of the full financial cost of maintaining
each small diplomatic post.
(E) Input from the relevant chiefs of mission on any unique
operational or policy value the small diplomatic post
provides.
(3) Updated information.--The annual updates of the plans
developed pursuant to paragraph (1) shall highlight any
changes from the previous year's plan to the ordering of
construction and maintenance projects.
(b) Reporting Requirements.--
(1) Submission of plans to congress.--Not later than 60
days after the completion of the LROBP and the LROMP, the
Secretary of State shall submit such plans to the appropriate
congressional committees.
(2) Reference in budget justification materials.--In the
budget justification materials submitted to the appropriate
congressional committees in support of the Department of
State's budget for any fiscal year (as submitted with the
budget of the President under section 1105(a) of title 31,
United States Code), the plans specified in the LROBP and
LROMP shall be referenced to justify funding requested for
building and maintenance projects overseas.
(3) Form of report.--The plans required to be submitted
under paragraph (1) shall be submitted in unclassified form
but may include classified annexes
(c) Small Diplomatic Post Defined.--In this section, the
term ``small diplomatic post'' means any consulate that has
employed five or fewer United States Government employees on
average over the 36 months before the date of the enactment
of this Act.
SEC. 8. VALUE ENGINEERING AND RISK ASSESSMENT.
(a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
(1) Federal departments and agencies are required to use
value engineering (VE) as a management tool, where
appropriate, to reduce program and acquisition costs pursuant
to OMB Circular A-131, Value Engineering, dated December 31,
2013.
(2) OBO has a Policy Directive and Standard Operation
Procedure, dated May 24, 2017, on conducting risk management
studies on all international construction projects.
(b) Notification Requirements.--
(1) Submission to authorizing committees.--The proposed
allocation of capital construction and maintenance funds that
is required by the Committees on Appropriations of the House
of Representatives and the Senate not later than 45 days
after the date of the enactment of an Act making
appropriations for the Department of State, foreign
operations, and related programs shall also be submitted to
the appropriate congressional committees.
(2) Requirement to confirm completion of value engineering
and risk assessment studies.--The notifications required
under paragraph (1) shall include confirmation that the
Department of State has completed the requisite VE and risk
management studies described in subsection (a).
(c) Reporting and Briefing Requirements.--The Secretary of
State shall provide to the appropriate congressional
committees upon request--
(1) a description of each recommendation from each study
described in subsection (a) and a table detailing which
recommendations were accepted and which were rejected; and
(2) a report or briefing detailing the rationale for not
implementing recommendations made by VE studies that may
yield significant cost savings to the Department of State, if
implemented.
SEC. 9. BUSINESS VOLUME.
Subparagraph (E) of section 402(c)(2) of the Omnibus
Diplomatic Security and Antiterrorism Act of 1986 (22 U.S.C.
4852(c)(2)) is amended by striking ``in 3 years'' and
inserting ``cumulatively over 3 years''.
SEC. 10. EMBASSY SECURITY REQUESTS AND DEFICIENCIES.
The Secretary of State shall provide to the appropriate
congressional committees, upon request, information on
security deficiencies at United States diplomatic posts,
including--
(1) requests made over the previous year by United States
diplomatic posts for security upgrades; and
(2) significant security deficiencies at United States
diplomatic posts that are not operating out of a new embassy
compound or new consulate compound.
SEC. 11. OVERSEAS SECURITY BRIEFINGS.
Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of
this Act, the Secretary of State shall revise the Foreign
Affairs Manual to stipulate that information on the current
threat environment shall be provided to all United States
Government employees under Chief of Mission authority
traveling to a foreign country on official business. To the
extent practicable, such material shall be provided to
employees prior to their arrival at a post or as soon as
possible thereafter.
SEC. 12. CONTRACTING METHODS IN CAPITAL CONSTRUCTION.
(a) Delivery.--Unless the Secretary of State notifies the
appropriate congressional committees that the use of the
design-build project delivery method would not be
appropriate, the Secretary shall make use of such method at
diplomatic posts that have not yet received design or capital
construction contracts as of the date of the enactment of
this Act.
(b) Notification.--Before executing a contract for a
delivery method other than design-build in accordance with
subsection (a), the Secretary of State shall notify the
appropriate congressional committees in writing of the
decision, including the reasons therefor. The notification
required by this subsection may be included in any other
report regarding a new diplomatic facility that is required
to be submitted to the appropriate congressional committees
(c) Performance Evaluation.--Not later than 180 days after
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall
report to the appropriate congressional committees regarding
performance evaluation measures in line with GAO's
``Standards for Internal Control in the Federal Government''
that will be applicable to design and construction, lifecycle
cost, and building maintenance programs of the Bureau of
Overseas Building Operations of the Department of State.
SEC. 13. COMPETITION IN EMBASSY CONSTRUCTION.
Not later than 45 days after the date of the enactment of
this Act, the Secretary of State shall submit to the
appropriate congressional committee a report detailing
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steps the Department of State is taking to expand the embassy
construction contractor base in order to increase competition
and maximize value.
SEC. 14. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(B) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on
Appropriations of the Senate; and
(A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on
Appropriations of the House of Representatives.
(2) Design-build.--The term ``design-build'' means a method
of project delivery in which one entity works under a single
contract with the Department of State to provide design and
construction services.
(3) Non-standard design.--The term ``non-standard design''
means-- A design for a new embassy compound project or new
consulate compound project that does not utilize a
standardized design for the structural, spatial, or security
requirements of such embassy compound or consulate compound,
as the case may be.
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