[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 200 (Wednesday, November 17, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Page S8359]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 4743. Mr. BENNET (for himself and Ms. Collins) submitted an
amendment intended to be proposed to amendment SA 3867 submitted by Mr.
Reed and intended to be proposed to the bill H.R. 4350, to authorize
appropriations for fiscal year 2022 for military activities of the
Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense
activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military personnel
strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which was
ordered to lie on the table; as follows:
At the appropriate place, insert the following:
SEC. 1216. REPORTS AND BRIEFINGS REGARDING OVERSIGHT OF
AFGHANISTAN.
(a) Reports.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter until December
31, 2026, the Secretary of Defense, in coordination with the
Director of National Intelligence, shall submit to the
appropriate congressional committees a report on Afghanistan.
The report shall address, with respect to Afghanistan, the
following matters:
(1) An assessment of the terrorist threat to the United
States posed by terrorist organizations in Afghanistan.
(2) A description of the intelligence collection posture on
terrorist organizations in Afghanistan, including al-Qaeda
and ISIS-K.
(3) A description of the intelligence collection posture on
the Taliban defense and security forces.
(4) An assessment of the status of any military cooperation
between the Taliban and China, Russia, or Iran.
(5) An assessment of changes in the ability of al-Qaeda and
ISIS-K to conduct operations outside of Afghanistan against
the United States and United States allies.
(6) A current assessment of counterterrorism capabilities
of the United States to remove the terrorist threat in
Afghanistan.
(7) An assessment of counterterrorism capabilities of
United States allies and partners in Afghanistan and their
willingness to participate in counterterrorism operations.
(8) The location of such counterterrorism capabilities, to
include the current locations of the forces and any plans to
adjust such locations.
(9) Any plans to expand or adjust such counterterrorism
capabilities in the future to account for evolving terrorist
threats in Afghanistan.
(10) An assessment of the quantity and types of United
States military equipment remaining in Afghanistan, including
an indication of whether the Secretary plans to leave,
recover, or destroy such equipment.
(11) Contingency plans for the retrieval or hostage rescue
of United States citizens and legal permanent residents
located in Afghanistan.
(12) Contingency plans related to the continued evacuation
of Afghans who hold special immigrant visa status under
section 602 of the Afghan Allies Protection Act of 2009
(title VI of division F of Public Law 110-8; 8 U.S.C. 1101
note) or who have filed a petition for such status, following
the withdraw of the United States Armed Forces from
Afghanistan.
(13) Any other matters the Secretary determines
appropriate.
(b) Briefings.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, and on a biannual basis thereafter
until December 31, 2026, the Secretary of Defense shall
provide to the appropriate congressional committees a
briefing on the matters specified in subsection (a).
(c) Form.--The reports and briefings under this section may
be submitted in either unclassified or classified form, as
determined appropriate by the Secretary.
(d) Appropriate Congressional Committees Defined.--In this
section, the term ``appropriate congressional committees''
means--
(1) the Committee on Armed Services, the Select Committee
on Intelligence, and the Committee on Appropriations of the
Senate; and
(2) the Committee on Armed Services, the Permanent Select
Committee on Intelligence, and the Committee on
Appropriations of the House of Representatives.
______