[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 156 (Tuesday, September 27, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Page S5083]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 5717. Mr. SCOTT of Florida submitted an amendment intended to be
proposed to amendment SA 5499 submitted by Mr. Reed (for himself and
Mr. Inhofe) and intended to be proposed to the bill H.R. 7900, to
authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2023 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 end of subtitle F of title XII, add the following:
SEC. 1276. AFGHAN VETTING ACCOUNTABILITY.
(a) Short Title.--This section may be cited as the ``Afghan
Vetting Accountability Act of 2022''.
(b) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
(1) The Office of the Inspector General of the Department
of Homeland Security conducted an audit, which included
meetings with more than 130 individuals from the Department
of Homeland Security, to determine the extent to which the
Department of Homeland Security screened, vetted, and
inspected evacuees arriving as part of Operation Allies
Refuge and Operation Allies Welcome.
(2) In the report resulting from such audit, ``DHS
Encountered Obstacles to Screen, Vet, and Inspect All
Evacuees during the Recent Afghanistan Crisis'', which was
issued on September 6, 2022, the Inspector General of the
Department of Homeland Security found that--
(A) ``[t]he United States welcomed more than 79,000 Afghan
evacuees between July 2021 and January 2022, as part of
[Operation Allies Refuge and Operation Allies Welcome]'';
(B) ``[t]he President directed the Secretary of Homeland
Security to lead the coordination across the Federal
Government to resettle vulnerable Afghans arriving as part of
[Operation Allies Welcome]'';
(C) ``[the Department of Homeland Security] encountered
obstacles to screen, vet, and inspect all Afghan evacuees
arriving as part of Operation Allies Refuge and Operation
Allies Welcome'';
(D) ``U.S. Customs and Border Protection did not always
have critical data to properly screen, vet, or inspect the
evacuees'';
(E) ``some information used to vet evacuees through U.S.
Government databases, such as name, date of birth,
identification number, and travel document data, was
inaccurate, incomplete, or missing''; and
(F) ``[U.S. Customs and Border Protection] admitted or
paroled evacuees who were not fully vetted into the United
States''.
(3) The Office of the Inspector General of the Department
of Homeland Security attributed the Department of Homeland
Security's challenges with respect to properly screening,
vetting, and inspecting such evacuees to not having--
(A) a list of evacuees from Afghanistan who were unable to
provide sufficient identification documents;
(B) a contingency plan to support similar emergency
situations; and
(C) standardized policies.
(4) As a result of such deficiencies, the Department of
Homeland Security may have admitted or paroled individuals
into the United States who pose a risk to the national
security of the United States and to the safety of local
communities.
(c) Identification and Recurrent Vetting of Evacuees From
Afghanistan.--Not later than 30 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and
Border Protection shall--
(1) identify all evacuees from Afghanistan who--
(A) were paroled into the United States during the period
beginning on July 14, 2021, and ending on February 19, 2022,
as part of Operation Allies Refuge or Operation Allies
Welcome; and
(B) remain in the United States;
(2) for each such Afghan evacuee, conduct a full screening
and vetting, including by consulting all law enforcement and
international terrorist screening databases, based on the
confirmed identity of the evacuee;
(3) prioritize the screening and vetting described in
paragraph (2) for such evacuees who did not have
documentation of their identity on arrival in the United
States;
(4) establish recurrent and periodic vetting processes for
all such evacuees, including in-person interviews, to the
extent necessary;
(5) ensure that the vetting processes described in
paragraph (4) are carried out for each such evacuee for the
duration of the authorized period of parole of the evacuee;
and
(6) submit evidence to the Director of National
Intelligence, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of
State, the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Attorney
General, and the head of each State and local law enforcement
agency with jurisdiction over a place where an Afghan evacuee
resides that the full screening and vetting described in
paragraph (2) and the recurrent and periodic vetting
processes described in paragraph (4) have been carried out.
(d) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Inspector General of the
Department of Homeland Security shall submit a report to the
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of
the Senate and the Committee on Homeland Security of the
House of Representatives that includes--
(1) the findings and results of the rescreening and vetting
required under subsection (c); and
(2) the number of Afghan evacuees who were determined to be
inadmissible to the United States.
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