[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 156 (Tuesday, September 27, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Page S5086]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 5725. 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 G of title X, add the following:

     SEC. 1077. VETTING PROCEDURES AND MONITORING REQUIREMENTS FOR 
                   ALLIES AND PARTNERS PARTICIPATING IN EDUCATION 
                   OR TRAINING ACTIVITIES IN THE UNITED STATES.

       (a) Waiver by Secretary of Defense.--Subsection (a) of 
     section 1090 of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National 
     Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (Public Law 
     116-283; 10 U.S.C. 113 note) is amended by adding at the end 
     the following new paragraph:
       ``(5) Waiver.--
       ``(A) In general.--The Secretary of Defense may, with the 
     concurrence of the Secretary of State, and without 
     delegation, waive the requirement to vet covered individuals 
     under this section--
       ``(i) on a person-by-person basis, if the Secretary of 
     Defense determines that the waiver is in the national 
     security interests of the United States; or
       ``(ii) on a country-by-country basis, with respect to 
     foreign nationals or other appropriate persons who hold a 
     security clearance issued by that country, if the Secretary 
     of Defense determines that the vetting procedures of the 
     country are functionally equivalent to the vetting procedures 
     of the United States for United States military personnel.
       ``(B) Functional equivalence.--
       ``(i) Definition.--The Secretary of Defense, in 
     coordination with the Under Secretary of Defense for 
     Intelligence and Security and in consultation, as 
     appropriate, with the Secretary of State, shall establish and 
     submit to the congressional defense committees a definition 
     of functional equivalence for purposes of making a 
     determination under subparagraph (A)(ii).
       ``(ii) Assessment.--The Secretary of Defense shall conduct 
     an assessment of the vetting procedures of a country prior to 
     making a determination of functional equivalence under 
     subparagraph (A)(ii). Such assessment shall take into 
     consideration any information about such procedures provided 
     to the Secretary of Defense by the Secretary of State.
       ``(C) Notification requirement.--The Secretary of Defense 
     shall submit a written notification to the congressional 
     defense committees not later than 48 hours after exercising 
     the waiver authority under subparagraph (A), including a 
     justification for the waiver and an assessment of the vetting 
     procedures of a country, if appropriate.''.
       (b) Type of Access Covered.--Subsections (a) through (c) of 
     such section 1090 are further amended by striking ``physical 
     access'' each place it appears and inserting ``unescorted 
     physical access''.
       (c) Definitions.--
       (1) Covered individual.--Subsection (e)(2) of such section 
     is amended to read as follows:
       ``(2) The term `covered individual'--
       ``(A) except as provided in subparagraph (B), means a 
     foreign national or other appropriate person who is--
       ``(i) seeking unescorted physical access to a Department of 
     Defense installation or facility within the United States; 
     and
       ``(ii)(I) selected, nominated, or accepted for training or 
     education for a period of more than 14 days occurring on a 
     Department of Defense installation or facility within the 
     United States; or
       ``(II) an immediate family member accompanying a foreign 
     national or other appropriate person who has been so 
     selected, nominated, or accepted for such training or 
     education; and
       ``(B) does not include a foreign national or other 
     appropriate person of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, or the 
     United Kingdom who holds a security clearance issued by the 
     country of the foreign national and has provided the 
     Department of Defense a certification of such clearance.''.
       (2) Immediate family member.--Subsection (e)(4) of such 
     section is amended--
       (A) by striking ``means the parent'' and inserting the 
     following: ``means a person who--
       ``(A) is the parent'';
       (B) in subparagraph (A), as designated by subparagraph (A) 
     of this paragraph, by striking the period and inserting ``; 
     and''; and
       (C) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
       ``(B) has attained the age of 16 years old at the time that 
     unescorted physical access is to begin.''.
       (3) Foreign national; other appropriate person.--Section 
     1090(e) of such Act is amended by adding at the end the 
     following new paragraphs:
       ``(5) The term `foreign national' means a person who is not 
     a citizen or national of the United States or an alien 
     lawfully admitted for permanent residence in the United 
     States under the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
     1101 et seq.).
       ``(6) The term `other appropriate person' means a person 
     who is a citizen of both the United States and another 
     country or who is an alien lawfully admitted for permanent 
     residence in the United States, if such person intends to 
     attend training or education on behalf of a foreign 
     country.''.
       (d) Clarifying Amendment.--Such section is further amended 
     by striking ``Secretary'' each place it appears and inserting 
     ``Secretary of Defense'' in the following provisions:
       (1) Paragraphs (2), (3), and (4) of subsection (a).
       (2) Paragraph (1) of subsection (b) in the matter preceding 
     subparagraph (A).
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