[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 158 (Thursday, September 29, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5754-S5755]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 6230. Mr. SCHATZ (for himself and Mr. Markey) 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 D of title XII, add the following:

     SEC. 1254. INDO-PACIFIC ENGAGEMENT.

       (a) Short Title.--This section may be cited as the ``Indo-
     Pacific Engagement Act''.
       (b) Definitions.--In this section:
       (1) Congressional foreign affairs committees.--The term 
     ``congressional foreign affairs committees'' means--
       (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate;
       (B) the Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and 
     Related Programs of the Committee on Appropriations of the 
     Senate;
       (C) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of 
     Representatives; and
       (D) the Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, Related 
     Programs of the Committee on Appropriations of the House of 
     Representatives.
       (2) Indo-pacific region.--The term ``Indo-Pacific region'' 
     means--
       (A) the countries under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of 
     East Asian and Pacific Affairs of the Department of State; 
     and
       (B) the countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, 
     Nepal, and Sri Lanka.
       (3) Principals.--The term ``principals'' means--
       (A) the Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and 
     Pacific Affairs;
       (B) the Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central 
     Asian Affairs; and
       (C) the Assistant Administrator for Asia of the United 
     States Agency for International Development.
       (c) Report.--
       (1) In general.--Each time the President submits a budget 
     to Congress pursuant to section 1105 of title 31, United 
     States Code, for each of the fiscal years 2024 through 2028, 
     the Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific 
     Affairs, in coordination with the Assistant Secretary of 
     State for South and Central Asian Affairs and the Assistant 
     Administrator for Asia of the United States Agency for 
     International Development, shall submit a report to the 
     congressional foreign affairs committees that assesses the 
     resources and activities required to achieve the policy 
     objectives described in paragraph (3).
       (2) Criteria.--The report required under paragraph (1)--
       (A) shall reflect the objective, autonomous, and 
     independent assessment of the activities, resources, and 
     costs required to achieve policy objectives described in 
     paragraph (3) by the principals, the subordinate and parallel 
     offices providing input into the assessment, with the 
     Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific 
     Affairs serving as the final decision-making authority on the 
     contents of the report;
       (B) shall cover a period of 5 fiscal years, beginning with 
     the fiscal year following the fiscal year during which the 
     report is submitted;
       (C) shall incorporate input from United States Ambassadors 
     in the Indo-Pacific region provided explicitly for the 
     required report;
       (D) may include information gathered through consultation 
     with program offices and subject matter experts in relevant 
     functional bureaus, as deemed necessary by the principals; 
     and
       (E) shall not be subject to fiscal guidance or global 
     strategic tradeoffs associated with the annual President's 
     budget request.
       (3) Policy objectives.--The report required under paragraph 
     (1) shall assess the activities and resources required--
       (A) to implement the Interim National Security Strategic 
     Guidance, or the most recent National Security Strategy, with 
     respect to the Indo-Pacific region;

[[Page S5755]]

       (B) to implement the 2022 Indo-Pacific Strategy of the 
     United States, or successor documents, that set forth the 
     United States Government's strategy toward the Indo-Pacific 
     region;
       (C) to implement the State-USAID Joint Strategic Plan with 
     respect to the Indo-Pacific region;
       (D) to enhance meaningful diplomatic and economic relations 
     with allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific and demonstrate 
     an enduring United States commitment to the Indo-Pacific 
     region; and
       (E) to secure and advance United States national interests 
     in the Indo-Pacific region, including through countering the 
     malign influence of the Government of the People's Republic 
     of China.
       (4) Matters to be included.--The report required under 
     paragraph (1) shall include--
       (A) a description of the bilateral and multilateral goals 
     of the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs and the 
     Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs for the period 
     covered in the report that the principals deem necessary to 
     accomplish the policy objectives described in paragraph (3), 
     disaggregated by country and forum;
       (B) a timeline with annual benchmarks for achieving the 
     policy objectives described in paragraph (3);
       (C) an assessment of the sufficiency of United States 
     diplomatic personnel and facilities currently available in 
     the Indo-Pacific region to achieve the policy objectives 
     described in paragraph (3), through consultation with United 
     States embassies in the region, including--
       (i) a list, in priority order, of locations in the Indo-
     Pacific region that require additional diplomatic personnel 
     or facilities;
       (ii) a description of locations where the United States may 
     be able to collocate diplomatic personnel at allied or 
     partner embassies and consulates;
       (iii) a discussion of embassies or consulates where 
     diplomatic staff could be reduced within the Indo-Pacific 
     region, as appropriate; and
       (iv) a detailed description of the fiscal and personnel 
     resources required to fill gaps identified;
       (D) a detailed plan to expand United States diplomatic 
     engagement and foreign assistance presence in the Pacific 
     Island nations during the succeeding 5-year period, including 
     a description of ``quick impact'' programs that can be 
     developed and implemented within the first fiscal year of the 
     period covered in the report;
       (E) a discussion of the resources needed to enhance United 
     States strategic messaging and spotlight coercive behavior by 
     the People's Republic of China;
       (F) a detailed description of the resources and policy 
     tools needed to expand the United States' ability to offer 
     high-quality infrastructure projects in strategically 
     significant parts of the Indo-Pacific region, with a 
     particular focus on expanding investments in Southeast Asia 
     and the Pacific Islands;
       (G) a gap assessment of security assistance by country, and 
     of the resources needed to fill those gaps;
       (H) a description of the resources and policy tools needed 
     to facilitate continued private sector investment in partner 
     countries in the Indo-Pacific region; and
       (I) a discussion of any additional bilateral or regional 
     assistance resources that the principals determine are 
     necessary to achieve the policy objectives described in 
     paragraph (3).
       (5) Form.--The report required under paragraph (1) shall be 
     submitted in an unclassified form, but may include a 
     classified annex.
       (6) Distribution.--Not later than February 1 each year, the 
     Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific 
     Affairs shall make the report required under paragraph (1) 
     available to--
       (A) the Secretary of State;
       (B) the Administrator of the United States Agency for 
     International Development (USAID);
       (C) the Deputy Secretary of State;
       (D) the Deputy Secretary of State for Management and 
     Resources;
       (E) the Deputy Administrator for Policy and Programming at 
     USAID;
       (F) the Deputy Administrator for Management and Resources 
     at USAID;
       (G) the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs;
       (H) the Director of Foreign Assistance at the Department of 
     State;
       (I) the Director of the Office of Foreign Assistance at 
     USAID; and
       (J) the Director of Policy Planning at the Department of 
     State.
                                 ______