[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 120 (Thursday, July 13, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Page S2649]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 511. Mr. SCOTT of Florida submitted an amendment intended to be
proposed by him to the bill S. 2226, to authorize appropriations for
fiscal year 2024 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. 1083. AFGHAN VETTING AND ACCOUNTABILITY.
(a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
(1) In the report entitled ``DHS Encountered Obstacles to
Screen, Vet, and Inspect All Evacuees during the Recent
Afghanistan Crisis'' issued on September 6, 2022, the
Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security
found that--
(A) the 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; and
(B) the 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 Refuge and Operation Allies Welcome.
(2) The Office of the Inspector General of the Department
of Homeland Security conducted an audit 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.
(3) After meeting with more than 130 individuals from the
Department of Homeland Security, the Office of the Inspector
General of the Department of Homeland Security determined
that--
(A) the Department of Homeland Security encountered
obstacles to screening, vetting, and inspecting all Afghan
evacuees arriving as part of Operation Allies Refuge and
Operation Allies Welcome;
(B) U.S. Customs and Border Protection did not always have
critical data to properly screen, vet, or inspect the
evacuees;
(C) some information used to vet evacuees through United
States Government databases, such as name, date of birth,
identification number, and travel document data, was
inaccurate, incomplete, or missing; and
(D) U.S. Customs and Border Protection admitted or paroled
into the United States evacuees who were not fully vetted.
(4) 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.
(5) As a result, 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 the safety of local communities.
(b) 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 1, 2021, and ending on January 31, 2022, as
part of Operation Allies Refuge or Operation Allies Welcome;
and
(B) remain in the United States;
(2) for each such 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 as
necessary;
(5) ensure that such vetting processes are carried out for
each such evacuee for the duration of the authorized period
of parole of the evacuee; and
(6) provide to the Director of National Intelligence, the
Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of State, the Secretary
of Homeland Security, the Attorney General, and the law
enforcement agencies of the State and locality in which each
such evacuee is located evidence 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.
(c) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security and
the Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security
shall submit to the Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on
Homeland Security of the House of Representatives a report
on--
(1) the findings and results of the screening and vetting
carried out under subsection (b); and
(2) the number of evacuees who were ineligible for
admission to the United States and, for each such evacuee,
the specific reason the evacuee was found ineligible.
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