[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.
                                 ______