[Senate Report 118-82]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                   Calendar No. 185

118th Congress}                                            { Report
                                 SENATE
 1st Session  }                                            { 118-82

======================================================================
 
             SECURE ADJACENT FEDERAL PROPERTY ACT OF 2023

                               __________

                              R E P O R T

                                 OF THE

                   COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND

                          GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS

                          UNITED STATES SENATE

                              TO ACCOMPANY

                                S. 1868

              TO REQUIRE AN INTERAGENCY STUDY TO PRODUCE A
             SECURITY ASSESSMENT PROCESS ON ADJACENT SPACE
              TO HIGH-SECURITY LEASED SPACE TO ACCOMMODATE
                A FEDERAL AGENCY, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]


                 July 27, 2023.--Ordered to be printed
                 
                                 __________
					    
                               
                    U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE                    
                           WASHINGTON : 2023                    
          
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
               
        COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS

                   GARY C. PETERS, Michigan, Chairman
THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware           RAND PAUL, Kentucky
MAGGIE HASSAN, New Hampshire         RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin
KYRSTEN SINEMA, Arizona              JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma
JACKY ROSEN, Nevada                  MITT ROMNEY, Utah
ALEX PADILLA, California             RICK SCOTT, Florida
JON OSSOFF, Georgia                  JOSH HAWLEY, Missouri
RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, Connecticut      ROGER MARSHALL, Kansas

                   David M. Weinberg, Staff Director
            Lena C. Chang, Director of Governmental Affairs
              Chelsea A. Davis, Professional Staff Member
           William E. Henderson III, Minority Staff Director
              Christina N. Salazar, Minority Chief Counsel
                  Andrew J. Hopkins, Minority Counsel
                     Laura W. Kilbride, Chief Clerk
                     
                     
                     
                                                   Calendar No. 185

118th Congress}                                            { Report
                                 SENATE
 1st Session  }                                            { 118-82

======================================================================
               
               SECURE ADJACENT FEDERAL PROPERTY ACT OF 2023

                                _______
                                

                 July 27, 2023.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

 Mr. Peters, from the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
                    Affairs, submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 1868]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
Affairs, to which was referred the bill (S. 1868) to require an 
interagency study to produce a security assessment process on 
adjacent space to high-security leased space to accommodate a 
Federal agency, and for other purposes, having considered the 
same, reports favorably thereon with an amendment, in the 
nature of a substitute, and recommends that the bill, as 
amended, do pass.

                                CONTENTS

                                                                   Page
  I. Purpose and Summary..............................................1
 II. Background and Need for the Legislation..........................2
III. Legislative History..............................................3
 IV. Section-by-Section Analysis of the Bill, as Reported.............3
  V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact..................................4
 VI.  Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate.......................5
VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............5

                         I. PURPOSE AND SUMMARY

    S. 1868, the Secure Adjacent Federal Property Act of 2023, 
would require the General Services Administration (GSA) to 
coordinate an interagency government-wide study with the 
Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB), Federal Protective Service (FPS), and other 
relevant entities to establish a security assessment process to 
examine the threat level of each building or office space 
adjacent to high-security leased federal facilities in an 
effort to strengthen federal facility security. The bill 
ensures requisite privacy protections are in place and requires 
GSA to report the results of the study to Congress within two 
years of enactment.

              II. BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR THE LEGISLATION

    Federal real property management, including federal 
facility security, has been on the Government Accountability 
Office (GAO) High-Risk List since 2003 as one of the top 
government activities for which GAO recommends changes to 
reduce risks.\1\ GSA, which leases space for many agencies in 
the federal government, and DHS's FPS share the responsibility 
of protecting federal facilities owned or leased by GSA. High-
security facilities present an increased level of security risk 
and are more vulnerable to threats from foreign entities 
compared to other facilities, because these office spaces are 
typically used for sensitive or classified government 
operations.\2\ GSA has stated that there are approximately 
1,300 high-security facilities leased by the federal 
government, and more than 60% of those leases are set to expire 
by the end of 2024.\3\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\Government Accountability Office, High-Risk Series: Efforts Made 
to Achieve Progress Need to Be Maintained and Expanded to Fully Address 
All Areas (GAO-23-106203).
    \2\Government Accountability Office, Federal Real Property: GSA 
Should Inform Tenant Agencies When Leasing High-Security Space from 
Foreign Owners (GAO-17-195).
    \3\S. Rept. 116-92.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The Homeland Security Act of 2002 grants GSA the authority 
to protect federal facilities excluding certain functions 
delegated to DHS.\4\ Within this framework, FPS holds the 
primary responsibility for securing and protecting buildings 
and their occupants, whereas GSA holds the primary 
responsibility for security fixtures, maintenance, and building 
access. The facility security levels are determined through 
consultation between FPS and the federal agencies, in 
coordination with GSA.\5\ The Interagency Security Committee 
established the standards for these levels, which range from 
Level I (indicating the lowest risk) to Level V (indicating the 
highest risk). FPS conducts security assessments of federal 
facilities to identify and evaluate potential risks so that it 
can recommend security measures based on these established 
standards.\6\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \4\Homeland Security Act of 2002, Pub. L. 107-296, Sec. 422(a) 
(2002).
    \5\Federal Real Property: GSA Should Inform Tenant Agencies When 
Leasing High-Security Space from Foreign Owners, supra note 2.
    \6\ U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Cybersecurity and 
Infrastructure Security Agency, The Risk Management Process: An 
Interagency Security Committee Standard (2021) (https://www.cisa.gov/
sites/default/files/publications/The%20Risk%20Management%20Process%20-
%202021%20Edition_1.pdf).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    A GAO report published in 2017 stated that foreign-owned 
property located near federal facilities may pose security 
risks, citing the Department of Defense (DOD), a federal agency 
with leasing authority, and its concerns about foreign entities 
conducting business in close proximity to its test and training 
ranges.\7\ The GAO report found that such foreign encroachment 
could provide opportunities for surveillance of DOD's sensitive 
test and training activities.\8\ In general, the presence of 
foreign-owned or occupied properties nearby could compromise 
the security and confidentiality of federal agency operations 
by enabling espionage or unauthorized access.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \7\Federal Real Property: GSA Should Inform Tenant Agencies When 
Leasing High-Security Space from Foreign Owners, supra note 2.
    \8\Government Accountability Office, Defense Infrastructure: Risk 
Assessment Needed to Identify If Foreign Encroachment Threatens Test 
and Training Ranges (GAO-15-149).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The Secure Federal LEASEs Act (P.L. 116-276) was enacted in 
the 116th Congress. The purpose of the bill was to provide 
ownership information to federal tenants leasing high-security 
space that would allow the tenants to mitigate potential 
national security risks.\9\ The Secure Federal LEASEs Act may 
have addressed security concerns regarding the building itself. 
However, security risks persist since there is currently no 
government-wide guidance for agencies to collect ownership and 
assess occupancy of space adjacent to high-security leased 
space. For that reason, this bill would require GSA to 
coordinate an interagency working group with OMB, DHS, FPS, and 
any other relevant entity to establish a process for assessing 
the security of space adjacent to high-security leased offices. 
The process could be used to protect federal government 
facilities against threats such as espionage, cyberattacks, or 
unauthorized access.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \9\Secure Federal LEASEs Act, Pub. L. 116-276 (2020).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

                        III. LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

    Senator Gary Peters (D-MI) introduced S. 1868, the Secure 
Adjacent Federal Property Act of 2023, on June 7, 2023 with 
original cosponsor Senator Rick Scott (R-FL). The bill was 
referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
Affairs.
    The Committee considered S. 1868 at a business meeting on 
June 14, 2023. At the business meeting, Senator Peters offered 
a substitute amendment to the bill, as well as a modification 
to that amendment. The Peters amendment, as modified, corrected 
for a missing word and modified several definitions in the bill 
to provide consistency with other statutes and regulations. It 
also included language to ensure requisite privacy protections 
are in place and to require that no additional funds be used to 
carry out the bill. The Committee adopted the modification to 
the Peters substitute amendment and the Peters substitute 
amendment, as modified, by unanimous consent, with Senators 
Peters, Hassan, Sinema, Rosen, Padilla, Ossoff, Paul, Lankford, 
Romney, Scott, and Hawley present. The bill, as amended by the 
Peters substitute amendment as modified, was ordered reported 
favorably by roll call vote of 10 yeas to 1 nay, with Senators 
Peters, Hassan, Sinema, Rosen, Padilla, Ossoff, Lankford, 
Romney, Scott, and Hawley voting in the affirmative, and 
Senator Paul voting in the negative. Senators Carper, 
Blumenthal, Johnson, and Marshall voted yea by proxy, for the 
record only.

        IV. SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS OF THE BILL, AS REPORTED

Section 1. Short title

    This section establishes the short title of the bill as the 
``Secure Adjacent Federal Property Act of 2023.''

Section 2. Definitions

    This section provides definitions for ``administrator,'' 
``beneficial owner,'' ``control,'' ``covered entity,'' 
``executive agency,'' ``federal agency,'' ``federal lessee,'' 
``federal tenant,'' ``foreign entity,'' ``foreign person,'' 
``high-security leased adjacent space,'' ``high-security leased 
space,'' ``highest-level owner,'' ``immediate owner,'' 
``intelligence community,'' ``substantial economic benefits,'' 
and ``United States person.''

Section 3. Government-wide study

    Subsection (a) requires GSA, in coordination with FPS, DHS, 
OMB, and other relevant entities, to carry out a government-
wide study to assist agencies in producing a security 
assessment process for high-security leased adjacent space, to 
be used before agencies enter into lease agreements to 
accommodate federal tenants located in high-security leased 
space.
    Subsection (b) outlines the contents of the study, which 
includes evaluating the process for assessing the threat level 
of each occupancy of a high-security leased adjacent space 
through site-visits, interviews, and other relevant activities. 
It may also include a process for collecting and using 
information on each immediate owner, highest-level owner, or 
beneficial owner seeking to lease a high-security leased 
adjacent space.
    Subsection (c) establishes a working group within 90 days 
of the bill's enactment to assist in carrying out the study, 
consisting of members from relevant entities. A member must not 
receive compensation as a result of serving on the working 
group. The working group will terminate upon submission of the 
required report.
    Subsection (d) ensures that any information collected 
pursuant to the study is not made available to the public.
    Subsection (e) clarifies that entities located in the 
United States are not required to provide information requested 
pursuant to the study.
    Subsection (f) requires GSA to submit a report to Congress 
within two years of the bill's enactment, detailing the results 
of the study and how privacy laws and rights relating to the 
First and Fourth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution would be 
upheld in the security assessment process and information 
collection process.
    Subsection (g) states that the bill does not authorize a 
federal entity to mandate information gathering unless 
specifically authorized by law.
    Subsection (h) prohibits the use of information collected 
through the security assessment process for law enforcement 
purposes.
    Subsection (i) specifies that no additional funds are 
authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section.

                   V. EVALUATION OF REGULATORY IMPACT

    Pursuant to the requirements of paragraph 11(b) of rule 
XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee has 
considered the regulatory impact of this bill and determined 
that the bill will have no regulatory impact within the meaning 
of the rules. The Committee agrees with the Congressional 
Budget Office's statement that the bill contains no 
intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the 
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) and would impose no costs 
on state, local, or tribal governments.

             VI. CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST ESTIMATE



    S. 1868 would direct the General Services Administration 
(GSA) to create an interagency working group to assess and, 
within two years of enactment, report on the security of spaces 
that are adjacent to high-security areas to be leased by the 
federal government.
    GSA reports that it manages more than 8,000 leases and CBO 
expects that roughly 1,000 would be for spaces with high-
security requirements that would need to be assessed, but we 
have no comprehensive information about such leases. On that 
basis, and the cost of similar reports, CBO estimates that the 
assessment and report would cost $1 million over the 2023-2028 
period, primarily for staff cost. Any spending would be subject 
to the availability of appropriated funds.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Matthew 
Pickford. The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, 
Deputy Director and Budget Analysis.
                                         Phillip L. Swagel,
                             Director, Congressional Budget Office.

       VII. CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED

    This legislation would make no change in existing law, 
within the meaning of clauses (a) and (b) of subparagraph 12 of 
rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate, because this 
legislation would not repeal or amend any provision of current 
law.

                                  [all]