Secure United States Bases Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 3409 To modify the conditions and terms of all foreign military training programs operated within the United States by the Department of Defense and the Department of State. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MARCH 5, 2020 Mr. SCOTT of Florida (for himself and Ms. ERNST) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To modify the conditions and terms of all foreign military training programs operated within the United States by the Department of Defense and the Department of State. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Secure United States 4 Bases Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. NEW VISA CATEGORY. 6 Section 101(a)(15) of the Immigration and Nation- 7 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)) is amended— 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:51 Mar 11, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3409.IS S3409 dlhill on DSKBBY8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 3409 IS (1) in subparagraph (T)(ii)(III), by striking the 1 period at the end and inserting a semicolon; 2 (2) in subparagraph (U)(iii), by striking ‘‘or’’ 3 at the end; 4 (3) in subparagraph (V)(ii)(II), by striking the 5 period at the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 6 (4) by adding at the end the following: 7 ‘‘(W) subject to section 214(s), an alien who 8 has been accepted into a United States Government 9 military training program in the United States.’’. 10 SEC. 3. APPLICATION, VETTING, AND MONITORING RE- 11 QUIREMENTS FOR MILITARY TRAINING NON- 12 IMMIGRANTS. 13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 214 of the Immigration 14 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1184) is amended by add- 15 ing at the end the following: 16 ‘‘(s) MILITARY TRAINING VISA.— 17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A nonimmigrant visa may 18 only be issued to an alien described in section 19 101(a)(15)(W) in accordance with this subsection. 20 ‘‘(2) APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS AND VET- 21 TING PROCEDURES.— 22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 23 days before an alien described in section 24 101(a)(15)(W) intends to travel to the United 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:51 Mar 11, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3409.IS S3409 dlhill on DSKBBY8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 3409 IS States to commence a military training program 1 operated by the Department of Defense or the 2 Department of State, including the Inter- 3 national Military Education and Training Pro- 4 gram, the alien shall— 5 ‘‘(i) submit an application to the 6 United States embassy or United States 7 consulate in his or her country of nation- 8 ality that includes— 9 ‘‘(I) an official endorsement let- 10 ter that has been signed by the Intel- 11 ligence Chief of the government of 12 such country; and 13 ‘‘(II) his or her permanent phys- 14 ical address in such country; 15 ‘‘(ii) have his or her fingerprints and 16 other appropriate biometric information 17 collected and recorded by an authorized 18 United States official or designee; 19 ‘‘(iii) participate in an in-person inter- 20 view at a United States embassy or con- 21 sulate; and 22 ‘‘(iv) successfully pass a background 23 check that includes— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:51 Mar 11, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3409.IS S3409 dlhill on DSKBBY8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 3409 IS ‘‘(I) a search of all available 1 United States and international ter- 2 rorist screening databases; 3 ‘‘(II) a review of the foreign na- 4 tional’s social media accounts to iden- 5 tify any connections to persons or 6 groups that are hostile to or have 7 threatened the United States; and 8 ‘‘(III) a review of the foreign na- 9 tional’s family members and any 10 known associates to identify any con- 11 nections to persons or groups that are 12 hostile to or have threatened the 13 United States, including the social 14 media accounts of such family mem- 15 bers and associates. 16 ‘‘(B) VETTING OVERSIGHT.— 17 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The vetting proce- 18 dures described in subparagraph (A) shall 19 be overseen by representatives of the Di- 20 rector of National Intelligence, in consulta- 21 tion with appropriate representatives of the 22 Department of Defense, the Department of 23 State, the Department of Homeland Secu- 24 rity, and the Department of Justice. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:51 Mar 11, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3409.IS S3409 dlhill on DSKBBY8HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 3409 IS ‘‘(ii) FINAL DECISION.—The Director 1 of National Intelligence shall make the 2 final decision whether to authorize an ap- 3 plicant who has completed the vetting pro- 4 cedures described in subparagraph (A) to 5 participate in a military training program 6 referred to in such subparagraph. No offi- 7 cial of the department responsible for im- 8 plementing the training program is author- 9 ized to make this decision. A final decision 10 may not rely solely upon the endorsement 11 of the alien’s government. 12 ‘‘(3) VISA ISSUANCE; TERMS.— 13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A visa may not be 14 issued under this subsection until after the Di- 15 rector of National Intelligence has made the 16 final vetting decision in accordance with para- 17 graph (2)(B)(ii). 18 ‘‘(B) RENEWAL.—Each visa issued under 19 this subsection shall be valid for a period of up 20 to 1 year, but may be renewed by submitting a 21 written certification from the Director of Na- 22 tional Intelligence that the alien remains eligi- 23 ble and qualified, pursuant to the consider- 24 ations guiding the final decision provided for in 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:51 Mar 11, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3409.IS S3409 dlhill on DSKBBY8HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 3409 IS paragraph (2)(B)(ii), to complete the military 1 training program to which he or she was ac- 2 cepted. 3 ‘‘(C) TERMS.—An alien to whom a visa is 4 issued under this subsection— 5 ‘‘(i) shall be prohibited from pos- 6 sessing, acquiring, or using firearms except 7 to the extent that such use is required to 8 participate in the alien’s military training 9 program; 10 ‘‘(ii) shall have his or her personally 11 identifying information included in the Na- 12 tional Instant Criminal Background Check 13 System to enforce the prohibition described 14 in clause (i); 15 ‘‘(iii) shall be subject to continuous 16 monitoring of— 17 ‘‘(I) his or her social media activ- 18 ity, personal associations, and travel; 19 and 20 ‘‘(II) to the fullest degree pos- 21 sible, the social media of his or her 22 family members and any known close 23 associates; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:51 Mar 11, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3409.IS S3409 dlhill on DSKBBY8HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 3409 IS ‘‘(iv) shall be subject to, and shall 1 comply with the authority of, the Com- 2 mander of the United States military in- 3 stallation at which he or she is stationed 4 for training, who shall be responsible for 5 the continual monitoring and control of the 6 alien; and 7 ‘‘(v) shall remain in good standing in 8 the military training program to which he 9 or she was accepted, as determined by at- 10 tendance, participation, and the perform- 11 ance metrics specific to such program. 12 ‘‘(4) REIMBURSEMENT FOR VETTING AND MON- 13 ITORING COSTS.—Costs incurred by the United 14 States Government that are directly associated with 15 the vetting procedures required under paragraph (2) 16 or the monitoring required under paragraph (3)(C) 17 shall be reimbursed by the government of the coun- 18 try of which the alien being vetted or monitored is 19 a national. The tuition payments charged by the De- 20 partment of Defense or the Department of State to 21 foreign countries for the education and training of 22 their nationals may be appropriately adjusted to ac- 23 count for such costs.’’. 24 (b) TRANSITION PERIOD.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:51 Mar 11, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3409.IS S3409 dlhill on DSKBBY8HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 3409 IS (1) IN GENERAL.—The admissions require- 1 ments described in section 214(s) of the Immigra- 2 tion and Nationality Act, as added by subsection (a), 3 including the requirement for military training visas 4 and the continuous monitoring of the visa holder’s 5 social media, personal associations, and travel, shall 6 be applied retroactively for all foreign military stu- 7 dents participating in a military training program in 8 the United States as of the date of the enactment 9 of this Act. All of the vetting procedures described 10 in section 214(s)(2) of such Act shall be completed 11 not later than 120 days after the date of the enact- 12 ment of this Act. 13 (2) EXCEPTION.—The retroactive admissions 14 requirements referred to in paragraph (1) shall not 15 apply to— 16 (A) aliens who are nationals of any country 17 that is a member of the North Atlantic Treaty 18 Organization; 19 (B) aliens who are nationals of Israel; or 20 (C) aliens who are receiving military train- 21 ing outside of the United States. 22 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:51 Mar 11, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3409.IS S3409 dlhill on DSKBBY8HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 3409 IS SEC. 4. DIFFERENTIATING MILITARY TRAINING PROGRAMS 1 BASED ON TYPOLOGY OF RISK. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—In determining who should be ac- 3 cepted in military training programs operated in the 4 United States by the Department of Defense, the Sec- 5 retary of Defense, in consultation with the Secretary of 6 State, shall develop a method for classifying the relative 7 risk, by country, of accepting foreign military personnel 8 into such programs. The risk level of an applicant’s coun- 9 try of nationality shall be considered by the Secretary 10 when making such determinations. 11 (b) POSITIVE RISK FACTORS.—In classifying coun- 12 tries based on relative risks under subsection (a), an appli- 13 cant shall be more likely to be accepted into a military 14 training program in the United States if the country of 15 his or her nationality— 16 (1) has a formal military alliance with the 17 United States; or 18 (2) has a long history of close cooperation with 19 the United States Armed Forces that— 20 (A) has created strong relationships of 21 trust; and 22 (B) has demonstrated its ability to vet 23 their own applicants for military training pro- 24 grams in the United States. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:51 Mar 11, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3409.IS S3409 dlhill on DSKBBY8HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 3409 IS (c) NEGATIVE RISK FACTORS.—In classifying coun- 1 tries based on relative risks under subsection (a), an appli- 2 cant shall be less likely to be accepted into a military 3 training program in the United States if— 4 (1) the country of his or her nationality— 5 (A) has not closely cooperated with the 6 United States Armed Forces; or 7 (B) has not demonstrated its ability to vet 8 their own applicants for military training pro- 9 grams in the United States procedures; or 10 (2) hosting applicants from the country of his 11 or her nationality has a high potential to put Amer- 12 ican communities and military families at risk. 13 (d) ALTERNATIVE MILITARY TRAINING PRO- 14 GRAMS.—If the Secretary of Defense determines, in ac- 15 cordance with this section, that applicants from specified 16 countries present too high of a risk for acceptance into 17 a military training program in the United States and 18 issued a military training visa under section 214(s) of the 19 Immigration and Nationality Act, as added by section 20 3(a), the Secretary of State shall provide, to the fullest 21 extent possible, an equivalent military training program 22 for such applicants in the country of the applicant’s na- 23 tionality or in a third country— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:51 Mar 11, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3409.IS S3409 dlhill on DSKBBY8HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 3409 IS (1) to provide such applicants with military 1 training, consistent with United States national in- 2 terests; and 3 (2) to build camaraderie between such appli- 4 cants and members of the United States Armed 5 Forces. 6 SEC. 5. REPORTING REQUIREMENT. 7 Not later than 2 years after the date of the enact- 8 ment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall provide 9 Congress with a briefing, report, or update regarding the 10 impact and effects of this Act, which shall address— 11 (1) the positive or negative effects on the Inter- 12 national Military Education and Training Program; 13 (2) any positive or negative impacts on the 14 training of foreign military students in line with na- 15 tional security priorities; 16 (3) the effectiveness of the vetting procedures 17 implemented in preventing harm to United States 18 military personnel or communities; 19 (4) how any of the negative impacts referred to 20 in paragraphs (1) and (2) have been mitigated; and 21 (5) a proposed plan to mitigate any ongoing 22 negative impacts to the vetting and training of for- 23 eign military students. 24 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:51 Mar 11, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S3409.IS S3409 dlhill on DSKBBY8HB2PROD with BILLS