[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6306 Referred in Senate (RFS)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 6306
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 20, 2024
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To direct the Secretary of State to avoid or minimize the acquisition
or lease of a consular or diplomatic post built or owned by an entity
owned or controlled by the Government of the People's Republic of
China, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Embassy Construction Integrity Act
of 2023''.
SEC. 2. RESTRICTIONS ON CONSULAR AND DIPLOMATIC POSTS BUILT OR OWNED BY
CERTAIN ENTITIES.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of State (in this section referred
to as the ``Secretary'') shall take such steps as may be necessary to
avoid or minimize--
(1) acquiring or leasing a covered building--
(A) with respect to which a covered entity
performed covered construction on or after January 1,
1949; or
(B) in which a covered entity has an ownership
interest; or
(2) entering into or renewing a contract or other agreement
with a covered entity to perform covered construction with
respect to a covered building.
(b) Notification of Inconsistent Action.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary shall notify the Committee
on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives and the
Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate--
(A) not later than 7 days before entering into an
acquisition, lease, or agreement after the date of
enactment of this Act that the Secretary is aware is
inconsistent with the restriction under subsection (a);
and
(B) not later than 7 days after becoming aware of
an acquisition, lease, or agreement occurring after the
date of enactment of this Act that is inconsistent with
the restriction under subsection (a).
(2) Determination of national security interest.--The
notification required under paragraph (1) shall also include,
to the extent applicable--
(A) a determination of whether the inconsistent
acquisition, lease, or agreement is in the national
security interest of the United States;
(B) an identification of the interest advanced by
such inconsistent action;
(C) a detailed explanation for such determination;
and
(D) any action the Secretary has taken or intends
to take to mitigate national security vulnerabilities
that may be posed by such inconsistent action.
(c) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Covered building.--The term ``covered building'' means
a building that is used or intended to be used by personnel, or
for a function, of a consular or diplomatic post located
outside of the United States.
(2) Covered construction.--The term ``covered
construction''--
(A) means any construction, development,
conversion, extension, alteration, repair, or
maintenance performed with respect to a building; and
(B) includes the installation or maintenance of
electrical, plumbing, heating, ventilation, air
conditioning, communication, fire protection, and
energy management systems with respect to such
building.
(3) Covered entity.--The term ``covered entity'' means an
entity with respect to which the Government of the People's
Republic of China, or an agent or instrumentality of the
Government of the People's Republic of China, directly or
indirectly, including through any contract, arrangement,
understanding, or relationship--
(A) owns or controls a significant percent of the
ownership interest; or
(B) otherwise exercises substantial control.
Passed the House of Representatives March 19, 2024.
Attest:
KEVIN F. MCCUMBER,
Clerk.