S.Amdt. 616

SA 616. Mr. SASSE submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by
him to the bill S. 1790, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year
2020 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 C of title II, add the following:

SEC. ___. PRECLUDING FOREIGN NATIONALS THAT POSE A NATIONAL
SECURITY RISK FROM WORKING ON DEPARTMENT OF
DEFENSE-FUNDED PROJECTS.

(a) Prohibition.--Subject to subsection (d), the Secretary
of Defense may not provide any funding to any institution of
higher education or any other entity to conduct any research
or development project unless the Secretary has completed an
assessment of the institution or entity under subsection (b)
and determined that the institution or entity meets the
requirements set forth under subsection (c).
(b) Assessment.--The Secretary of Defense, in coordination
with the Secretary of Energy, the Secretary of State, and the
Director of National Intelligence, shall assess each
institution of higher education and any other entity that
receives funding from the Department of Defense for a
research or development project to determine whether the
institution or entity meets the requirements set forth under
subsection (c).
(c) Requirements.--The requirements set forth under this
subsection are, with respect to any institutions, entities,
and projects described in subsection (a), the following:
(1)(A) Any foreign national working on such a project does
not have ties to a foreign government, military, or
intelligence agency, either officially or unofficially
through sponsorship or coercion, that would put a United
States national security interest at unnecessary risk; or
(B)(i) a foreign national working on such a project is
known to have such a tie and the foreign national has been
thoroughly vetted by either the National Counterintelligence
and Security Center, the Counterintelligence Division at the
Defense Intelligence Agency, or the appropriate Department of
Defense entity in charge of investigating counterintelligence
concerns to ensure that the foreign national's participation
does not result in sensitive intellectual property,
technologies, or research projects being known to a
government that could use it against the interests of the
United States or its allies; and
(ii) the National Counterintelligence and Security Center,
the Counterintelligence Division at the Defense Intelligence
Agency, or appropriate Department of Defense entity has
verified that the appropriate information security measures
have been taken to limit unnecessary risk to United States
national security.
(2) The institution or entity has appropriate processes and
procedures in effect to identify and vet a foreign national
working on such project.
(3) The institution or entity has consulted with either the
National Counterintelligence and Security Center, the
Counterintelligence Division at the Defense Intelligence
Agency, or the appropriate Department of Defense entity in
charge of investigating counterintelligence concerns to
establish and implement appropriate information security and
counterintelligence best practices, including educating
researchers to guard against a foreign threat to a critical
technology.
(d) Waiver.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary of Defense may waive the
prohibition in subsection (a) for an institution of higher
education or another entity if the Secretary--
(A) determines the waiver is in the national security
interest of the United States; and
(B) not later than 30 days after the date on which the
Secretary makes a determination under subparagraph (A),
submits to the appropriate committees of Congress a report on
such determination and the reasons for the determination,
including any countries to which the determination applies.
(2) Form of report.--A report submitted under paragraph
(1)(B) shall be submitted in an unclassified form, but may
contain a classified annex.
(3) Standing exemptions.--The Secretary, in consultation
with the Director of National Intelligence, may create a
standing exemption to the prohibition in subsection (a) for
foreign nationals that are citizens of Great Britain, Canada,
Australia, and New Zealand.
(e) Definition of Appropriate Committees of Congress.--In
this section, the term ``appropriate committees of Congress''
means--
(1) the congressional defense committees;
(2) the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, the
Committee on Foreign Relations, and the Select Committee on
Intelligence of the Senate; and
(3) the Committee on Energy and Commerce, the Committee on
Foreign Affairs, and the Permanent Select Committee on
Intelligence of the House of Representatives.
______