S.Amdt. 4547

SA 4547. Mr. WHITEHOUSE submitted an amendment intended to be
proposed to amendment SA 3867 submitted by Mr. Reed and intended to be
proposed to the bill H.R. 4350, to authorize appropriations for fiscal
year 2022 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 appropriate place in title X, insert the following:

SEC. 10__. ADMISSION OF ESSENTIAL SCIENTISTS AND TECHNICAL
EXPERTS TO PROMOTE AND PROTECT NATIONAL
SECURITY INNOVATION BASE.

(a) Special Immigrant Status.--In accordance with the
procedures established under subsection (f)(1), and subject
to the numerical limitations under subsection (c)(1), the
Secretary of Homeland Security may provide an alien described
in subsection (b) (and the spouse and children of the alien
if accompanying or following to join the alien) with the
status of a special immigrant under section 101(a)(27) of the
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(27)), if
the alien--
(1) submits a classification petition under section
204(a)(1)(G)(i) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1154(a)(1)(G)(i)); and
(2) is otherwise eligible to receive an immigrant visa and
is otherwise admissible to the United States for permanent
residence.
(b) Aliens Described.--An alien is described in this
subsection if--
(1) the alien--
(A) is employed by a United States employer and engaged in
work to promote and protect the National Security Innovation
Base;
(B) is engaged in basic or applied research, funded by the
Department of Defense, through a United States institution of
higher education (as defined in section 101 of the Higher
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001)); or
(C) possesses scientific or technical expertise that will
advance the development of critical technologies identified
in the National Defense Strategy or the National Defense
Science and Technology Strategy, required by section 218 of
the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for
Fiscal Year 2019 (Public Law 115-232; 132 Stat. 1679); and
(2) the Secretary of Defense issues a written statement to
the Secretary of Homeland Security confirming that the
admission of the alien is essential to advancing the
research, development, testing, or evaluation of critical
technologies described in paragraph (1)(C) or otherwise
serves national security interests.
(c) Numerical Limitations.--
(1) In general.--The total number of principal aliens who
may be provided special immigrant status under this section
may not exceed--
(A) 10 in each of fiscal years 2022 through 2030; and
(B) 100 in fiscal year 2031 and each fiscal year
thereafter.
(2) Exclusion from numerical limitation.--Aliens provided
special immigrant status under this section shall not be
counted against the numerical limitations under sections
201(d), 202(a), and 203(b)(4) of the Immigration and
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1151(d), 1152(a), and 1153(b)(4)).
(d) Defense Competition for Scientists and Technical
Experts.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall develop
and implement a process to select, on a competitive basis
from among individuals described in subsection (b),
individuals for recommendation to the Secretary of Homeland
Security for special immigrant status under subsection (a).
(e) Authorities.--In carrying out this section, the
Secretary of Defense shall authorize appropriate personnel of
the Department of Defense to use all personnel and management
authorities available to the Department, including--
(1) the personnel and management authorities provided to
the science and technology reinvention laboratories;
(2) the Major Range and Test Facility Base (as defined in
196(i) of title 10, United States Code); and
(3) the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.
(f) Procedures.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security
and Secretary of Defense shall jointly establish policies and
procedures implementing this section, which shall include
procedures for--
(1) processing of petitions for classification submitted
under subsection (a)(1) and applications for an immigrant
visa or adjustment of status, as applicable; and
(2) thorough processing of any required security
clearances.
(g) Fees.--The Secretary of Homeland Security shall
establish a fee--
(1) to be charged and collected to process an application
filed under this section; and

[[Page S8053]]

(2) that is set at a level that will ensure recovery of the
full costs of such processing and any additional costs
associated with the administration of the fees collected.
(h) Implementation Report Required.--Not later than 180
days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the
Secretary of Homeland Security and Secretary of Defense shall
jointly submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a
report that includes--
(1) a plan for implementing the authorities provided under
this section; and
(2) identification of any additional authorities that may
be required to assist the Secretaries in fully implementing
this section.
(i) Program Evaluation and Report.--
(1) Evaluation.--The Comptroller General of the United
States shall conduct an evaluation of the competitive program
and special immigrant program described in subsections (a)
through (g).
(2) Report.--Not later than October 1, 2026, the
Comptroller General shall submit to the appropriate
committees of Congress a report on the results of the
evaluation conducted under paragraph (1).
(j) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Appropriate committees of congress.--The term
``appropriate committees of Congress'' means--
(A) the Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on
the Judiciary of the Senate; and
(B) the Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on
the Judiciary of the House of Representatives.
(2) National security innovation base.--The term ``National
Security Innovation Base'' means the network of persons and
organizations, including Federal agencies, institutions of
higher education, federally funded research and development
centers, defense industrial base entities, nonprofit
organizations, commercial entities, and venture capital firms
that are engaged in the military and nonmilitary research,
development, funding, and production of innovative
technologies that support the national security of the United
States.
______