S.Amdt. 2950

SA 2950. Mr. SCHATZ submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by
him to the bill S. 2296, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year
2026 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 E of title XII, add the following:

SEC. 1265. REPORT ANALYZING THE FEASIBILITY OF ATTACHING
CONSULAR OFFICERS TO COAST GUARD AND NAVY
MISSIONS IN PACIFIC ISLAND COUNTRIES.

(a) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) Pacific Island countries, particularly the Freely
Associated States, include close United States partners that
are spread across highly strategic waters that are critical
to the national security interests of the United States;
(2) it is in the national security interests of the United
States to maintain and strengthen relations with the
governments and citizens of Pacific Island countries; and
(3) many citizens of Pacific Island countries face
difficulties in accessing United States consular services due
to--
(A) the remote locations of the islands comprising such
countries, only a few of which host United States embassies;
and
(B) infrequent flights to islands with United States
embassies, which makes applying for a United States visa and
other consular procedures difficult, expensive, and time
consuming.
(b) Defined Term.--In this section, the term ``appropriate
committees of Congress'' means--
(1) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate;
(2) the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate;
(3) the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate;
(4) the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
of the Senate;
(5) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of
Representatives;
(6) the Committee on Appropriations of the House of
Representatives;
(7) the Committee on Armed Services of the House of
Representatives; and
(8) the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of
Representatives.
(c) Report.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 120 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense, in
coordination with the Commandant of the United States Coast
Guard, the Commander of United States Indo-Pacific Command,
and the Chief of Naval Operations, shall submit a report to
the appropriate committees of Congress that analyzes the
feasibility of attaching Department of State consular
officers to Coast Guard and Navy missions in Pacific Island
countries.
(2) Elements.--The report required under paragraph (1)
shall include--
(A) an assessment of--
(i) the current demand for consular services from citizens
of Pacific Island countries;
(ii) the challenges such citizens face in obtaining
consular services;
(B) an assessment of the approximate time and resources
citizens of Pacific Island countries that do not host United
States embassies would save by having their United States
visas adjudicated or receiving other consular services
through the initiative described in paragraph (1);
(C) an assessment of the cost that would be incurred by the
Department of State, the United States Coast Guard, the
United States Indo-Pacific Command, and the United States
Navy through the implementation of such initiative, including
potential alternative cost-effective options and
recommendations for providing efficient consular services to
Pacific Island countries;
(D) an assessment of the frequency and duration of United
States Coast Guard and United States Navy deployments to
Pacific Island countries, including--
(i) deployment frequency measured against the desired
number of visits;
(ii) the amount of time typically spent in port for such
visits; and
(iii) disruption to planned Coast Guard and Navy missions
in order to visit locations needing consular assistance; and
(E) an evaluation of the logistical issues needing to be
addressed to implement the initiative, including--
(i) analyzing spacing requirements to host Department of
State personnel and equipment aboard Coast Guard and Navy
vessels;
(ii) analyzing the information technology and connectivity
requirements to conduct consular affairs activities;
(iii) the feasibility of printing visas aboard Coast Guard
and Navy vessels or alternatives to such printing, including
remote printing and mailing of passports with visas;
(iv) maintaining the physical security of consular officers
and relevant adjudication equipment, including computer
systems and visa foils, during such missions;
(v) the impacts to Coast Guard and Navy vessels' operations
and security; and
(vi) the estimated time consular officers would spend on
board Coast Guard and Navy vessels between visits to Pacific
Island countries.
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