S.Amdt. 2960

SA 2960. 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 appropriate place in title XII, insert the
following:

SEC. __. REPORT ON STAFFING AND FACILITIES OF THE UNITED
STATES MISSION TO AUSTRALIA.

(a) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) Australia is one of the closest allies of the United
States and is integral to the national security interests of
the United States in the Indo-Pacific;
(2) the United States-Australia alliance has seen
tremendous growth, including through the AUKUS partnership,
as part of which the United States plans to rotate up to four
Virginia-class attack submarines out of the Australian port
of Perth by 2027; and
(3) staffing and facilities across the United States
Mission to Australia do not seem adequately resourced to
support an expanding mission set and are no longer
commensurate with strategic developments, as the United
States will need to station many more Americans, civilians
and military, in western Australia to support the maintenance
and supply of those submarines.
(b) Report.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 90 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall
submit to the Committee on Foreign Relations and the
Committee on Appropriations of the Senate and the Committee
on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on Appropriations of the
House of Representatives a report on staffing and facility
requirements for the United States Mission to Australia.
(2) Contents.--The report required by paragraph (1) shall
include the following:

[[Page S4511]]

(A) An assessment of how many Americans, including United
States Government personnel (including members of the United
States Armed Forces) and their family members and dependents,
the Department of State expects in the Perth area and across
Australia during the two-year period beginning on the date on
which the report is submitted.
(B) An assessment of requirements for those Americans,
including with respect to housing, schooling, and office
space.
(C) A description of how many staff are employed at the
United States Consulate in Perth and the roles of such staff.
(D) Information regarding any discussions or decisions at
the Department of State about transferring staff from
elsewhere within the United States Mission to Australia to
increase staffing in Perth and the tradeoffs of such
personnel transfers.
(E) A status update on the interagency process that began
in 2024 to assess the needs of the United States Mission to
Australia.
(F) An assessment of the impact the Department of State
reorganization and workforce reduction is having on the
staffing contemplated by that process.
(G) An estimate of--
(i) the total cost of expanding staffing in Perth to
sufficiently serve the increased presence of United States
citizens in the area and to achieve any other foreign policy
objectives of the United States;
(ii) the costs of such expansion that are expected to be
covered by the Department of State; and
(iii) the costs of such expansion that are expected to be
covered by the United States Indo-Pacific Command or any
other United States Government department or agency.
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