Accountability Review Board Reform Act of 2013 - Expresses the sense of Congress that the effectiveness of Accountability Review Boards would be improved by increasing their independence from the Department of State.
Amends the Omnibus Diplomatic Security and Antiterrorism Act regarding congressional notification of an Accountability Review Board's convening to include: (1) notification of the Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs; and (2) disclosure of any individual employed at a grade not lower than FS-3 or GS-14 or any political appointee who is hired, assigned, or detailed to assist the Board.
Revises the appointment of the five Board members to provide that two members shall be appointed by the Secretary, two by the Chairperson of the Council of Inspectors General of Integrity and Efficiency, and one by the Director of National Intelligence.
States that to the maximum extent practicable individuals assisting a Board shall be employees of the Department's Office of the Inspector General.
Prohibits an individual who has a personal or professional relationship with someone expected to be investigated from serving as a Board member or staffer. Defines "conflict of interest" for such purposes.
Authorizes a Board to accept any evidence determined by a Board member to be relevant and material to an investigation. States that the Federal Rules of Evidence shall not apply to the Board.
Requires that a Board report and related recommendations be submitted to Congress, in addition to the Secretary.
[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1768 Introduced in House (IH)]
113th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1768
To amend the Diplomatic Security Act to require certain notifications
to Congress of Accountability Review Boards of the Department of State,
avoid conflicts of interest of the members of such Boards, require
actions with respect to reports from such Boards, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 26, 2013
Mr. Royce (for himself, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen, Mr. Chabot, Mr. McCaul, Mr.
Poe of Texas, Mr. Salmon, Mr. Kinzinger of Illinois, Mr. Cotton, Mr.
Holding, Mr. Weber of Texas, Mr. Perry, Mr. DeSantis, Mr. Radel, Mr.
Collins of Georgia, Mr. Meadows, Mr. Messer, and Mr. Grimm) introduced
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign
Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Diplomatic Security Act to require certain notifications
to Congress of Accountability Review Boards of the Department of State,
avoid conflicts of interest of the members of such Boards, require
actions with respect to reports from such Boards, 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 ``Accountability Review Board Reform
Act of 2013''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
(1) The United States has a crucial stake in supporting the
presence abroad of United States Government personnel
representing United States interests.
(2) United States Government personnel and missions abroad
are confronted by serious security risks, including the threat
of terrorism, which will continue for the foreseeable future.
(3) The Accountability Review Board process was established
in 1986 by Congress to conduct a thorough assessment of
security-related incidents at or related to a United States
Government mission abroad.
(4) Each assessment by a Board is expected to promote
strengthened security measures, and to provide for the
accountability of United States Government personnel with
security-related responsibilities.
(5) The terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya, on September
11, 2012, that took the lives of four United States Government
personnel has brought unprecedented attention to the work of
such Boards.
(b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that the
effectiveness of Accountability Review Boards would be improved by
reconstituting such Boards to increase their independence from the
Department of State.
SEC. 3. NOTIFICATION TO CONGRESS ABOUT CERTAIN INFORMATION RELATING TO
ACCOUNTABILITY REVIEW BOARDS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE.
Subsection (c) of section 301 of the Omnibus Diplomatic Security
and Antiterrorism Act (22 U.S.C. 4831) is amended--
(1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by inserting ``,
the Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House
of Representatives,'' after ``the Committee on Foreign
Relations of the Senate''; and
(2) in paragraph (2), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(3) by redesignating paragraph (3) as paragraph (5); and
(4) by inserting after paragraph (2) the following new
paragraphs:
``(3) of any individual who is employed at a grade of not
lower than the level of FS-3 or GS-14 who is hired, assigned,
or detailed to assist the Board to carry out its duties;
``(4) of any political appointee who is hired, assigned, or
detailed to assist the Board to carry out its duties; and''.
SEC. 4. ACCOUNTABILITY REVIEW BOARDS.
(a) Membership.--Subsection (a) of section 302 of the Omnibus
Diplomatic Security and Antiterrorism Act (22 U.S.C. 4832) is amended--
(1) by striking the first sentence and inserting the
following new sentence: ``A Board shall consist of five
members, two appointed by the Secretary of State, two appointed
by the Chairperson of the Council of Inspectors General on
Integrity and Efficiency (the CIGIE Chairperson), and one
appointed by the Director of National Intelligence.''; and
(2) by striking the final two sentences and inserting the
following new sentences: ``Members of a Board who are not
Federal officers or employees shall each be paid at a rate not
to exceed the maximum rate of basic pay payable for level IV of
the Executive Schedule under section 5317 of title 5, United
States Code, for each day (including travel time) during which
such members are engaged in the actual performance of duties
vested in such Board. Members of the Board who are Federal
officers or employees shall receive no additional pay by reason
of such membership. Only in exceptional circumstances may a
member of a Board be a current Federal officer or employee.''.
(b) Staff.--Paragraph (2) of subsection (b) of section 302 of the
Omnibus Diplomatic Security and Antiterrorism Act is amended to read as
follows:
``(2) Staff.--
``(A) In general.--A Board may hire staff to assist
the Board, and may have any Federal Government employee
assigned or detailed to such Board, with or without
reimbursement, to assist such Board. Any such assignee
or detailee shall retain without interruption the
rights, status, and privileges of his or her regular
employment.
``(B) Special rule.--Any individual who is hired,
assigned, or detailed to assist a Board under
subparagraph (A) shall be subject to the rule relating
to the avoidance of conflicts of interest under
subsection (a) in the same manner and to the same
extent as a Member of such a Board is subject to such
avoidance under such subsection.
``(C) Office of the inspector general.--To the
maximum extent practicable, individuals assisting the
Board shall be employees of the Office of the Inspector
General of the Department of State.''.
(c) Conflicts of Interest.--Section 302 of the Omnibus Diplomatic
Security and Antiterrorism Act is amended by adding at the end the
following new subsections:
``(c) Avoidance of Conflicts of Interest.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary of State, the CIGIE
Chairperson, and the Director of National Intelligence may not
appoint any individual as a member of a Board if the Secretary,
the CIGIE Chairperson, or the Director, as the case may be,
determines that such individual has a conflict of interest
concerning a person whose performance such Board reasonably
could be expected to review.
``(2) Declining appointment.--An individual shall decline
appointment to membership on a Board if such individual has
actual knowledge of a conflict of interest concerning a person
whose performance such Board could reasonably be expected to
review.
``(3) Recusal from particular activities.--A member of a
Board shall recuse him or herself from any Board activity,
interview, deposition, or recommendation concerning a person
with whom such member has a conflict of interest. Such member
shall promptly notify the other members of such Board of any
such recusal, but need not state the basis therefor.
``(d) Conflict of Interest Defined.--In this section, the term
`conflict of interest' means one of the following relationships,
whether current or former, that would cause a reasonable person with
knowledge of the relevant facts to question the impartiality of the
parties to such relationship toward each other:
``(1) A business, contractual, or other financial
relationship that involves other than a routine consumer
transaction.
``(2) A familial, member of household, or other close
personal relationship, including a social relationship of a
romantic or intimate nature.
``(3) A direct managerial or supervisory workplace
relationship.''.
SEC. 5. EVIDENCE.
Subsection (a) of section 303 of the Omnibus Diplomatic Security
and Antiterrorism Act (22 U.S.C. 4833) is amended by adding at the end
the following new paragraph:
``(4) Determination of relevancy.--The Board may accept any
evidence determined by a member of the Board to be relevant and
material to an investigation or inquiry of the Board. The
Federal Rules of Evidence are not applicable to the Board.''.
SEC. 6. BOARD ACTIONS.
(a) Program Recommendations.--Subsection (b) of section 304 of the
Omnibus Diplomatic Security and Antiterrorism Act (22 U.S.C. 4834) is
amended to read as follows:
``(b) Program Recommendations.--
``(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), not
later than 90 days after a Board is convened in a case, such
Board shall submit to the Secretary of State and Congress its
findings (which may be classified to the extent determined
necessary by the Board), together with recommendations as
appropriate to improve the security and efficiency of any
program or operation which such Board has reviewed.
``(2) Extension.--The 90 day period referred to in
paragraph (1) may be extended for up to 60 days if the
Chairperson of the Board referred to in such paragraph
determines that such additional time is necessary to complete a
thorough review of the program or operation at issue.
``(3) Dissenting views.--If a member dissents from any of
the findings or recommendations of the Board, such member may
submit dissenting views to accompany the submission of the
Board's findings and recommendations under paragraph (1).''.
(b) Reports.--Paragraph (1) of subsection (d) of section 304 of the
Omnibus Diplomatic Security and Antiterrorism Act is amended to read as
follows:
``(1) Program recommendations.--Not later than 90 days
after the submission to the Secretary of State of the findings
and recommendations from any Board in accordance with
subsection (b), the Secretary shall submit to Congress a
corresponding report on the action taken with respect to each
such recommendation.''.
SEC. 7. REGULATIONS.
The Secretary of State shall promulgate or update regulations, as
the case may be, to carry out the amendments made by this Act.
SEC. 8. EFFECTIVE DATE.
The amendments made by this Act shall apply with respect to any
case of an Accountability Review Board that is convened under section
301 of the Omnibus Diplomatic Security and Antiterrorism Act (22 U.S.C.
4831) on or after the date of the enactment of this Act.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
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