[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1869 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]
S.1869
One Hundred Sixteenth Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE SECOND SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Friday,
the third day of January, two thousand and twenty
An Act
To require the disclosure of ownership of high-security space leased to
accommodate a Federal agency, 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; FINDINGS.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Secure Federal
Leases from Espionage And Suspicious Entanglements Act'' or the
``Secure Federal LEASEs Act''.
(b) Findings.--Congress finds that--
(1) the Government Accountability Office has reported that the
Federal Government often leases high-security space from private
sector landlords;
(2) the General Services Administration collects highest- level
and immediate ownership information through the System for Award
Management, but it is not currently required to collect beneficial
ownership information and lacks an adequate system for doing so;
(3) the General Services Administration and Federal agencies
with leasing authority may not know if foreign owners have a stake
in the buildings leased by the agencies, either through foreign-
incorporated legal entities or through ownership in United States-
incorporated legal entities, even when the leased space is used for
classified operations or to store sensitive data; and
(4) according to a report of the Government Accountability
Office, dated January 2017, that examined the risks of foreign
ownership of Government-leased real estate, ``leasing space in
foreign-owned buildings could present security risks such as
espionage and unauthorized cyber and physical access''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Beneficial owner.--
(A) In general.--Except as provided in subparagraph (B),
the term ``beneficial owner'' means, with respect to a covered
entity, each natural person who, directly or indirectly,
through any contract, arrangement, understanding, relationship,
or otherwise--
(i) exercises control over the covered entity; or
(ii) has a substantial interest in or receives
substantial economic benefits from the assets of the
covered entity.
(B) Exceptions.--The term ``beneficial owner'' does not
include, with respect to a covered entity--
(i) a minor child;
(ii) a person acting as a nominee, intermediary,
custodian, or agent on behalf of another person;
(iii) a person acting solely as an employee of the
covered entity and whose control over or economic benefits
from the covered entity derives solely from the employment
status of the person;
(iv) a person whose only interest in the covered entity
is through a right of inheritance, unless the person also
meets the requirements of subparagraph (A); or
(v) a creditor of the covered entity, unless the
creditor also meets the requirements of subparagraph (A).
(C) Anti-abuse rule.--The exceptions under subparagraph (B)
shall not apply if used for the purpose of evading,
circumventing, or abusing the requirements of this Act.
(2) Control.--The term ``control'' means, with respect to a
covered entity--
(A) having the authority or ability to determine how a
covered entity is utilized; or
(B) having some decision-making power for the use of a
covered entity.
(3) Covered entity.--The term ``covered entity'' means--
(A) a person, corporation, company, business association,
partnership, society, trust, or any other nongovernmental
entity, organization, or group; or
(B) any governmental entity or instrumentality of a
government.
(4) Executive agency.--The term ``Executive agency'' has the
meaning given the term in section 105 of title 5, United States
Code.
(5) Federal agency.--The term ``Federal agency'' means any
Executive agency or any establishment in the legislative or
judicial branch of the Government.
(6) Federal lessee.--The term ``Federal lessee''--
(A) means the Administrator of General Services, the
Architect of the Capitol, or the head of any Federal agency,
other than the Department of Defense, that has independent
statutory leasing authority; and
(B) does not include the head of an element of the
intelligence community.
(7) Federal tenant.--The term ``Federal tenant''--
(A) means a Federal agency that is occupying or will occupy
a high-security leased space for which a lease agreement has
been secured on behalf of the Federal agency; and
(B) does not include an element of the intelligence
community.
(8) Foreign entity.--The term ``foreign entity'' means a
covered entity that is headquartered or incorporated in a country
that is not the United States.
(9) Foreign person.--The term ``foreign person'' means an
individual who is not a United States person.
(10) High-security leased space.--The term ``high-security
leased space'' means a space leased by a Federal lessee that--
(A) will be occupied by Federal employees for nonmilitary
activities; and
(B) has a facility security level of III, IV, or V, as
determined by the Federal tenant in consultation with the
Interagency Security Committee, the Department of Homeland
Security, and the General Services Administration.
(11) Highest-level owner.--The term ``highest-level owner''
means the entity that owns or controls an immediate owner of the
offeror of a lease, or that owns or controls 1 or more entities
that control an immediate owner of the offeror.
(12) Immediate owner.--The term ``immediate owner'' means an
entity, other than the offeror of a lease, that has direct control
of the offeror, including ownership or interlocking management,
identity of interests among family members, shared facilities and
equipment, and the common use of employees.
(13) Intelligence community.--The term ``intelligence
community'' has the meaning given the term in section 3 of the
National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3003).
(14) Substantial economic benefits.--The term ``substantial
economic benefits'' means, with respect to a natural person
described in paragraph (1)(A)(ii), having an entitlement to the
funds or assets of a covered entity that, as a practical matter,
enables the person, directly or indirectly, to control, manage, or
direct the covered entity.
(15) United states person.--The term ``United States person''
means an individual who--
(A) is a citizen of the United States; or
(B) is an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence
in the United States.
(16) Widely held.--The term ``widely held'' means a fund that
has not less than 100 natural persons as direct or indirect
investors.
SEC. 3. DISCLOSURE OF OWNERSHIP OF HIGH-SECURITY SPACE LEASED FOR
FEDERAL AGENCIES.
(a) Required Disclosures.--Before entering into a lease agreement
with a covered entity or approving a novation agreement with a covered
entity involving a change of ownership under a lease that will be used
for high-security leased space, a Federal lessee shall require the
covered entity to identify and disclose whether the immediate or
highest-level owner of the leased space, including an entity involved
in the financing thereof, is a foreign person or a foreign entity,
including the country associated with the ownership entity.
(b) Notification.--If a disclosure is made under subsection (a),
the Federal lessee shall notify the Federal tenant of the building or
other improvement that will be used for high-security space in writing,
and consult with the Federal tenant, regarding security concerns and
necessary mitigation measures, if any, prior to award of the lease or
approval of the novation agreement.
(c) Timing.--
(1) In general.--A Federal lessee shall require a covered
entity to provide the information described in subsection (a) when
first submitting a proposal in response to a solicitation for
offers issued by the Federal lessee.
(2) Updates.--A Federal lessee shall require a covered entity
to submit an update of the information described in subsection (a)
annually, beginning on the date that is 1 year after the date on
which the Federal tenant began occupancy, with information
including--
(A) the list of immediate or highest-level owners of the
covered entity during the preceding 1-year period of Federal
occupancy; or
(B) the information required to be provided relating to
each such immediate or highest-level owner.
SEC. 4. IMMEDIATE, HIGHEST-LEVEL, AND BENEFICIAL OWNERS.
(a) Plan.--The General Services Administration, in coordination
with the Office of Management and Budget, shall develop a Government-
wide plan for agencies (as such term is defined in section 551 of title
5, United States Code) for identifying all immediate, highest-level, or
beneficial owners of high-security leased spaces before entering into a
lease agreement with a covered entity for the accommodation of a
Federal tenant in a high-security leased space.
(b) Requirements.--
(1) Contents.--The plan described in subsection (a) shall
include a process for collecting and utilizing the following
information on each immediate, highest-level, or beneficial owner
of a high-security leased space:
(A) Name.
(B) Current residential or business street address.
(C) An identifying number or document that verifies
identity as a United States person, foreign person, or foreign
entity.
(2) Disclosures and notifications.--The plan described in
subsection (a) shall--
(A) require the disclosure of any immediate, highest-level,
or beneficial owner that is a foreign person;
(B) require that, if the Federal lessee is assigning the
building or other improvement that will be used for high-
security space to a Federal tenant, the Federal tenant shall be
notified of the disclosure described in subparagraph (A); and
(C) exclude collecting ownership information on widely held
pooled-investment vehicles, mutual funds, trusts, or other
pooled-investment vehicles.
(c) Report and Implementation.--The General Services Administration
shall--
(1) not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this
Act, submit the plan described in subsection (a) to the Committee
on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of
Representatives;
(2) not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this
Act, implement the plan described in subsection (a); and
(3) not later than 1 year after the implementation of the plan
described in subsection (a), and each year thereafter for 9 years,
submit a report to the Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on
Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives
on the status of the implementation of the plan, including the
number of disclosures made under subsection (b)(2).
SEC. 5. OTHER SECURITY AGREEMENTS FOR LEASED SPACE.
A lease agreement between a Federal lessee and a covered entity for
the accommodation of a Federal agency in a building or other
improvement that will be used for high-security leased space shall
include language that provides that--
(1) the covered entity and any member of the property
management company who may be responsible for oversight or
maintenance of the high-security leased space shall not--
(A) maintain access to the high-security leased space; or
(B) have access to the high-security leased space without
prior approval from the Federal tenant;
(2) access to the high-security leased space or any property or
information located within that space will only be granted by the
Federal tenant if the Federal tenant determines that the access is
clearly consistent with the mission and responsibilities of the
Federal tenant; and
(3) the Federal lessee shall have written procedures in place,
signed by the Federal lessee and the covered entity, governing
access to the high-security leased space in case of emergencies
that may damage the leased property.
SEC. 6. AGENCY NOTIFICATIONS.
Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the
Administrator of General Services, in consultation with the Office of
Management and Budget, shall provide notification to relevant Executive
branch agencies with independent leasing authorities of the
requirements of this Act.
SEC. 7. APPLICABILITY.
Except where otherwise provided, this Act shall apply with respect
to any lease or novation agreement entered into on or after the date
that is 6 months after the date of enactment of this Act.
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.
Secure Federal LEASEs Act
#1869 | S Congress #116
Policy Area: Government Operations and Politics
Last Action: Became Public Law No: 116-276. (12/31/2020)
Bill Text Source: Congress.gov
Summary and Impacts
Original Text