[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8237 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8237
To require a report relating to the provision of certain information in
connection with the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the resulting
conflict, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 2, 2024
Ms. Sherrill (for herself, Mr. Himes, Mr. Krishnamoorthi, Mr. Quigley,
and Ms. Tokuda) introduced the following bill; which was referred to
the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committees on
Armed Services, and Intelligence (Permanent Select), for a period to be
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration
of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee
concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require a report relating to the provision of certain information in
connection with the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the resulting
conflict, 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 ``Defense Information Sharing Review
and Regional Tailoring Act of 2024''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) The purposeful, targeted, and properly authorized
dissemination of covered information contributed to negating
the plans and intentions of the Russian Federation in its
unjust conflict with Ukraine, saved Ukrainian lives, and led to
a unified transatlantic alliance.
(2) The purposeful, targeted, and properly authorized
dissemination of covered information by the Secretary of
Defense facilitated the provision of defense articles and
economic support to Ukraine and other foreign partners of the
United States in Europe, steeling such countries against the
Russian invasion of Ukraine occurring on February 24, 2022.
(3) The sharing of defense information to foreign partners
of the United States is a high-impact tool to provide decision
advantage to the United States and its foreign partners in
times of rising tensions, while aligning such partners to
better leverage the support of, and to share economic,
military, and diplomatic burdens with, such partners.
(4) The sharing of information on emerging threats,
technology disruption and innovation, and adversarial plans
empowers foreign partners of the United States to take
coordinated action and expands the coalition of such partners,
particularly in peacetime or prior to any type of conflict.
(5) Risk-conscious, timely information sharing practices
are in place with foreign partners of the United States before
a crisis erupts. Such practices should ensure the proper
control and protection of the shared information and allow for
the familiarization and integration of the shared information
into the defense enterprise of the partner country.
(6) The sharing of defense and security information deepens
collaboration and provides a basis for new joint initiatives
and the increasing competency of the security forces of
partners of the United States.
(7) Future conflicts will inevitably have economic,
technological, and social factors that merit the sharing of new
forms of tailored information to secure the support of foreign
partners of the United States and support the objectives of the
United States and such partners.
(8) Strategic competition encompasses all factors of United
States national security, and foreign partners of the United
States require tailored information needs delivered in a
timely, mission-focused manner from peacetime to conflict.
SEC. 3. REPORT RELATING TO PROVISION OF CERTAIN INFORMATION IN
CONNECTION WITH RUSSIAN INVASION OF UKRAINE AND RESULTING
CONFLICT.
(a) Report.--
(1) Submission.--Not later than 120 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense, in
coordination with the Secretary of State and the Director of
National Intelligence, shall submit to the appropriate
congressional committees a report on the use and effectiveness
of covered information lawfully provided by the United States
Government to the Government of Ukraine and the governments of
other partner countries in Europe in connection with the
Russian invasion of Ukraine and the resulting conflict.
(2) Matters.--The report under paragraph (1) shall address,
in particular, the use and effectiveness of classified,
unclassified, and downgraded covered information in written,
verbal, and visual forms, respectively, provided by the United
States Government to the foreign governments referred to in
such paragraph and shall include, at a minimum, the following:
(A) An assessment of the effect and value of the
covered information so provided since September 2021 in
achieving the national security, national defense, and
foreign policy objectives of the United States with
respect to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the
resulting conflict.
(B) An assessment of--
(i) whether such provision by the United
States Government of covered information to, or
use of such provided covered information by,
such foreign governments has resulted in
tangible national security, national defense,
or foreign policy benefits to the United States
or the foreign partners of the United States,
including any improved international relations,
new bilateral or multilateral programs, or
other actions demonstrating acceptance of
United States foreign policy objectives, such
as through participation in security assistance
and cooperation efforts, coordination of new
policies, or issuing compatible statements
regarding foreign relations;
(ii) the effect and value of the lawful
provision of covered information by the United
States Government with respect to the success
of the Government of Ukraine (including the
Armed Forces of Ukraine and the intelligence
services of Ukraine) in making decisions
regarding the response to, responding to, and
defending against the Russian invasion of
Ukraine and the resulting conflict; and
(iii) the ability of, and methods used by,
the Government of Ukraine and other countries
supporting Ukraine to safeguard covered
information and any new insights derived from
the passage of information during the Russian
invasion of Ukraine and the resulting conflict.
(C) An assessment of--
(i) best practices regarding the
dissemination of covered information by the
United States Government to the foreign
governments referred to in paragraph (1) over
the course of the Russian invasion of Ukraine
and resulting conflict and how such best
practices may be applied to future crises
outside of Europe; and
(ii) any plans or recommendations by the
Secretary of Defense regarding the future
provision of covered information to the
Government of Ukraine in connection with such
invasion and resulting conflict.
(D) An assessment of the internal processes and
procedures of the Department of Defense, Department of
State, and elements of the intelligence community,
respectively, governing the dissemination of covered
information to the Government of Ukraine and partner
countries in Europe, including a description of--
(i) the specific types of materials
disseminated; and
(ii) how, if at all, such processes,
procedures, and types of information
disseminated changed over the course of the
Russian invasion of Ukraine and the resulting
conflict to meet the national security,
national defense, and foreign policy objectives
of the United States.
(E) An assessment of the applicability of such
processes, procedures, and types of covered information
to be used by combatant commands other than the United
States European Command, and any recommendations by the
Secretary of Defense to support the development of a
repeatable, secure, and appropriately expeditious
process for similar dissemination efforts during
peacetime, in the lead-up to a conflict, and in the
immediate stages of a future conflict in Europe or in
the areas of responsibility of such other combatant
commands.
(F) An assessment of--
(i) how open-source covered information
provided to the Government of Ukraine has
supported the objectives of such Government
vis-a-vis the Russian invasion of Ukraine and
the resulting conflict;
(ii) how the Secretary of Defense reviews
and selects open-source covered information for
use and prepares such information to be
provided to the Government of Ukraine; and
(iii) how the review, selection, and use of
open-source information for provision to
foreign partners of the United States might
differ in a future crisis.
(G) A description of any new authorities or
resources, or improvements to existing authorities or
resources, that may further address any of the matters
under subparagraphs (A) through (F).
(3) Form.--The report under paragraph (1) may be submitted
in classified form, but if so submitted, shall include an
unclassified annex.
(b) Briefing.--
(1) Briefing required.--Not later than 180 days after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense
shall provide to the appropriate congressional committees a
briefing on the matters covered by the report under paragraph
(1).
(2) Closed nature.--Any briefing under this subsection may
be a closed briefing, consistent with the protection of
intelligence sources and methods.
(c) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) The term ``appropriate congressional committees''
means--
(A) the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee
on Foreign Affairs, and the Permanent Select Committee
on Intelligence of the House of Representatives; and
(B) the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee
on Foreign Relations, and the Select Committee on
Intelligence of the Senate.
(2) The term ``covered information'' means any information,
regardless of whether such information is classified or
unclassified, that relates to the Russian invasion of Ukraine,
the resulting conflict, or other associated matters (including
such information originating from the Department of Defense and
intelligence information) and is provided by the United States
Government for the purpose of supporting any national security,
national defense, or foreign policy objective of the United
States vis-a-vis such invasion, resulting conflict, or
associated matters.
(3) The term ``intelligence community'' has the meaning
given that term in section 3 of the National Security Act of
1947 (50 U.S.C. 3003).
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