United States Security Assistance Effectiveness Act

This bill reforms how the Department of State manages security assistance. It creates new offices, requires training, and mandates better planning, tracking, and evaluation of these programs.

Sec. 2, Organizational reform: The bill expands the duties of the Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security to include providing strategic policy guidance and ensuring budget integration for security assistance. It requires the Secretary of State to designate or create an Office of Security Assistance, headed by a Coordinator for Security Assistance. Within one year, each relevant bureau must designate an officer to coordinate security assistance, and each chief of mission in a country receiving security assistance must designate a senior diplomatic officer to coordinate it. The Secretary must submit a plan to Congress for implementing these changes.

Sec. 3, Workforce development: Within 180 days, the Secretary must create a training curriculum at the Foreign Service Institute on security assistance. The training must cover relevant agencies, authorities, military systems, planning, monitoring, human rights vetting, arms transfer requirements, end-use monitoring, and risks like corruption and political instability.

Sec. 4, Interagency coordination: The Comptroller General must report within one year on the effectiveness of existing coordination mechanisms between the State and Defense Departments for security assistance and security cooperation programs. The Secretary, with the Defense Secretary, must establish a process for State Department involvement in planning projects under section 333 of title 10, United States Code.

Sec. 5, Common database: Within two years, the Secretary must maintain a common database of all security assistance and security cooperation programs, funding, and transfers by recipient country. A plan for this database must be submitted to Congress within one year, including how to capture data since fiscal year 2017, challenges, and options for congressional and researcher visibility.

Sec. 6, Assessment, monitoring, and evaluation: Within 18 months, the Coordinator must create a program to assess, monitor, and evaluate security assistance for countries receiving significant amounts. The program must include baseline assessments of security sector governance, recipient commitment, threat perceptions, absorptive capacity, and risks. It must also identify desired outcomes, monitor progress, and capture lessons learned.

Sec. 7, Security assistance framework and planning: Within 18 months, the Coordinator must create a framework for regional and country-specific security assistance planning, including goals, risk criteria, and metrics for effectiveness. Within two years, the Coordinator must develop a list of priority recipient countries. All regional and country strategies must integrate security assistance planning with an annex. The Secretary must submit an annual report to Congress on priority recipients, evaluation results, and resource allocation.

Sec. 8, Definitions: This section defines key terms used in the bill, including 'appropriate congressional committees,' 'Coordinator,' 'Department,' 'Office,' 'Secretary,' and 'security assistance.'