119-hr4502

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4502 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

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119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 4502

 To impose requirements with respect to monitoring the operational use 
of sales, exports, and transfers of defense articles and services, and 
 for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 July 17, 2025

Ms. Jacobs (for herself, Ms. Dean of Pennsylvania, Mr. Keating, and Mr. 
 Castro of Texas) introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
 the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

 To impose requirements with respect to monitoring the operational use 
of sales, exports, and transfers of defense articles and services, 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 ``Silver Shield Operational End Use 
Monitoring Act of 2025'' or the ``Silver Shield Act of 2025''.

SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF SILVER SHIELD OPERATIONAL END-USE MONITORING 
 PROGRAM.

    (a) Establishment of Operational End-Use Monitoring Program.--

    (1) In general.--In order to improve accountability with 
 respect to defense articles and defense services sold, leased, 
 transferred, or exported under the Arms Export Control Act (22 
 U.S.C. 2751 et seq.) or the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 
 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.), not later than 1 year after the date of 
 the enactment of this Act, the President shall establish a 
 program, to be known as the ``Silver Shield'' program, to 
 provide for operational end-use monitoring of such articles and 
 services.

    (2) Requirements of program.--The Silver Shield program 
 shall--
        (A) be designed to monitor whether there is 
 credible information that a recipient used defense 
 articles or defense services from the United States to 
 inflict civilian harm, violate international 
 humanitarian law, or violate international human rights 
 law;
        (B) determine through operational end-use 
 monitoring whether defense articles or defense services 
 from the United States were used to commit--
            (i) genocide;
            (ii) crimes against humanity;
            (iii) grave breaches of the Geneva 
 Conventions of 1949; or
            (iv) other serious violations of 
 international humanitarian or human rights law;
            (C) require a determination of ineligibility, 
 pursuant to 

section 3 of the Arms Export Control Act, 
 should a determination described in subparagraph
        (B) be 
 affirmative, including a timeline of 180 days to 
 complete such determinations on such allegations of 
 violation;
            (D) incorporate data, best practices, and lessons 
 learned from the implementation of--
            (i) the Civilian Harm Incident Response 
 Guidance;
            (ii) programs to carry out the requirements 
 of 

section 362 of title 10, United States Code 
 and 

section 620M of the Foreign Assistance Act 
 of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2378d) (collectively 
 referred to as the ``Leahy Laws'');
            (iii) National Security Memorandum 20;
            (iv) the Golden Sentry End-Use Monitoring 
 Program; and
            (v) the Blue Lantern program; and
        (E) incorporates sources of information for 
 monitoring including--
            (i) reports submitted by United States 
 Government personnel, including United States 
 embassy, Defense Security Cooperation Agency, 
 or combatant command personnel;
            (ii) eyewitness interviews;
            (iii) publicly available photographic and 
 video evidence;
            (iv) satellite imagery;
            (v) credible reports by non-governmental 
 organizations and media;
            (vi) intelligence information;
            (vii) information submitted through a 
 publicly available online portal to be 
 integrated with the Human Rights Reporting 
 Gateway;
            (viii) relevant forensic investigations;
            (ix) site visits by United States 
 Government personnel; and
            (x) any other credible sources of 
 information regarding the use of United States 
 origin defense articles or defense services in 
 inflicting civilian harm or to commit a 
 violation of international humanitarian law or 
 international human rights law.

    (3) Coordination.--The Silver Shield program shall be 
 established in the Department of State and shall be implemented 
 through coordination between the following:
        (A) The Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and 
 Labor, which shall in coordination with the Bureau of 
 Political-Military Affairs of the Department of State 
 be responsible for directing and managing the 
 implementation of the program.
        (B) The Office of the Secretary, the Defense 
 Security Cooperation Agency, and the Civilian 
 Protection Center of Excellence of the Department of 
 Defense.
            (C) Any other Federal department or agency the 
 President determines relevant to the establishment or 
 implementation of the Silver Shield program.

    (4) Consultation.--The Silver Shield program shall take 
 such steps as may be necessary to consult as appropriate with 
 relevant experts affiliated with federally funded research and 
 development corporations, non-governmental organizations, and 
 academic institutions.

    (b) External Advisory Board.--The President shall establish an 
external advisory board comprising recognized academic and non-
governmental experts in investigations regarding the monitoring of the 
usage of defense articles or services in civilian harm or violations of 
international law. The heads of the agencies listed in subsection

    (a)

    (3) shall periodically consult with the external advisory board with 
respect to--

    (1) research methodology;

    (2) information sources;

    (3) investigative best practices; and

    (4) any other such information within the expertise of the 
 advisory board and relevant to implementation of this Act.

SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO THE ARMS EXPORT CONTROL ACT.

    (a) Arms Export Control Act.--

Section 3 of the Arms Export Control 
Act (22 U.S.C. 2753) is amended by adding at the end of the section the 
following--
 ``

    (h) Agreement Relating to Use of Defense Articles and Services.--
In addition to any other requirements under this Act, the President 
shall take such steps as may be necessary to ensure that--
 ``

    (1) prior to authorizing or licensing the sale, export, 
 or transfer of any defense article or defense service to a 
 foreign country or international organization, the Secretary of 
 State shall enter into a written agreement with the appropriate 
 counterparts providing that the government of such country or 
 that such international organization will not use any defense 
 article or defense service of United States origin--
 ``
        (A) to commit or facilitate a violation of 
 international humanitarian law or international human 
 rights law; or
 ``
        (B) in an action that would render the government 
 or organization ineligible to receive United States 
 assistance or arms transfers as a matter of United 
 States law; and
 ``

    (2) if defense articles are sold, exported, or 
 transferred to a foreign country pursuant to an agreement 
 otherwise in accordance with the requirements of this Act in 
 which the intended end-user has not been identified at the unit 
 level for purposes of the vetting required by 

section 362 of 
 title 10, United States Code or 

section 620M of the Foreign 
 Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2378d), the written agreement 
 required by paragraph

    (1) for such sale, export, or transfer 
 shall instead include a list of units ineligible to receive 
 such articles, consistent with applicable provisions of United 
 States law.''.

    (b) Eligibility for Defense Articles or Services.--

    (1) Arms export control act.--

Section 3

    (a) of the Arms 
 Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2753

    (a) ) is amended--
        (A) in paragraph

    (1) , by striking ``and promote 
 world peace'' and inserting ``, will promote world 
 peace and the safety of civilians,'';
        (B) in paragraph

    (3) , by striking ``; and'' and 
 inserting a semicolon;
            (C) by redesignating paragraph

    (4) as paragraph

    (5) ; and
            (D) by inserting after paragraph

    (3) the following 
 new paragraph:
 ``

    (4) the country or international organization shall have 
 agreed not to use such article or service to commit or 
 facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian 
 law or international human rights law; and''.

    (2) Foreign assistance act of 1961.--

Section 505 of the 
 Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2314) is amended--
        (A) in subsection

    (a) --
            (i) by striking ``

    (a) Conditions of 
 Eligibility'' and all that follows through the 
 matter preceding paragraph

    (1) and inserting 
 the following:
 ``

    (a) Conditions of Eligibility.--In addition to such other 
provisions as the President may require, no defense articles or related 
training or other defense service shall be furnished to any country or 
international organization on a grant basis unless it shall have agreed 
that--'';
            (ii) in paragraph

    (3) , by striking ``; 
 and'' and inserting a semicolon;
            (iii) by redesignating paragraph

    (4) as 
 paragraph

    (5) ; and
            (iv) by inserting after paragraph

    (3) the 
 following new paragraph:
 ``

    (4) it will not use such articles or services to commit 
 or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian 
 law or international human rights law; and''; and
        (B) in subsection

    (e) , by striking ``subsection

    (a)

    (1) or

    (a)

    (4) '' each place it appears and inserting 
 ``subsection

    (a)

    (1) or

    (a)

    (5) ''.
            (c) Authorized Purpose for Military Sales.--

Section 4 of the Arms 
Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2754) is amended--

    (1) by inserting ``legitimate'' before ``internal 
 security''; and

    (2) by inserting ``, to the extent that such defense 
 articles and defense services will not be used in the 
 commission of a serious violation of international humanitarian 
 law or international human rights law. The violation of 
 international humanitarian law or international human rights 
 law may not be construed to be an authorized purpose for 
 military sales or leases by the United States.'' after ``such 
 friendly countries''.
            (d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall take 
effect 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act.

    (e) Updates to Existing 

=== Policy ===
-

    (1) Secretary of state.--The Secretary of State shall--
        (A) subsume the Civilian Harm Incident Response 
 Guidance into the requirements of this Act to carry out 
 the Department's operational end-use monitoring 
 responsibilities; and
        (B) review other relevant policy and doctrine and, 
 as necessary, amend any such policy or doctrine to 
 ensure consistency with such amendments and to carry 
 out such responsibilities.

    (2) Secretary of defense.--The Secretary of Defense shall--
        (A) reissue Department of Defense Instruction 
 4140.66 to ensure consistency with the amendments made 
 by this Act to carry out the Department's operational 
 end-use monitoring responsibilities; and
        (B) review other relevant policy and doctrine and, 
 as necessary, amend any such policy or doctrine to 
 ensure consistency with such amendments and to carry 
 out such responsibilities.

SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    (a) Authorization.--There is authorized to be appropriated such 
sums as may be necessary to implement the Silver Shield program 
described in 

section 2.

    (b) Application of Foreign Military Sales Administrative 
Surcharge.--The Silver Shield program shall be considered an 
administrative service of the administration of sales made pursuant to 

section 21

    (e)

    (1) of the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2761).
            (c) Application of Foreign Military Financing Administrative 
Funds.--The Silver Shield program shall be considered an administrative 
and operational cost of the Department of State related to military 
assistance and sales pursuant to funds authorized to carry out title IV 
of the annual Acts making appropriations for the State Department, 
Foreign Operations, and Related programs (relating to the heading 
Foreign Military Financing program).

SEC. 5. REPORTS.

    (a) Report on Required Resources.--Not later than 180 days after 
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall submit to the 
appropriate congressional committees a report on the necessary 
resources, staffing, and authorities to implement the Silver Shield 
program and requirements described in 

section 2

    (a) .

    (b) Annual Implementation Report.--Not later than 1 year after the 
establishment of the program required by 

section 2, and annually 
thereafter as a part of the annual congressional presentation documents 
submitted under 

section 634 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 
U.S.C. 2394), the President shall submit to the appropriate 
congressional committees a report describing the actions taken to 
implement this Act and the amendments made by this Act, including the 
following:

    (1) A detailed accounting of the costs and number of 
 personnel associated with the Silver Shield program.

    (2) Resource constraints associated with the implementation 
 of the program, including staffing, funding, and authorities.

    (3) The numbers and range of operational end-use monitoring 
 of United States arms transfers.

    (4) The number of identified incidents for which 
 investigations have not yet been initiated.

    (5) The number and status of ongoing investigations, 
 including the stage they are in, how long such incidents have 
 remained in such stage, and if any have remained in such stage 
 for more than 1 year.

SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS.

 In this Act:

    (a) Appropriate Congressional Committees.--The term ``appropriate 
congressional committees'' means--

    (1) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee on 
 Armed Services, and the Committee on Appropriations of the 
 House of Representatives; and

    (2) the Committee on Foreign Relations, the Committee on 
 Armed Services, and the Committee on Appropriations of the 
 Senate.

    (b) Civilian Harm.--The term ``civilian harm'' means civilian 
casualties, damage to or destruction of civilian objects, and 
significant adverse effects on the civilian population and the 
personnel, organizations, resources, infrastructure, essential 
services, and systems on which civilian life depends resulting from 
military operations.
            (c) Defense Article; Defense Service.--The terms ``defense 
article'' and ``defense service'' have the meanings given those terms 
in 

section 47 of the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2794).
            (d) Operational End-Use Monitoring.--The term ``operational end-use 
monitoring'' means gathering and assessing information regarding the 
use of a defense article or defense service, including in civilian 
harm, violations of international humanitarian law, or international 
human rights law.
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