§2817. Authority for certain construction projects in friendly foreign countries

(a) Construction Authorized.-Using funds available for operations and maintenance, the Secretary of Defense may carry out a construction project in a friendly foreign country, and perform planning and design to support such a project, that the Secretary determines meets each of the following conditions:

(1) The commander of the geographic combatant command in which the construction project will be carried out identified the construction project as necessary to support vital United States military requirements at an air port of debarkation, sea port of debarkation, or rail or other logistics support location.

(2) The construction project will not be carried out at a military installation.

(3) The funds made available under the authority of this section for the construction project-

(A) will be sufficient to-

(i) construct a complete and usable facility or make an improvement to a facility; or

(ii) complete the repair of an existing facility or improvement to a facility; and

(B) will not require additional funds from other Department of Defense accounts.

(4) The level of construction for the construction project may not exceed the minimum necessary to meet the military requirements identified under paragraph (1).

(5) Deferral of the construction project pending inclusion of the construction project proposal in the national defense authorization Act for a subsequent fiscal year is inconsistent with the military requirements identified under paragraph (1) and other national security or national interests of the United States.

(b) Congressional Notification.-

(1) Notification required.-Upon determining to carry out a construction project under this section that has an estimated cost in excess of the amounts authorized for unspecified minor military construction projects under section 2805(c) of this title, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the specified congressional committees a notification of such determination.

(2) Elements.-The notification required by paragraph (1) shall include the following:

(A) A certification that the conditions specified in subsection (a) are satisfied with regard to the construction project.

(B) A justification for such project.

(C) An estimate of the cost of such project.

(3) Notice and wait.-The Secretary of Defense may carry out a construction project only after the end of the 30-day period beginning on the date the notice required by paragraph (1) is received by the specified congressional committees in an electronic medium pursuant to section 480 of this title.

(c) Annual Limitations on Use of Authority.-

(1) Total cost limitation.-The Secretary of Defense may not obligate more than $200,000,000 in any fiscal year under the authority provided by this section.

(2) Additional obligation authority.-Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the Secretary of Defense may authorize the obligation under this section of not more than an additional $10,000,000 from funds available for operations and maintenance for a fiscal year if the Secretary determines that the additional funds are needed for costs associated with contract closeouts for all construction projects during such fiscal year.

(3) Project limitation.-The maximum amount that the Secretary may obligate for a single construction project is $15,000,000.

(d) Specified Congressional Committees Defined.-In this section, the term "specified congressional committees" means-

(1) the Committee on Armed Services and the Subcommittee on Defense and the Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies of the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate; and

(2) the Committee on Armed Services and the Subcommittee on Defense and the Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies of the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives.

(Added Pub. L. 118–31, div. B, title XXVIII, §2805, Dec. 22, 2023, 137 Stat. 744 .)