H.R. 9782: Security Sector Governance Compacts Act

This bill would create a new system for the U.S. government to measure how well foreign security partners are governed and to link certain kinds of U.S. security assistance to those governance ratings.

What the bill sets up

Within 90 days of enactment, the Secretary of State, working with the Defense Department, would have to develop a Security Sector Governance Index. This would be a set of metrics used to judge the quality of a partner country’s security sector, meaning its military, police, and related security institutions.

The index would look at things like:

• corruption in the security sector;
• how much civilian oversight exists;
• whether security forces are involved in politics;
• whether security forces have commercial holdings;
• whether promotions are based on merit;
• records of human rights or humanitarian law violations and civilian harm, and whether those cases were meaningfully investigated and addressed;
• other relevant governance factors.

The State Department would develop the index in consultation with the Defense Department, human rights offices, and outside experts and civil society groups, and would publish a summary in the Federal Register.

Country rankings

Using that index, the State Department and Defense Department would assess each security partner country and place it into one of four tiers:

• Tier 1: low quality governance;
• Tier 2: low to mid quality governance;
• Tier 3: mid to high quality governance;
• Tier 4: high quality governance.

These rankings would be updated every year, and Congress would receive a report with the assessment and tier designation.

How aid would be affected

The tier a country receives would determine what kinds of U.S. security assistance it can receive. In general, higher-governance countries would be eligible for a wider range of assistance, while lower-governance countries would face more limits.

• Tier 1 countries could receive a limited set of assistance, mainly focused on institution building, training, humanitarian support, anti-narcotics, peace operations, civilian protection, civil-military support, and maritime cooperation.
• Tier 2 countries could receive everything Tier 1 countries can, plus some additional support such as anti-terrorism assistance, more tailored capacity building, technical assistance, specialized military education, and nonlethal equipment.
• Tier 3 countries could receive everything in Tiers 1 and 2, plus lethal equipment, military exchanges, exercises, and operational support.
• Tier 4 countries could receive everything above, plus certain armament cooperation activities, support under sections 127d and 127e of title 10, and foreign internal defense activities.

The bill also says that existing obligated funds that were approved before a country is reclassified can still be spent for up to one year, even if the country is no longer eligible for that type of aid.

Waivers

The Secretary of State, working with the Defense Department, could waive the tier-based limits for a country if the government certifies that the country is a long-standing and strategically important U.S. partner, explains why the assistance serves U.S. national security interests, and submits a plan to improve the relevant governance indicators.

If a waiver is used, the government would have to update the plan every year and post a public list of waived countries and their tier levels. If a country gets a waiver for five straight years, the waiver would generally end unless Congress passes a law allowing it to continue.

Security Sector Governance Compacts

The bill would also allow the U.S. to enter into a multi-year compact with certain Tier 2 or Tier 3 countries. These compacts would set out a longer-term plan for security assistance and governance reform.

To qualify, a country would need to meet criteria such as:

• its performance on the governance index and related assessments;
• its willingness to use aid to meet shared goals;
• its view of internal and external security threats;
• its ability to absorb assistance;
• regional and political conditions that affect reform;
• its strategic importance to U.S. interests.

Each compact would include joint planning, a tailored assistance plan, oversight mechanisms, coordination with other donors, and consultation with the country’s legislature and civil society. At least 30% of compact aid would have to go toward institutional capacity building. A compact could last no more than five years.

New funding

The bill would create a Security Sector Compact Fund in the Treasury, with money authorized for fiscal years 2027 through 2031. Those funds could be used for training, technical assistance, capacity building, defense equipment, and military-to-military exchanges related to the compact program.

Long-term review

Countries that remain in Tier 4 for five consecutive years would get a review to see whether the amount or type of assistance should change and whether the assistance has achieved its goals. This review would not apply to NATO members or Australia, New Zealand, Japan, or South Korea.

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