22 U.S.C. § 292: Acquisition of sites and buildings for diplomatic and consular establishments; allotment of space; credit of payments without regard to limitations of amounts

The Secretary of State is empowered to acquire by purchase or construction in the manner hereinafter provided, within the limits of appropriations made to carry out this chapter, by exchange, in whole or in part, of any building or grounds of the United States in foreign countries and under the jurisdiction and control of the Secretary of State, sites and buildings in foreign capitals and in other foreign cities, and to alter, repair, and furnish such buildings for the use of the diplomatic and consular establishments of the United States, or for the purpose of consolidating within one or more buildings, the embassies, legation, consulates, and other agencies of the United States Government there maintained. The space in such buildings shall be allotted by the Secretary of State among the several agencies of the United States Government. Payments made for rent or otherwise by the United States from funds other than appropriations made to carry out this chapter may be credited toward the acquisition of property under this chapter without regard to limitations of amounts imposed by this chapter. The Secretary of State may improve or construct facilities overseas for other Federal departments and agencies on an advance-of-funds or reimbursable basis if such advances or reimbursements are credited to the Embassy Security, Construction, and Maintenance account and remain available until expended. It is the sense of Congress that the Department’s Bureau of Overseas Building Operations (OBO) or successor office should give appropriate consideration to standardization in construction, in which each new United States embassy and consulate starts with a standard design and keeps customization to a minimum. A comparison of the estimated full lifecycle costs of the project to the estimated full lifecycle costs of such project if it were to use a standard design. A comparison of the estimated completion date of such project to the estimated completion date of such project if it were to use a standard design. A comparison of the security of the completed project to the security of such completed project if it were to use a standard design. A justification for the Secretary’s selection of a non-standard design over a standard design for such project. A written explanation if any of the documentation necessary to support the comparisons and justification, as the case may be, described in paragraphs (1) through (4) cannot be provided. The consultation requirement under subsection (b) shall expire on the date that is 4 years after the date of the enactment of this Act.” Federal departments and agencies are required to use value engineering (VE) as a management tool, where appropriate, to reduce program and acquisition costs pursuant to OMB Circular A–131, Value Engineering, dated December 31, 2013 . OBO has a Policy Directive and Standard Operation Procedure, dated May 24, 2017 , on conducting risk management studies on all international construction projects. Any notification that includes the allocation of capital construction and maintenance funds shall be submitted to the appropriate congressional committees. The notifications required under paragraph (1) shall include confirmation that the Department has completed the requisite VE and risk management process described in subsection (a), or applicable successor process. a description of each risk management study referred to in subsection (a)(2) and a table detailing which recommendations related to each such study were accepted and which were rejected; and a report or briefing detailing the rationale for not implementing any such recommendations that may otherwise yield significant cost savings to the Department if implemented.”