22 U.S.C. § 306: Contracting methods in capital construction

Unless the Secretary of State notifies the appropriate congressional committees that the use of the design-build project delivery method would not be appropriate, the Secretary shall make use of such method at United States diplomatic posts that have not yet received design or capital construction contracts as of December 27, 2021 . Before executing a contract for a delivery method other than design-build in accordance with subsection (a), the Secretary of State shall notify the appropriate congressional committees in writing of the decision, including the reasons therefor. The notification required by this subsection may be included in any other report regarding a new United States diplomatic post that is required to be submitted to the appropriate congressional committees. Not later than 180 days after December 27, 2021 , the Secretary of State shall report to the appropriate congressional committees regarding performance evaluation measures in accordance with GAO’s “Standards for Internal Control in the Federal Government” that will be applicable to design and construction, lifecycle cost, and building maintenance programs of the Bureau of Overseas Building Operations of the Department. The term ‘design-build’ means a method of project delivery in which one entity works under a single contract with the Department to provide design and construction services. The term ‘non-standard design’ means a design for a new embassy compound project or new consulate compound project that does not utilize a standardized design for the structural, spatial, or security requirements of such embassy compound or consulate compound, as the case may be.”