Sponsor
Sara Jacobs
Representative · D-CA
Representative · D-CA
Official title: To require the development of metrics and indicators to assess the quality of governance of the security sectors of security partner countries, and for other purposes.
Introduced July 20, 2026 by Sara Jacobs · Last progress July 20, 2026
The bill trades increased accountability, transparency, and multi-year capacity-building in U.S. security assistance for higher taxpayer costs, greater administrative burdens, reduced short-term flexibility to arm or assist partners in crises, and risks of diplomatic friction or politicized exemptions.
Partner governments and their security forces receive multi-year, jointly planned security assistance tied to governance reforms and capacity-building, improving sustainability, ability to manage U.S.-origin equipment, and reliability as U.S. partners.
Taxpayers, Congress, and U.S. policymakers gain standardized, timely annual data and an Index on partner security-sector governance, improving oversight, transparency, and evidence-based tailoring of security assistance.
Lower-tier partners face limits on lethal or sensitive assistance and a requirement that a portion of aid fund institutional capacity building (e.g., minimum 30%), reducing the risk of misuse or blowback and encouraging governance reforms.
U.S. taxpayers face higher spending and budget uncertainty from multi-year assistance commitments, a Treasury-held Fund with open-ended language, and added administrative/reporting costs.
Indexing, tiering, and conditionality could delay or restrict arms transfers and specialized assistance in crises, reducing short-term operational cooperation and U.S. flexibility to respond to emergent threats.
Partner governments may view U.S. assessments, oversight, and promotion of civilian control as interference, straining diplomatic relations; exempting NATO/allies could fuel perceptions of unequal treatment.
Based on analysis of 9 sections of legislative text.
Creates a governance index and tiering system for security partners, limits assistance to low-tier countries, authorizes multiyear governance compacts, and establishes a compact fund.
Creates a Security Sector Governance Index to rate partner countries on civilian oversight, corruption, human rights, and related factors; requires annual tiered designations of U.S. security partners based on that Index. Limits what kinds of U.S. security-sector assistance may be provided to low-rated partners, authorizes multi-year compacts with eligible partners to plan and fund governance-focused capacity building, and establishes a Treasury-held fund to support compact activities with multiyear appropriations authority.