Security Sector Governance Compacts Act

Key Points

• The bill directs the State Department to build a scoring system, called the Security Sector Governance Index, that rates foreign partner countries on corruption, civilian control of the military, and human rights records.
• Based on their score, countries are sorted into four tiers, and each tier strictly limits what kind of U.S. military aid, training, or weapons a country can receive.
• The stated goal is to make sure U.S. security assistance goes to partners with real civilian oversight and accountability, not to forces that abuse power or ignore the rule of law.
• The Secretary of State can still waive the tier restrictions for a country judged strategically important, but must justify the decision to Congress and submit a plan to help that country improve.
• For mid-ranked countries, the U.S. can sign five-year 'Security Sector Governance Compacts' that provide steady, longer-term aid tied to measurable governance improvements.