10 U.S.C. § 343 — Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation

(a) Establishment and Administration — The Secretary of Defense may operate an education and training facility called the "Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation." The Secretary may pick a military department's Secretary to run it on the Department of Defense's behalf. (b) Purpose — The Institute's job is to teach military, law enforcement, and civilian students from Western Hemisphere countries. It follows the democratic principles in the charter of the Organization of American States, a treaty the U.S. has joined. It aims to build trust, openness, and cooperation between countries, and to promote democracy, human rights, and knowledge of U.S. customs. (c) Eligible Personnel — Military, law enforcement, and civilian personnel from Western Hemisphere countries can attend. The Secretary of State must be consulted when picking which foreign students attend. (d) Curriculum — Every student must get at least 8 hours of mandatory instruction on human rights, the rule of law, due process, civilian control of the military, and the military's role in a democracy. The curriculum may also include leadership training, counterdrug operations, peace support operations, disaster relief, and anything else the Secretary decides fits. (e) Board of Visitors — A Board of Visitors oversees the Institute. Members include: the top members of the Senate and House Armed Services Committees (or their designees); six people picked by the Secretary of Defense, including, where possible, people from academia and the religious and human rights communities; one person picked by the Secretary of State; the Army's senior training officer (or the Navy/Marine Corps or Air Force/Space Force equivalent if that service runs the Institute instead), or a designee; and the commanders responsible for the Western Hemisphere region, or their designees. If a seat opens up, it is filled the same way it was originally filled. The Board must meet at least once a year. It examines the curriculum, teaching, equipment, money matters, and teaching methods, and checks whether the curriculum follows U.S. law, matches U.S. policy toward Latin America and the Caribbean, follows current U.S. military doctrine, and properly emphasizes the human-rights training required under (d)(1). Within 60 days of its yearly meeting, the Board sends the Secretary a written report of its work and recommendations. Board members are not paid for serving. With the Secretary's approval, the Board can use volunteer, unpaid advisers. Board members and these advisers get their travel costs and per diem paid — federal employee members at standard federal rates, others at the rate set for unpaid federal workers. Most of the federal advisory committee law (Chapter 10 of Title 5) applies to the Board, except the rule that ends committees after two years. (f) Foreign Gifts — The Secretary may accept gifts or donations from foreign sources to help pay for or improve the Institute. That money is added to the Department's Institute budget and can be spent the same way and during the same period as that budget. If gifts in a year total more than $1,000,000, the Secretary must tell Congress who gave how much. A "foreign gift" includes money, materials, property, or services (like lectures or faculty time) from a foreign government, a foreign charity or foundation, or an individual living abroad. (g) Fixed Costs — The Institute's basic operating and upkeep costs are paid from the operating budget of whichever military department runs it, or, if none is designated, from the Defense Department's general operating budget. (h) Tuition — Tuition charged to students may not include these fixed operating and upkeep costs. (i) Annual Report — By March 15 each year, the Secretary must send Congress a detailed report on the Institute's activities from the year before. It must include the latest Board of Visitors report along with the Secretary's comments on it, and must be written together with the Secretary of State.