WITHHOLDING OF PAYMENTS TO INDIRECT-HIRE CIVILIAN PERSONNEL OF NONPAYING PLEDGING NATIONS

SEC. 608. WITHHOLDING OF PAYMENTS TO INDIRECT-HIRE CIVILIAN PERSONNEL OF NONPAYING PLEDGING NATIONS (a) General Rule.— Effective as of the end of the six-month period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall withhold payments to any nonpaying pledging nation that would otherwise be paid as reimbursements for expenses of indirect-hire civilian personnel of the Department of Defense in that nation. (b) Nonpaying Pledging Nation Defined.— For purposes of this section, the term “nonpaying pledging nation” means a foreign nation that has pledged to the United States that it will make contributions to assist the United States in defraying the incremental costs of Operation Desert Shield and which has not paid to the United States the full amount so pledged. (c) Release of Withheld Amounts.— When a nation affected by subsection (a) has paid to the United States the full amount pledged, the Secretary of Defense shall release the amounts withheld from payment pursuant to subsection (a). (d) Waiver Authority.— The Secretary of Defense may waive the requirement in subsection (a) upon certification to Congress that the waiver is required in the national security interests of the United States.