[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4476 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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118th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 4476
To require additional disclosures with respect to nominees to serve as
chiefs of mission, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 5, 2024
Mr. Kaine (for himself, Mr. Van Hollen, and Mr. Merkley) introduced the
following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on
Foreign Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require additional disclosures with respect to nominees to serve as
chiefs of mission, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``State Department Integrity and
Transparency Act''.
SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING A PROFESSIONAL AND NONPARTISAN
DEPARTMENT OF STATE.
It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) the People's Republic of China and other competitor
nations are rapidly expanding their global diplomatic
presences; and
(2) it is imperative for United States national security
that the Department of State is appropriately staffed by
empowered, nonpartisan foreign policy professionals and
thoroughly qualified and vetted political appointees, who work
together to protect United States citizens and advance United
States foreign policy interests.
SEC. 3. ENHANCING THE PROFESSIONALISM OF ASSISTANT SECRETARIES OF
STATE.
(a) Disclosure Requirements.--Section 304(a)(4) of the Foreign
Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 3944(a)(4)) is amended--
(1) by inserting ``or as an assistant secretary'' after
``chief of mission''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following: ``Each such report
shall explain the source and extent of such nominee's knowledge
of the principal language or dialect of the country, region, or
institution, as applicable, in which the nominee has been
nominated to serve as chief of mission or assistant secretary
and the manner and extent to which such nominee meets the
criteria described in paragraph (1), particularly with respect
to the source and extent of such individual's knowledge and
understanding of the history, culture, economics, politics, and
interests of the people of such country, region, or
institution.''.
(b) Hiring Requirement.--Section 1(c)(1) of the State Department
Basic Authorities Act of 1956 (22 U.S.C. 2651a(c)(1)) is amended--
(1) by inserting ``, United States Code'' after title 5;
and
(2) by adding at the end the following: ``Not fewer than 75
percent of the Assistant Secretaries in the Department of State
shall have served in the Senior Foreign Service or the Senior
Executive Service.''.
SEC. 4. ADDITIONAL DISCLOSURES REQUIRED WITH RESPECT TO NOMINEES.
Section 304(b)(3) of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C.
3944(b)(3)) is amended--
(1) by striking ``Each'' and inserting the following: ``(A)
In this paragraph--
``(i) the term `bundled contribution' has the meaning given
such term in section 304(i)(8)(A) of the Federal Election
Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30104(i)(8)(A));
``(ii) the term `contribution' has the meaning given such
term in section 301(8) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of
1971 (52 U.S.C. 30101(8)); and
``(iii) the term `immediate family' means--
``(I) the spouse of the nominee;
``(II) any child, parent, grandparent, brother, or
sister of the nominee; and
``(III) the spouse of any of the individuals
described in subclause (II).
``(B) Each'';
(2) in subparagraph (B), as redesignated, by striking ``The
report'' and inserting the following:
``(C) The report shall include the disclosure of all bundled
contributions facilitated by the nominee during the period described in
subparagraph (B), in accordance with section 304(i) of the Federal
Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30104(i)), and'';
(3) by striking ``The chairman'' and inserting the
following:
``(D) The chairman''; and
(4) in subparagraph (D), as redesignated, by adding at the
end the following: ``The Secretary of State shall publish each
such report and each `Certificate of Competency' issued
pursuant to subsection (a)(4) on a publicly available website
of the Department of State.''.
SEC. 5. CERTIFICATION OF COMPLIANCE WITH THE FOREIGN SERVICE ACT OF
1980.
Section 304(a) of the Foreign Service Act of 1980, as amended by
section 3(a), is further amended by adding at the end the following:
``(5) The President shall certify to the Committee on Foreign
Relations of the Senate that--
``(A) any individual nominated to be a chief of mission
meets the qualifications required under paragraph (1); and
``(B) any contributions made by any such individual or
family member, whether or not included in the report described
in paragraph (4), played no role in such nomination.''.
SEC. 6. LIMITATIONS ON OVERSEAS PLACEMENT OF SPECIAL APPOINTMENT
POSITIONS THAT DO NOT EXERCISE SIGNIFICANT AUTHORITY.
(a) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that all
officials of the United States Government offered to receive diplomatic
accreditation from a foreign nation should be thoroughly vetted and
reviewed for qualification before--
(1) being authorized to represent the United States
Government at sensitive postings overseas; or
(2) receiving taxpayer-funded salaries, allowances, and
employment benefits in connection with such a posting.
(b) Limitations.--
(1) In general.--Section 1(j)(2) of the State Department
Basic Authorities Act of 1956 (22 U.S.C. 2651a(j)) is amended--
(A) by redesignating subparagraphs (A), (B), and
(C) as clauses (i), (ii), and (iii), respectively, and
moving such clauses, as redesignated, 2 ems to the
right;
(B) by striking ``The President''; and inserting
the following:
``(A) In general.--The President''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(B) Limitations.--All special appointments under
subparagraph (A), and all positions described in
schedule B or schedule C of subpart C of part 213 of
title 5, Code of Federal Regulations, to a United
States diplomatic mission may not exceed 90 days. An
individual may not be appointed to more than 1 position
described in this paragraph during a single calendar
year.''.
(2) Effective date.--The amendments made by this subsection
shall take effect on January 1, 2025.
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