[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4819 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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118th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 4819
To require an annual report on the unfunded programs, activities, and
mission requirements within the Department of State and the United
States Agency for International Development.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 29, 2024
Mr. Kaine (for himself and Mr. Young) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require an annual report on the unfunded programs, activities, and
mission requirements within the Department of State and the United
States Agency for International Development.
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 ``Fully Funding our National Security
Priorities Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) A report issued by the Department of State in 2023
identified a $41,300,000,000 gap between the resources made
available to the Department of State and the United States
Agency for International Development and the resources required
to effectively counter the People's Republic of China in the
Indo-Pacific region.
(2) While the Department of State and the United States
Agency for International Development remain less than fully
funded, the PRC has provided some $1,340,000,000,000 in grants
and loans over the past 22 years. In October 2023, the PRC and
President Xi announced an additional $100,000,000,000 for
China's development banks.
(3) As competitors like the PRC and Russia expand their
global diplomatic footprints, the Department of State today
has, on average, a 13 percent staffing gap.
SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) the United States is a beacon of democracy and freedom
in an increasingly fraught world;
(2) the Department of State, as a critical national
security agency, remains chronically understaffed and
underfunded at a time when geopolitical rivals, including the
People's Republic of China, are rapidly expanding their global
diplomatic presences; and
(3) it is imperative to empower the Department of State and
the United States Agency for International Development to
ensure the United States can--
(A) effectively advance the national security
interests of the United States;
(B) respond strategically to emerging technologies;
and
(C) respond with flexibility to metastasizing
global threats.
SEC. 4. ANNUAL REPORT.
(a) Defined Term.--In this section, the term ``unfunded priority'',
with respect to a fiscal year, means a program, activity, or mission
requirement of an element of the Department of State or the United
States Agency for International Development (referred to in this
section as ``USAID'') that--
(1) is not funded in the budget for such fiscal year
submitted by the President to Congress pursuant to section 1105
of title 31, United States Code;
(2) is necessary to fulfill a foreign policy or national
security objective or to satisfy an information requirement
associated with a goal or objective outlined in the Joint
Strategic Plan agreed upon by the Department of State and USA/
ID; and
(3) would have been recommended for funding by the
Secretary of State or the USAID Administrator if--
(A) additional resources had been available for
such budget to fund such program, activity, or mission
requirement; or
(B) the program, activity, or mission requirement
has emerged since such budget was formulated.
(b) In General.--Not later than 10 days after the date on which the
budget for any fiscal year is submitted by the President to Congress,
the Secretary of State and USAID Administrator shall each prepare and
submit a report to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate,
the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate, the Committee on Foreign
Affairs of the House of Representatives, and the Committee on
Appropriations of the House of Representatives the unfunded priorities
of the programs under the jurisdiction of the Secretary or the
Administrator, as applicable.
(c) Elements.--
(1) In general.--Each report submitted to Congress pursuant
to subsection (b) shall include, with respect to each unfunded
priority covered by such report--
(A) a summary description of such priority,
including the objectives to be achieved if such
priority is funded (whether in whole or in part);
(B) the additional amount of funds recommended to
be made available to achieve the objectives referred to
in subparagraph (A); and
(C) budget information with respect to such
priority, including--
(i) the appropriation account;
(ii) the expenditure center; and
(iii) the project and, if applicable, any
subprojects.
(2) Prioritization.--Each report submitted to Congress
pursuant to subsection (b) shall present the unfunded
priorities covered by such report in overall order of urgency
of priority among unfunded priorities.
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