[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 491 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 491
To establish the position of Director of Foreign Assistance in the
Department of State, and for other purposes
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
February 6 (legislative day, February 5), 2025
Mr. Kaine (for himself, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Schatz, Mr. Coons, Mr.
Merkley, Mr. Booker, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Welch, Mr. Markey,
Mr. Sanders, Ms. Duckworth, Mr. Bennet, Mr. Whitehouse, and Mr. Schiff)
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the
Committee on Foreign Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish the position of Director of Foreign Assistance in the
Department of State, 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 ``Foreign Assistance Accountability
and Oversight Act''.
SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) the strategic delivery of foreign assistance is
critical to supporting the United States' interests around the
world;
(2) foreign assistance furthers United States' national
security priorities, advances United States' values, and
ensures the United States is the partner of choice for areas
such as defense procurement and economic investment in cutting
edge scientific research;
(3) the administration of foreign assistance programming
should be--
(A) managed by a qualified, competent Department of
State official; and
(B) subject to strict congressional oversight
pursuant to its constitutionally authorized power of
the purse; and
(4) section 1413 of the Foreign Affairs Reform and
Restructuring Act of 1998 (Division G of Public Law 105-277; 22
U.S.C. 6563) codified into law the status of the United States
Agency for International Development as an ``independent
establishment'' outside of the Department of State.
SEC. 3. DIRECTOR OF FOREIGN ASSISTANCE AT THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE.
Section 1 of the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 (22
U.S.C. 2651a) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(p) Director of Foreign Assistance.--
``(1) Definitions.--In this subsection:
``(A) Appropriate congressional committees.--The
term `appropriate congressional committees' means--
``(i) the Committee on Foreign Relations of
the Senate;
``(ii) the Committee on Appropriations of
the Senate;
``(iii) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of
the House of Representatives; and
``(iv) the Committee on Appropriations of
the House of Representatives.
``(B) Personnel decision.--The term `personnel
decision' means any decision relating to promotions,
transfers, demotions, or dismissals.
``(2) Establishment.--There is established in the
Department of State, a Director of Foreign Assistance (referred
to in this subsection as the `Director'), who--
``(A) shall report directly to the Deputy Secretary
of State for Management and Resources; and
``(B) should not hold another position in the
United States Government while holding the position of
Director.
``(3) Duties.--The Director shall--
``(A) optimize the impact of foreign assistance
by--
``(i) strategically aligning foreign
assistance resources to the Secretary of
State's overarching foreign policy goals;
``(ii) measuring effectiveness; and
``(iii) promoting evidence-based policies,
including budget formulation, justification,
and execution mechanisms;
``(B) serve as a resource for the Secretary of
State, the Deputy Secretary of State, the Under
Secretaries of State, the Administrator of the United
States Agency for International Development, and the
heads of other Federal departments and agencies that
implement United States foreign assistance programs to
support the development of policies, plans, and
programs to achieve national security, foreign policy,
and development goals;
``(C) perform results-oriented functions related to
United States foreign assistance, including--
``(i) leading an integrated budget,
strategic planning, and performance process as
part of integrated interagency program planning
to amplify foreign assistance;
``(ii) promoting monitoring and evaluation;
``(iii) increasing transparency;
``(iv) facilitating data analysis,
information management, and reporting; and
``(v) developing foreign assistance
policies through research and partnerships;
``(D) support interagency collaboration on foreign
assistance programs and policies of other Federal
agencies and entities, including the Millennium
Challenge Corporation, the United States International
Development Finance Corporation, the Department of the
Treasury, the United States Trade and Development
Agency, the Export-Import Bank of the United States,
and the Peace Corps;
``(E) create and direct, as part of integrated
interagency program planning to amplify foreign
assistance, consolidated policy, strategic, and program
plans, the operational budget, program evaluation and
results reporting from bureaus and offices within the
Department of State and the United States Agency for
International Development.
``(4) Appointment; confirmation.--
``(A) Appointment.--The Director shall be appointed
by the President, by and with the advice and consent of
the Senate.
``(B) Acting director.--No individual may serve as
Director in an acting capacity or otherwise assume the
responsibilities of the Director for more than 90 days
without being confirmed to such position by the Senate.
``(5) Personnel decisions.--Any adverse personnel decision
made by the Director, or affecting the Director or any staff
member reporting to the Director, including demotions,
suspensions, furloughs and reductions in force, shall require
the approval of the Deputy Secretary of State for Management
and Resources.''.
SEC. 4. TIMELY OBLIGATION OF APPROPRIATED FUNDS.
All funds appropriated by Congress to the Department of State or to
the United States Agency for International Development, or that are
otherwise under the direction of the Director of Foreign Assistance,
shall be made available to be obligated not later than 90 days after
the date of the enactment of the related appropriations Act.
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