[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3571 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3571

 To establish an Office of Subnational Diplomacy within the Department 
                   of State, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 27, 2019

    Mr. Ted Lieu of California (for himself and Mr. Wilson of South 
  Carolina) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                      Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To establish an Office of Subnational Diplomacy within 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 ``City and State Diplomacy Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The supremacy clause of the United States Constitution 
        (article VI, clause 2) establishes that the Federal Government 
        has the primary role in conducting diplomacy on behalf of the 
        United States; in turn, the Department of State, which was 
        created pursuant to statute by Congress in 1789, has the lead 
        role in formulating and implementing United States foreign 
        policy.
            (2) The growth of subnational cooperation has enabled 
        States and municipalities to play an increasingly significant 
        role in foreign policy and complement the efforts of the 
        Department of State by--
                    (A) supporting exchanges and cooperation agreements 
                between elected leaders and officials of State and 
                municipal governments and those of international 
                cities, regions, and countries;
                    (B) promoting United States exports to foreign 
                markets and foreign direct investment into the United 
                States; and
                    (C) sharing best practices and striking agreements 
                with foreign counterparts on a wide range of topics, 
                including facilitating trade and investment, protecting 
                the health and safety of their respective citizens, 
                cooperating on energy and the environment, and 
                promoting people-to-people exchanges.
            (3) Global networks made up exclusively of local government 
        officials are at the forefront of harnessing the power of 
        cities to advance international cooperation, including C40 
        Cities Climate Leadership Group, ICLEI, United Cities and Local 
        Governments, Global Parliament of Mayors, Urban20, Strong 
        Cities Network, and Global Compact of Mayors.
            (4) In 2010, the Department of State appointed the first-
        ever special representative for Global Intergovernmental 
        Affairs, who led efforts to build strategic peer-to-peer 
        relationships between the Department of State, State and local 
        officials, and their foreign counterparts.

SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that it is in the interest of the 
United States to promote subnational engagements, align such 
engagements with national foreign policy objectives, and leverage 
Federal resources to enhance the impact of such engagements.

SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE OFFICE OF SUBNATIONAL DIPLOMACY.

    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 new 
subsection:
    ``(h) Office of Subnational Diplomacy.--
            ``(1) In general.--There shall be established within the 
        Department of State an Office of Subnational Diplomacy (in this 
        subsection referred to as the `Office').
            ``(2) Head of office.--The head of the Office shall be the 
        Ambassador-at-Large for Subnational Diplomacy (in this 
        subsection referred to as the `Ambassador'). The Ambassador 
        shall--
                    ``(A) be appointed by the President, by and with 
                the advice and consent of the Senate; and
                    ``(B) report directly to the Under Secretary for 
                Political Affairs.
            ``(3) Duties.--
                    ``(A) Principal duty.--The principal duty of the 
                Ambassador shall be the overall supervision (including 
                policy oversight of resources) of Federal support for 
                subnational engagements by State and municipal 
                governments with foreign governments. The Ambassador 
                shall be the principal adviser to the Secretary of 
                State on subnational engagements and the principal 
                official on such matters within the senior management 
                of the Department of State.
                    ``(B) Additional duties.--The additional duties of 
                the Ambassador shall include the following:
                            ``(i) Coordinating overall United States 
                        policy and programs in support of subnational 
                        engagements by State and municipal governments 
                        with foreign governments, including with 
                        respect to the following:
                                    ``(I) Coordinating resources across 
                                the Department of State and throughout 
                                the Federal Government in support of 
                                such engagements.
                                    ``(II) Identifying policy, program, 
                                and funding disputes among relevant 
                                Federal agencies regarding such 
                                coordination.
                                    ``(III) Identifying gaps in Federal 
                                support for such engagements and 
                                developing corresponding policy or 
                                programmatic changes to address such 
                                gaps.
                            ``(ii) Promoting United States foreign 
                        policy goals through support for subnational 
                        engagements and aligning subnational priorities 
                        with national foreign policy goals, as 
                        appropriate.
                            ``(iii) Maintaining a public database of 
                        subnational engagements.
                            ``(iv) Providing advisory support to 
                        subnational engagements, including by assisting 
                        State and municipal governments to--
                                    ``(I) develop, implement, and, as 
                                necessary, adjust global engagement and 
                                public diplomacy strategies; and
                                    ``(II) implement programs to 
                                cooperate with foreign governments on 
                                policy priorities or managing shared 
                                resources.
                            ``(v) Facilitating linkages and networks 
                        between State and municipal governments and 
                        their foreign counterparts.
                            ``(vi) Overseeing the work of Department of 
                        State detailees assigned to State and municipal 
                        governments pursuant to this subsection.
                            ``(vii) Negotiating agreements and 
                        memoranda of understanding with foreign 
                        governments to support subnational engagements 
                        and priorities.
                            ``(viii) Promoting United States trade and 
                        foreign exports on behalf of United States 
                        businesses through exchanges between the United 
                        States and foreign state, municipal, and 
                        provincial governments, and by establishing a 
                        more enduring relationship overall between 
                        subnational governments.
                            ``(ix) Coordinating subnational engagements 
                        with the associations of subnational elected 
                        leaders, including the U.S. Conference of 
                        Mayors, National Governors Association, 
                        National League of Cities, National Association 
                        of Counties, Council of State Governments, 
                        National Conference of State Legislators, and 
                        State International Development Offices.
            ``(4) Detailees.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Secretary of State, acting 
                through the Ambassador, is authorized to detail Foreign 
                Service officers to State and municipal governments on 
                a reimbursable or nonreimbursable basis. Such details 
                shall be for a period not to exceed two years, and 
                shall be without interruption or loss of Foreign 
                Service status or privilege.
                    ``(B) Responsibilities.--Detailees under 
                subparagraph (A) shall carry out the following:
                            ``(i) Supporting the mission and objectives 
                        of the Office.
                            ``(ii) Coordinating activities relating to 
                        State and municipal government subnational 
                        engagements with the Department of State, 
                        including the Office, Department leadership, 
                        and regional and functional bureaus of the 
                        Department, as appropriate.
                            ``(iii) Engaging the Department of State 
                        and other Federal agencies regarding security, 
                        public health, trade promotion, and other 
                        programs executed at the State or municipal 
                        government level.
                            ``(iv) Advising State and municipal 
                        government officials regarding questions of 
                        global affairs, foreign policy, cooperative 
                        agreements, and public diplomacy.
                            ``(v) Any other duties requested by State 
                        and municipal governments and approved by the 
                        Office.
            ``(5) Report and briefing.--
                    ``(A) Report.--Not later than one year after the 
                date of the enactment of this subsection, the 
                Ambassador shall submit to the Committee on Foreign 
                Affairs of the House of Representatives and the 
                Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate a report 
                that includes information relating to the following:
                            ``(i) The staffing plan (including 
                        permanent and temporary staff) for the Office.
                            ``(ii) The funding level provided to the 
                        Office for the Office, together with a 
                        justification relating to such level.
                            ``(iii) The status of filling the position 
                        of Ambassador-at-Large for Subnational 
                        Diplomacy.
                            ``(iv) A strategic plan for the Office.
                            ``(v) Any other matters as determined 
                        relevant by the Ambassador.
                    ``(B) Briefings.--Not later than 30 days after the 
                submission of the report required under subparagraph 
                (A) and annually thereafter, the Ambassador shall brief 
                the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of 
                Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations 
                of the Senate on the work of the Office and any changes 
                made to the organizational structure or funding of the 
                Office.
            ``(6) Definitions.--In this subsection:
                    ``(A) Municipal.--The term `municipal' means, with 
                respect to the government of a municipality, a 
                municipality with a population of not fewer than 
                100,000 people.
                    ``(B) State.--The term `State' means the 50 States, 
                the District of Columbia, and any territory or 
                possession of the United States.
                    ``(C) Subnational engagement.--The term 
                `subnational engagement' means formal meetings or 
                events between elected officials of State or municipal 
                governments and their foreign counterparts.''.
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